Show I 1 THE TWO PARTY ARTY SYSTEM r v Los Angeles Express The first session of or the sixty- sixty ninth ninth- congress recently adjourned without having havin found a solution for tor forthe forthe torI the farm relief problem It left I Muscle Shoals as far from solution as other sessions have been in the habit of leaving it through a Ion long series of years It first decided that condemnation of the expenditure of millions of money In state primary contests ought not to be retroactive In effect to bring under censure censures s senatorial candidacies antedating the passage of a resolution of or cen ceo sure Then congress decided to take no action at all prior to ad- ad ju Responsibility for failure allure in legIslation legislation leg leg- may be divided as it is In Inthe Inthe inthe the case of the session Just ad ad- ad adjourned Nevertheless a majority party bears in chief tire U-re odium of any failure to meet fully the public pub pub- lie lic expectation It receives for like reason chief credit t for COI legislation accomplished Nothing has been more moore completely complete complete- ly h demonstrated in recent political history than the wisdom of ot the two-party two system In a practical working den democracy The constitution makes no ao at attempt attempt attempt at- at tempt to define detine any American ft system tom tern of political party division That would have been impracticable asi as 9 well as unwise r Nevertheless less Inthe in inthe inthe the main th the two-party two s system stem ha has prevailed Minor political organizations organizations have existed but rarely In Indeed Indeed indeed In- In deed has a third party organization tion been able seriously to contest an election much less perpetuate itself as a permanent contender for popular support As a rule such suet organizations ha have e functioned as as' parties of protest only This voIce i of protest at it times In our history has not been without great ence Two o great leading pa parties tl s contesting coo con con I testing for supremacy is the ideal The party in power held to to strict responsibility The opposition party fighting for reinstatement This is the s system stem that means fixed ac accountability accountability ac- ac for success success and and failure failUre failure fail fail- ure alike The multiplicity of parties as lS ex d in continental Europe's parliamentary bodies makes legislation legislation legislation legis legis- lation a matter of trading combinations combinations combi combi- nations divided responsibility legIslative legIslative legislative leg leg- inefficiency arid impossible situations It was a minority bloc that prevented some very very important legislation in the recent congress In France and Germany as ns well as asin asin asin in smaller nations one sees constantly constantly constantly con con- the difficulty of or sustained parliamentary action where the legislative legislative leg leg- body Is composed of ot numerous nuI nu nu- nu- nu erous I party groups |