Evening star., 1934-11-09
The Call to Liberalism.


Republican party along liberal lines,
coming from Hamilton Fish as well
as from a William E. Borah, is a
natural reaction from the elections
of 1882 and 1884. The demand Is
not new as coming from Mr.. Borah.
When it comes from the Fishes and
others who have belonged to the So
called regular wing" of the G. O. p,
it is clear that the sun do move"
If the Republican party. as repre-
sented by the regulars" had followed
the late Senator Robert M. La Toilette
in 1924 instead Of the late Calvin
Coolidge; if it had backed up the late
President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912
instead of the late Chief Justice Will
liam Howard Taft, or If it had fol-
lowed Senator Hiram johnson Of
California in 1928 instead of former
President Herbert Hoover, what a
different picture might have been pre-
sented today! The truth Of the
matter is that the Republicans
allowed the Democrats, under the
leadership Of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, to steal a march on them
They clung to the conservative end
of the stick when they might have
followed the progressive leaders Of
their own party.
The Roosevelt Democrats have SEEM
ingly abandoned the party principles
of jefferson. States rights, the policy
that the least governed people is the
best governed, and the idea that
government should keep away from
business have been swept aside in a
grand rush toward concentration Of
governmental power in Washington.
with new Government agencies to
deal with Americans in their daily
occupations and avocations. The ex-
planation given by these New Deal
Democrats is that different times and
conditions call for different treat
ment.
When the Republican party was
born it was called radical. 1t at
tackled certain property rights and
States rights which were defended
by the Democrats. Now a rebirth of
the Republican party is demanded,
with a return to liberalism. But is
there room in the country for two
liberal or radical parties? If the
Republican party is to be liberal,
should it be more liberal than the
Democratic party? And II it is not
to be more liberal than the Demo-
cratic party, of what avail its
liberalism, from a merely partisan
political point of view?
There is every reason for the Re-
publican party to return today to its
earlier tenets. But it would be a mis-
take if it should seek to be more
radical than the Roosevelt New Deal
Too much radicalism is as destructive
OF human rights as is too little
radicalism. Unless the New Dealers
change some of their tactics the Amer
ican people will discover this to be
fact. If the Republican party is to be
rebuilt it should be on sound lines.
The country, after all, is more in
terested in prosperity and recovery
than it is in the personal ambitions
OF any set OF political leaders. It is
when the happiness of the people or
their firm convictions of right and JUS
tice are involved that the people give
ear to political pleas. 1t Is to be
presumed that the present Democratic
administration is interested in the
happiness of the people rather than in
mere office holding for itself, in more
places to distribute to its henchmen.
1t is to be presumed and hoped that
it will sheer away from governmental
control of the affairs of the people, of
farming and OF industry, instead of
travelling further with the regimenta-
ton Of the people. If the Roosevelt
administration does not forget the real
interest of the people in liberty, the
real desire Of the men and women of
America to be free to work as they
like, there will perhaps be little reason
to get excited about what any group
of political leaders may do. On the
other hand, If the Roosevelt admin
istration should pursue to an even
greater extent some of the experiments
which it has undertaken, there is
bound to be reaction, and the up
building of the opposition party will
be in order.