The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1869-04-08
Congressional DespOtism.

great under a ground swell,
so to speak, of movement in the worlds
affairs. But it is generally unrecogni-
zed, except in some conspicuous in
stances where sharp outlines are
thrown against tn, past so wildly as
to attract universal attention. Thus,
we have abolished slavery, and all the
world knows it. But we have also
been at work abolishing the historic
cabinet, and this the world does not
generally know:
The fact that congress has been ad.
ministering this government the past
three or four years, in substantial indie
pendence of the executive, marks our
course toward new methods of political
development. This tendency to the
limitation of executive authority is es-
pecially worthy of philosophic observa-
ton. Under our present national con-
stitution, two thirds of congress make
the laws, and, by means of the power
to impeach, they may create agencies
to execute them. The taste of this
process is still fresh in the mouth, and
it is not disagreeable to those whose
palates it has tickled. How long will
it be before the idea will be advocated
that it may be better to have this
power intrusted to a majority than to
require two-thirds for its exercise? Is
not the concurrent judgment of two
large and experienced legislative bod
les safe test of political action? Is
not-so people will reason-the veto
power a relic of past ideas and practi-
ces which we can afford to dispense
with?
The first step IL the work Of enlarg-
ing the legislative authority in the
government is to belittle the influence
of the executive as it is also the first
step toward the constitutional change
which shall finally extinguish that
branch.
1t is therefore in congress rather
than elsewhere that We place our hopes
for a successful future. That is the
great power now, and the still greater
looming power in the time to come.
we must look there for the lntellec tual
forces which in after days are to guide
the republic. Where the predominance
of experience and of brain is, there we
must necessarily expect to find the in
itiative, as we'll as the controlling en-
ergy of the government; and if in the
progress of events the various depart
ments are to fade into bureaus, and
become clerkly establishments merely
it will be for congress to inspire their
administration, to dictate their meth
DDS, and to control their action.
The Herald says: Gall the free
governments that ever fonrished be-
came tyranuics, and fell in exactly the
same way. History is monotonous
with the story of the ruin of nations
by the same events in the same order.
Always the motive power is minority
Of plotting politicians. They study
frs. to secure to themselves the plum.
der and spoil Of the nationrl wealth
They can only succeed in this by get.
ting power, and they cannot get power
so long as those constitutional forms
are intact by which power belongs to
the majority. Down goes the consti
tuition, therefore, crippled at first by g
restriction at one point, an addition al
another, and overlaid by changes Of
every sort But the most important
change is that the executive is always
reduced to nullity. In free gov
ernment, especially federal govern
ment, the executive is the only direct
expression there is of the majority oil
the whole people. He represents the
popular unity, while all other represen
tation is Of parts. He is the keystone
of an arch. He is the will of the ma
on,-its initiative. And if a nation
is to be really vital among nations
to be respected, strong and free,--the
only theory of government upon which
it can stand is that the executive is the
government, and all other parts arc
but safeguards to prevent tyrrany
This is the reverse Of what the oil.
garchs say.-they holding that a con
gress is the government, and the ex
ecutivo the fuactionary of congress
Pursuing this idea. tho ambitious mi
nority always works upon the fears oil
the people by representing the execr
tive as aiming at tyranny, and thu