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Show THEY DO CHANGE Styles change, so do customs. If Rip Van Winkle were to awaken awa-ken now after a twenty-year nap and walk down Fifth Avenue in New York, Michigan Avenue in Chicago, or Main Street in any American Am-erican town or village, he would be ore than amazed at the change in women's styles more than amazed indeed, perhaps shocked, although al-though those of us who have seen the change come gradually now accept it with little comment. But other styles have changed, too, even the style of political campaigns. There are still a great many of us who remember the old fashioned campaign with its spectacular parades, showing a replica re-plica of the log cabin in which the candidate was born, followed by prominent citizens and candidates on horses, ladies in carriages and school children in white dresses carrying flowers We remember, too, the great torch light processions, the monster mass meetings which were held in every town, not only once but many times during the campaign. There were the street corner arguments always attracting attract-ing a crowd. Men took their politics straight, they were either Republicans Re-publicans or Democrats from principle, or because they followed the faith of their fathers. But now it has all changed. The great and spectacular parades re seldom, if ever held, and the the gasoline torch has given away to the red fire when there is a procession at all which is not often. There are still mass meetings, to be sure, but they do not compare with those of the old days and are getting scarcer each campaign year. And most of the people are too busy to stop and listen to street corner cor-ner arguments, when there are any street corner politicians to lead the arguments. A great many things have brought this change to pass- One reason, perhaps, is the growth of the newspaper. Newspapers have grown so plentiful and cheap that most every family has at least one and the political news and extracts from speeches and statements axe made and read fresh every day. Then later has come the radio with the result that one may now hear the candidates' speech more clearly and more comfortable than in a crowded hall. And the day is not far off, when we shall see him as well as hear him by wireless. Rarty lines are not nearly so rigid as formerly. Men and women wo-men do not take their party faith as seriously as they once did. The primary has helped bring this change about and the so-called independent inde-pendent newspaper has added to the condition- Whether this change from partisanship is a good one remains to be seen. There are still a great many people who believe the loss of partisanship' will mark a sad and undesireable. change in the American government. At ny rate, the style of political campaign has changed and there is nothing much that we can do about it. |