Evening star., 1937-02-28

the Townsend bloc" Only handful
responded-about 20 persons-and in
cluded among these were the news
paper reporters.
For the time being, at least. all Of
the 1856 depression prophets have
gone into involuntary retirement. The
success of the President at the polls
and improved economic conditions
have proved their undoing. They may
be back in force again by 1910. and,
if so, they may once again stir up
enough dust to becloud the political
atmosphere. BY that time the third
party lessons of the last election may
have been forgotten.
There was nothing unusual about
the third-party efforts during the last
campaign, for independent political
have been numerous since
the development of the party system
in this country during the early years
of the last century.
Only on rare occasions, however,
have third-party candidates for the
gained the support of any
number of voters. Aside
from the Republican party. which was
as third party in 1854 and
which attained the status of major
party in its first presidential contest
two years later, there have been only
seven third-party movements-four
before and three since the Civil War
that have ever won a share in the
electoral vote.
Early Third Parties.
In the order of their development,
these were:
The anti-Masonic party of 1882,
with William Writ as its candidate,
seven electoral votes; the American
(Know-Nothing) party of 1856, Mill
lard Fillmore, candidate. eight elec-
toral votes; the Democratic secession.
isD party, 1860, with ]. c. Brecken-
ridge as candidate, 72 votes: the Con-
Union party of 1860, with
John Bell as candidate. 80 votes; the
Peoples CPopulist) party, 1892, with
James B. Weaver as its candidate, %
votes; Theodore Roosevelt's Progress
sive party of 1912. 88 votes. and the
independent candidacy of Robert M.
La Toilette, in 1924. 13 electoral votes.
With the exception Of the Repub-
lican party and two or three minor
cal movements of the past, even when
they have won substantial measure
of success, have survived for more than
one campaign. Success for one or the
other of the presidential candidates Of
the dominant parties is practical
certainty. No third party can hope
for survival as an important factor in
national politics unless it Is able at
the outset to assume the place Of one
of the existing major parties.
The two-party tradition in this
country has been strengthened by the
fact that if presidential contests were
not confined substantially to two
parties, there would be danger that
every election would be thrown into
the House of Representatives through
the failure of any one candidate to
win a majority of the electoral vote.
obstacles TO 1nir0 PartleS.
Among other obstacles to the forma-
ton of third parties have been the
large expense of organizing a party on
a national scale, the difficulty of
complying with many State laws for
getting the names of independent
candidates on the ballot, and the
reluctance of the average citizen to
cast his vote for what he surely will
be told is hopeless cause. Compro-
mises between divergent groups are
therefore customarily made within the
two major parties before an election.
1t is only when these breaches can
not be healed that bolts and third
party movements develop.
Some political observers believe an
farmer-labor third party
may develop by 1940 This
would be accomplished by
political elements dissatisfied because
they feel President Roosevelt has not
moved far enough to the left.
There was some reason to believe
the late Gov. Floyd Olson of Minne-
sofa. strongest man politically in his
State, anticipated such a movement
and hoped to lead it. His death, how
ever, greatly diminishes the chances
that the strength of his already estab-
lished Farmer-Labor party will be
thrown behind the movement.
Farmer Labor Conference.
The Minnesota Farmer-Labor party
held a conference in Chicago last
May and went on record in favor
Of the formation of a national party
If farmers, labor and the liberal
middle class and professional and
workers organizations.
Active promotion was left to the fu-
ture, however, and although there
mas been some labor agitation for a
revival of the movement, it ms
highly doubtful that it will attain
any substantial stature.
Cooler heads behind the movement
have not lost sight of the fact that
hey cannot hope to accomplish much
unless they can replace the Demo-
cratic party, regarded generally as
,he best friend of the elements that
would be drawn into a third party,
Or the Republican party, which, even
# it might be done, would only
strengthen the position the Demo-
cratic nominee in 1910.