AN OPPOSITION PARTY

A new star has appeared on the political horizon in the form of the League for Independent Political Action which this week held its first Massachusetts organization meeting in Boston. The League, while it is not itself a political party, seeks to unite the progressive elements in the country in order to break the hold which the powerful industrial and commercial interests have over the government.

There are significant facts about the the League which differentiate it sharply from the usual insurgent movements. It is not concerned primarily with immediate political results, but hopes rather to build up a solid nationwide basis for a third party. Another distinguishing factor in the proposed progressive coalition is that it will not be the organ of one suppressed group anxious merely to substitute its own autocracy for that of the party in power.

The League's ambition to bring together elements as different as the farm-laborites, socialists, and middle-class progressives is a source both of strength and of weakness. By such a coalition, it can command a greater number of votes than any of the blocs alone. At the same time the difficulty of agreeing on a specific common program is much increased.

Without a strong, organized opposition the group in power has nothing to compel it to give the maximum of public service. The new progressive movement may not succeed in ousting the Republican-Democratic hybrid from power. But if it merely provides a threatening opposition, it will be of immense service to the nation.