Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-02-14
Csnstisntionsi Notes.

:
Howard's speech on regulating rail-
way corporations, delivered in the
Constitutional Convention on Nov.
2s, 1878, which has reached us in
pamphlet form. 1t is hardly neces-
sary to say thatit is crisp, succulent
reading, supported by a wealth of
verbal and logical resources of
which few men in this State can
boast. Long ago we settled upon
It In our mind that Gen. Howard
was the best talker in this section
and, IL we had wavered in our be.
lief. the speech in question would
have confirmed our idea. In read
ing It we are conscious of the fact
that 1t probably isnot u tithe as
good as when spoken. General
Howard's efforts are in the main
extempore, adaptedto the demands
Of swaying an audience rather than
to the niceties of published ora
tIon. With our knowledge of the
man, the remark of Charles James
Fox comes perfectly into play. The
speech of noted Briton came
up In discussion, "Does it read
we'll ?n asked Fox. eyes," replied
his interlocutor. "Then," said
Fox, lit was bad speech" The
oratorical effort of our distinguished
Angelefio Is characterized by the
Interruptions, the repetitions and
the vehemence which must have
contributed, when such an electric
orator as Howard is in question, to
make 1t thrilling and effective
speech, while slightly marring it in
the reading. When General How
ard is at his best he is supremely
good when be is at his worst we
are tempted to wonder if he is the
same man. We are decidedly Of
the opinion that he was at his best
when this speech was delivered.
It Is plea for the people, and it is
delivered with the authority of a
tribune. There are some people so
N-Absolutely circumscrIbed in brain
that they have regarded the HER
AID as railway organ. Instead,
we have simply run newspaper in
the Interest of the section in which
we live, with a perfect perception
OF the fact that Los Angeles is mol
necessarily a tender to San Diego
and that the Texas Pacific scheme
as interpreted by Scott
would fail in any event. Year ha.
rolled upon year, approving the
perfect sagacity of our position
We get no credit for judgment
which will be approved month by
month as time rolls on, and the
only profitable incident attending
our being uniformly right is the
winning of numerous personal bets
with enthusiasts of the Texas-Pa.
cific school. When the time comes
when the doctrine that railways
are the servitors, and should be
the ready and deferential servitors
of the people, can be asserted with
a chance of success, we shall be
thoroughly and heartily on that
side, without any disabling attend
ants of devotion to Tom Scott, the
champion monopolist of the age.
The great danger with gentlemen
like Gen. Howard is that they will
make their schemes of protection
Of the people and repression of the
railways so radical that, like that
"vaulting ambition which o'erleaps
itself and falls % the other side,'
nothing will come of q wholesome
movement which will have spent
itself In strained and spasmodic
efforts, that will react like the fa-
nous boomerang. We are honest
In our purpose to say nothing de-
cisive as to the merits of the new
Constitution until we shall have
had an opportunity to know what
Its scope is. Thus far, however, it
has been tossed, as in O. game of
shuttlecock and battledore, between
the Committee Of the Whole and
the Convention as a revising body,
And nobody knows exactly what we
may expect from it. Collecting our
fragmentary recollections of the in
choate instrument, however, we
should judge that it will contain
many sweeping provisions which
the people would hardly care to
have shackle them for years and
years, in their organic law, after
the controversies Of the present
hour shall have been forgotten.
We are heartily with Gen. Howard
on the old English common law
doctrine that the King or the State
has the right to absolutely regu-
late corporations-Ihe creature of
one or the other-but we have some
doubts about many of the projects
Of regulating railways outlined in
debates which have been prolonged
far beyond the date at which the
letter of the law calling the Conven-
ton, and the voice of public opin-
lon, would have stopped them.
Ths Isnpuise OF Poustcsi Murder.