The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-05-22
THE GENERAL WELFARE.
George Ticknor Curtis on the '1mplied Pow.
ers Of the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES that Pre-
vail as to Its General Welfare Clause
-sLiberaln and Strict Construc.

erG OF the COnStltutiOn"-ErrOfS that Pre-
vail as to Its General Welfare Clause
-'Iiberal' and Strict Construc-
lions.
"The Implied Powers of the Consti-
tuition was the title of a most able
and instructive paper read before the
law school of Georgetown university
by Hon. George Ticknor Curtis, Says
The Washington Post. The lecturer
stated that there we're two ways of
interpreting the constitution-the ''lib-
eral" and the "strict'' Interpretation.
He had found it best to disregard both
of these systems, and favored Il funda-
mental rule for interpreting what
r called the incidental or implied
powers, which he went or to explain.
'But before doing So" he said, ''let
me direct your attention to a matter
which seems almost to require some
apology for alludlng to it at all. We
hear much nowadays about the So
called general welfare clause of the
constitution. The constitution uses
the words general welfare in Just two
places, and no more. In the pream.
BILE, the promotion of the general well
fare is n of the objects enumerated,
along with five others, for which the
people of the United States ordain and
establish the constitution. The widest
and most latitudinarian construction
ist would hardly venture to tell an II
dience of intelligent Law students that
the preamble of the constitution con-
talns any grant of power. 1t simply
asserts the grand objects which the
people aim to secure by the constitu-
ton; but as to the means by which
they do secur these desirable objects
wei ustlookinto the body of the consti-
tuition and among its enumerated pow
ers. Looking into the body of the in
strument, we come upon the first
clause Of the eighth section of article
l of the constitution, which contains
the grant of the taxing power. Here
the words general welfare are used
again, and, strange to say, there are
persons who suppose that this clause
contains a grant of authority to tax in
order to promote the personal welfare
OF every man, woman, and child in the
United States. l shall merely counsel
you to analyze the clause and see how
strange this notion is. The clause
grants to the congress Il power to tax
the people for three SPECIAL purposes:
first, to pay the debts of the United
States; second, to provide for the COM
mon defense of the United States;
third, to provide for the general well
fare of the United States. In every one
of these special purposes for which the
taxing power is to be exercised 'the
United States means the political cor
porat1on known as the United States,
and not the individual inhabitants of
the country. The debts that are to be
paid are the debts of the government;
the common defense that is to be pro-
vided for is the defense of the V
ment in all those matters in which it
has duties of defense to discharge for
the whole country; the general well
fare that is 20 be provided for is the
well-being of the government in all
those matters of which it has special
c~ognizance, and in respect to which
its efficiency is a matter of concern to
the whole union. In the very next
clause, which contains the grant of
power to borrow money on the credit
of the United States, the United
States is used in the same sense,
meaning the government known as the
United States. 1t is on the credit of
the government, not on the credit of
individuals n of states, that congress
is authorized to borrow money.
SHOW look at the ~stupendous COM
munism that is wrapped up in the tax
ing power, or the snpposition that it
includes a power to tax for the promo
ton of the welfare of individuals.
There is no limit to the taxing power,
excepting that duties, imposts. and
eNcises must be uniform throughout
the United States. All the property in
the country may be taxed without
limit for the legitimate objects of tax
alton. If one of those legitimate OBJ
jccts is the welfare of individuals, or
masses, or classes, or of the whole peo-
pie, the two houses of congress and
any president, acting together, can di-
vide up all the property in the coun-
try, upon a plea that a general divide
will promote tho general welfare. Bv
this process, this government could
devour itself, and there would be moth
ing left for it to subsist upon; but it
happens that one of the great pur-
poses for which this government was
established was the protection Of prop
erty, and its constitution contains
guarantees designed for the protection
of property that are more remarkable
and efficient than any that exist under
most of the other governments in the
world. At the same time the consti-
tuition contains guarantees of personal
rights that ar as strong and efficient
rs those afforded to the rights of prop
erty. But | will detain you no longer
upon this very singular notion of the
general welfare, excepting to remark
that there are now large establish
ments in this government on which
great sums + expended every year,
and which rest on no better constitu-
tional foundation than this strange no.
ton of the general welfare clause.
Some of these establishments can no
be referred to any specific power Of
the constitution. They do not result.
by any rational rule of Interpretation,
from any n or more Of the admitted
powers of the government. There arc
other establishments which do result
from some one or more of the express
powers of the constitution. There are
systems of federal legislation which
can and there are systems which car
not be referred to some of the power.
of the constitution as implied in ant
resulting from those powers wher
measured by the true rule of intcrpre
tation. There are other systems o
legislation which flow from the fac
that the government OF the United
States is a great landed proprietor;
capacity which is to be distinguished
from its powers of p;olitical sovereignty
1 am now considering the latter, ant
1 wish to give you what l believe to b,
the true rule for interpreting Them
Mr.. Curtis then entered into a de
tailed examination of some of the OK
press powers of the constitution, ant
tn~r1o;naI H. ~,l> e. Al.