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Show I l ABSORBING THE PBOGBESSTVES. HI At tho Republican, Btate conforonoo in New York, Job E. Hedges, former Uf ennuidaie for governor, suggested a li very simplo plan for getting the Pro-gressives Pro-gressives back into tho Tiopubb'can n party. "Let's tell litem to como on fi! back and stop their nonsense, and let's j et busy," said Mr. Hedges, kjj It must bo admitted that this is Rj simplicity itself. Mr. Hedges refers to 111 tho Progressive doctrines as "non- ! sense," and his inference is that all m tho Progrcssivcs"nccd do is to abandon u;. their platform and return completely repculnnt to lite Itepublican party. Un- H fortunately, most Republicans do not W1. expect to find the task so simple. It h is likely, however, that great numbora m of Progressives can bo por3uadod to n drop many of tho trivial "isms" that I wore adopted on the theory that the H Progressives must becomo more radi- H. ; eal than the Democrats if they ex- H ! jicctcd victory in the oleetion of 1912. H These radical declarations were merely H ' war measures and can bo repudiated H without regret. The idea was that the H j Progressives should adopt evory re- Hi form that, had anj' scmblanco of riopu- H I iarity and try to combine all those clc- H iiicnta of protest that wore not in- H Hudcd within the ranks of the Demo- H,'( ocratic party. If the moro radical H 1 planks were now east asido, tho Pro- H,r gressives would simply bo throwing HM overboard useless timber that novcr found much favor with thinking mom- HL bcrs of that party. Hill The return to important issues would H ' help in bringing back tho Progressives H j to Republicanism. Already there aro I1! signs (lint the Democratic theories H j with reference to the larger is- lij sues aro not working out to the H j satisfaction of tho American peo- H j plo. The Democrats can plead that H j they have not yet had much of an op- H : portunity to prqyo the value of their H ' I ideas, ami tiiis concession may bo H ' I crnntcd them. Nevertheless, J?epublie- H I ans who believe in their party's priu- H i ciplcs feel confident that the present Democratic administration will prove a i failure io Jar as the important issuos j are concerned; aud on those issues tho Hf! Progressives and Republicans can re-tmito re-tmito under the old banner. |