Evening star., 1938-06-26
By NC. X.
magazines find occasion to
comment in their July issues
on the recent formation Of q

on the recent formation OF q
L new political party under the
leadership Of Gov. La Toilette of Wis
consin. They are Commentator and
the American Mercury. The Com
mentator's piece Is its leading article;
the author is James McMullin. The
Mercury treats the new party through
an editorial.
Mr.. McMullin gives an interesting
estimate Of the purpose behind the
new La Toilette organization. 1T was
planned to build the new movement"
he says, around . nucleus of existing
groups Of lefttish leanings. such Is the
Wisconsin Progressives. the Minneso-
ia Farmer-Laborites, the New York
American Labor Party. Labor's Nom
Partisan League, possibly the right
wing Socialists, etc. =.
Sponsors Of the National Progress
sive Party figure this way. Anti
New Deal Democrats are determined
to recapture control Of their party
in 1910. With the probable help Of
James A. Farley, they are likely to
succeed-at least. to the extent OF
blocking the nomination of q Roose-
veltian crown prince. The Republic
cans certainly will not go New Dealish.
That would leave the millions who
still believe in Mr.. Roosevelt's social
and economic philosophy politically
homeless. La Toilette and Co. propose
tn ofFer them a haven" "
Mr.. McMullin takes no sides him.
self, but opines that Gov. La Toilette
is sufficiently shrewd as q political
tactician to make a good fight Of his
undertaking.
The Mercury confesses that it does
not know what to think Of the Gov
ernor's move. I'VE lay aside our edi-
torial dignity" it remarks, Ito say he
pulled fast one. He certainly pulled
one on us, 50 far as its political i'm
plications go, for we did not know
what to make Of it. nor do we now"
Then, having made this candid con-
fession of ignorance, the Mercury
proceeds to state its position in rela-
ton to the new party. differing there
by from Commentator. which offers
pretty explicit information. but takes
no stand.
The Mercury, says the editorial, is
not in sympathy with the Governors
political philosophy. 1t praises his
premises, but cannot agree with his
conclusion. The premises seem to be
nAo1 nf
scarcity" is idiotic. and that, in
order to take any right action in
situation, the Government must get
the right idea first.
THE New Deal" continues the edi-
torial, "' started with no
ideas at all-except the one political
idea of grabbing job and keeping
u-and whatever ideas it afterward
improvised were fantastically un-
sound.
"All praise. therefore. to Gov. La
Toilette for making it clear that right
action can proceed only out of right
ideas, and that the first step IN
method is to displace wrong ideas
with right ones But now we
must say with regret that 1t is only
because We feel as strongly on this
point as he does that We cannot see
our way to night under his banner,
or to believe that there is any worthy
prospect for his party"
The editorial then proceeds to say
that Gov. La Toilette appears to be-
lieve that the interests Of human So
ciety and the interests Of the State
are identical, or at least that they
may be somehow clapperclawed into
some kind of harmony; and that
therefor the State Is a proper agency
of social welfare, or may be made
SUCH; while the Mercury's own posi-
ton is that "the interests of society
are in having as little government as
possible and in keeping that little as
decentralized as possible'-wherein,
of course, it Is in noticeable agreement
with Thomas Jefferson, 4 well-known
founding father.
The State" continues the piece,
"is administered by jobholders; and
therefore its interests are in having
as much government as possible, and
in keeping it IS highly centralized as
possible. We cannot conceive Of any
two sets of interests more irreconcil-
able than these, and therefore we