The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1849-01-25
In the west there is river known as the Mississippi


become snagged and wrecked, to the sacrifice Of nun
lreds of lives and of hundreds oil thousands OF uoa
in property. But, sir, will you offset these unaVo'uapig
evils against the mighty advantages OF lat s,'ed' "n
saw that because of those ncena evils the stream is OF
no account and that it would be well IL were aeu ul
So, precisely may it be said, only win more 3ce an
elec with regard this great medium through Mhich
stream the ideas of III scountry-ihe pubic press Ihefe
NAV be evils and injustice arising IRON Tree press
there may he f,lsehool promulgated through ltthere
NAV be malgnity graed through There may be cases
where has made to suffer through It's in
strumentay but what are these evils compared to the
immense benefit OF keeping open communication be-
tween four millions of voters! For this press has
not been the means OF communication between the
government and the people merely but between all OF the
Seope one with another II is this which enables them
10 compare ideas upon political questions. II IS iis great
book OF the people untoded in every mans house open
every mans inspection It is IN ms great BOOK Una.
the people read the facts what the government is
about say nothing, sir-because II is not my preioga'
tive to speak OF other great subJectsexcept OF pocs,
which are commended strongly 20 the reason Of our peo
in favor of this proposition because 1t chimes IN most
hamoniousy with every proposition l haa ever iaia
down touching and concerning ths subject OF open
communication with the people 80,
Year after year have stood here, and demanded IN
behalf of and in the name of the American people, mat
those doors should be open and that the whole o our
transactions in the constituents, should be
performed in the view Of our constituents 80 too SIR
have stood up here when 1t was thought unpopular 10
stand up-I have stood up here IN support OF the frank
ing privilege, for the same reason In every instance
where have acted voted, have sought to do 1t IN
euch a would Open the uODT Wluer 10 Tue
spection of the people and shed yet stronger light upon
their representatives Because sir believe in this thing
consists our only security say ain this thing because
not of those who suppose that tins government
consists in written constitution No, sir; | am not
child enough for that. | know what this government
consists in II it consisted in written constitutions
where would it have been now, when that constitution
has confessedly been so often nfncted' No, sir this
government is 10 be found the e-sdes of the people
of this country 1T is TO be found IN the sentiments In
the judgments, in the prelections in the hopes IN the
sympahies of great people, 10 make known these Their
sympathies by public meetings, by public resolutions
through the public press and through lheir fepesena
There hen is the seat of gOvernmentin the hearts
of the peope-and it is mistake to call this capital the
seat of our government Sir the seat OF government
is in the hearts OF the people is in their breath They
breahed it into existence, and they may and have right
to- il they choose the form in which they shalt pre-
SCRIBE breathe it OF existence i'll behooves us then
sir who are the representatives of the States and OF the
people-it i'll behooves us to do anything which shall
veil our conduct in the slightest degree from the open IN
people would not be worth arlhing TO them, If, after
they had exercised that right they lost all control over
the agent whom they had appointed The power would
in that be The delegation OF absolute authority AS
| it is, the form of power passes ou, of the consttu
ency into the hands of the representatives at the ballot
box; not by having open communication between the
two but by bringing the actor, who Is the representa-
tive directly in front OF the men IN whose name he acts
and holding him there while he is acting This Is the
fact that constitutes the great stay and guaranty OF all
the purity of legislation. then in favor not only Of
giving to the public press this privege-f privilege 1t
will be caed-or in other words. of repeating the tax to
the amount OF i3l ,OoO which is imposed upon the
privilege of reading-l only in favor of that. sir
but in favor OF any other proposition any man may
make that will bring The people more directly home to
Dress, what do we behold1 With all this vas; means Of
communication between the people and their representa-
tives what do we behold here from year to year, Why
sir we see schemes carried out, year IN and year out
solely owing the opportunities solicitations, and fe
licitatons of half dozen of this Capitol. who can
obtain act of legislation which the whole farming Iopu
81 a.; phf in lpy
illustration because | am dealing in facts And
shall use ii in connexon with this subject, because 1t
connects itself with the subject And not only
with regard 10 this class of subjects. but it is with
gard to every subject involving the moneyed action OF
this government whether in collecting dsbursing.
This measure proposition has been opposed on the
gfound of expense. Now, sir wish go into this
matter of expense in connexion with tins other subject
told you, sir, that because had the exclusive power
it was made duty to establish post offices and post
roads And we have acted upon that consideration
The United States never would have established one
post office mail road had it not been the duty OF
the United States to do it because the argument would
have arisen Immediately, why should The United States
carry the letters Of men, and not carry their Bacon pork
or -FOUR Why should they become, the common car.
riers of the letters of the people, and not the
carriers of their beef and pork But the constitution cuts
that argument loose The constitution max il the duty
Ito carry letters establish post Offices and post Is but
there is thing the constitution did not make il our
duty TO do, and that is to establish mail routes beyond
the territory OF the United States and therefore beyond
its constitution. That they have not authorized to
do We are under more constitutional obligations to
carry the letters of merchants OF New York to avre in
France than TO carry their corn, pork, bacon,
flour and articles of manufacture. Yet what nave
done? We not only had constitutional obligations
upon to establish maoutes and 10 put up post Offices
in the limits of far-of and Independent counywe not
only had obligation upon to do that, sir but we
had no right to do it, hold each one of these by
which mail routes established between the United
States and any foreign power being direct violation
of the constitution of the republic and of the spirit OF
this government There many arguments in support
of that proposition, which it cannot be my way to
notice at present Another time will be propitious
But sir will notice the fact that it is the hus
of our constitutional rght-o carry the letters of mer
chants to Liverpool than II is to carry their -four Notwh
standing all this, time OF heavy tayatiOn-aye,
sir in time of war; in time of money borrowing, at a
time when Withholding appropriations for OBJ
jects that believed required them, because believed
that very time, what doing about steam
ers9
We commenced this system OF carry ing merchants
letters in 1915. 1t 1919, and Il has been little
over three years since commenced. Well, sir,
have one contract for carrying the mail between
New York and Bremen with discretion the part OF
the carrier stop Havre, where there is nothing be-
tween heaven and earth to carry but merchants letters
and probably few leading city papers There is no in
tervenng population OF million strong; sir, but
barren waste of intervening waters What do we pay
tor tfatl 100000 we 10 pay, per annum, by this
contract an amount which is eqnal TO all the dni-
mutton of the revenue by the proposition be-
fore the Senate | said the other day that | could
demonstrated demonstrate" is a word pplicabe to
moral reasonng-I could demonstrate that we could ex-
tend this privilege that have shown would reach three
millions of people without losn, money than we
pay for carrying single mall twelve times year, be-
tween New York and Havre or Bremen That is what