Evening star., 1938-01-09
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

BY MARK SULLIVAN.
ME real struggle in American politics
cannot be described in any terms
i with which Americans are generally
familiar. Our historic party names and
other terms are no longer adequate.
The real struggle is between our tradi-
tional form Of society and government and,
on the other hand, . new conception Of
society and government which has arisen
in Europe. The innovation toward which
we are being taken bears the name Com
munism in Russia and the name Fascism
or Naziism in other countries. The essen
tial characteristic Of 1t Is authoritarian
government.
The fight between democracy and
authoritarian government is worldwide
In the world as q whole authoritarian
government is winning. Every few months
an addition Is made to the list Of countries
that have gone authoritarian. Democratic
government has been forced back until the
principal remaining examples Of it are
Great Britain and the United States some
Of the smaller European countries, and
perhaps France.
That Is the struggle before America.
America ought to be the last stone wall Of
democracy. America ought to lead in the
defense Of democracy. America ought to
be the outstanding champion Of democracy,
against the encroachment Of authoritarian
government. Whether America Is to live
up to this role depends on whether the
administration now in power believes pas
sionately in the American tradition.
Comment on Party Politics.
am not, in the present article, going
into the struggle between democracy and
authoritarian government. What I have
here said on this subject is merely prelimi-
nary to some comments on American poll
tics
While the struggle between antagonistic
conceptions Of society and government Is
ahead of America, the battle will be fought
out, in all probability, under the forms Of
our familiar political parties do not i'm
ply that the struggle to preserve the Ameri-
can tradition will be made exclusively by
either Of the old parties. On the contrary,
there will be great shiftings in the elec-
torate intricate permutations and combi-
nations.
merely say that the two great political
parties are so deeply embedded IN Amer
lean political thought, and even in our
statutes that the struggle ahead of us will
be fought out under the forms of these
parties and perhaps one or two new par
ties. The political battle of the present
year, for members Of Congress. and pre-
sumably the presidential battle Of 1910,
will be fought with the ballots bearing the
familiar names, Democratic" and RE
publicans."
As things lie, the Republican party Is
likely to be for many reasons, some Of
them adventurous, the one that In the
beginning leads the fight against the au-
thoritarian invasion from Europe. After
the fight is under way. after the issue Is
understood, it may be that the Democratic
party or part Of it may be As con-
spicuos in the fight as the Republican
party The orthodox part of the Demo-
cratic party has more material for leader
ship than the Republican party has.
Republicans Voters.
OF adherents, Of voters, the Republican
party has normal proportion. The num-
Der Of votes 1t cast in the 1896 presidential
election was low, but not calamitously low.
On more than one occasion in the past
the Democratic party has cast q smaller
proportion Of the total vote than the
Republicans did in 1896. As . body Of
voters, the Republican party is An ade-
quate party.
But in leadership, especially in presi-
Dental material, the Republican party
Is weak. The party's most recent presi-
Dental candidate, ex-Gov. Landon, has
announced that he will not be candidate
in 1910. The only living ex-President,
Mr.. Hoover. interests himself only in the
leadership principles. Current polls taken
by periodicals and others and samplings Of
the opinion Of local Republican leaders
seem not to consider Mr.. Hoover and Mr..
Landon As candidates.
Passing from these, the search for Re-
publican presidential material would natu-
rally turn next to the Senate. In the
Senate are 16 Republicans. The only one
Of them mentioned with any frequency Is
Senator Vandenburg Of Michigan. Hardly
ever does one hear another name.
The Republican leader Of the Senate,
Mr.. McNary Of Oregon, would ordinarily
by virtue Of his position q Senate leader,
figure Is . possibility for his party's presi-
Dental nomination. But whether from in
difference on Mr.. McNary's part or what
not, he is rarely mentioned.
In poll taken recently by the periodical
Fortune Senator Borah got more votes than
any other Republican. But Senator Borah
Is u years old. He tried for the presiden-
tial nomination in 1886 and lost. There
can be little doubt that Mr.. Borah's posi-
ton in the gamut Of political thought, .
liberal In the older American sense, q lib
scratching exists, q 1t does and always will,
what hopa n there for 0oOd lava and rood