Wichita eagle., 1889-05-01


scribed their Names this mockery of feal
| and the penalt es of treason.
| The grand central idea of the Declare
ton of Independence was the sovereignty
of the people. 1t relied for original power
not upon states or colonies or their cltl
zens as such, but recognized as the author
| ity for nationality the revolutionary rights
of the people of the United States. Il
stated with marvellous clearness the en-
croachments upon liberties which threat.
! ened their suppression and justified
revolt, but it was inspired by the very
genius of freedom. and the prophetic pos.
! sibilitieS of united commemorative cover
! ing the continent in one harmonious re-
| public, when it made the people of the
| thirteen colonies all Americans, and de
| volved upon them to administer by them
selves. and for themselves, all the prerog-
atives and powers wrested from crown
and parliament. 1t condensed magma
charter, the petition of rights, the great
body of English liberties embodied in the
common law and accumulated in the de-
cisions of the courts the statutes of the
realm, and an undisputed though
unwritten constitution; but this original
principle and dynamic force Of the peoples
power sprang from these old seeds planted
in the virgin soil of the New World.
More clearly than any statesman of the
period did Thomas Jefferson divine the
possibilities of civil. government He
caught and crystalized the spirit of free
Singularly free from the power Of prece-
dents or the chains of prejudice He had
an unquestioning and abiding faith in the
people, which was accepted by but few of
his compatriots. Upon his famous
axiom of the equality of all
men before the law, he constructed
his system 1t was the trip-hammer
essential for the emergency to break the
links binding the colonies to imperial
authority and to pulverize the privileges
of caste. 1t inspired him to write the
Declaration of Independence, and per-
suaded him to doubt the wisdom of the
powers concentrated in the constitution.
In his passionate love of liberty he became
intensely jealous of authority. He de-
stroyed the substance of royal prerogative,
but never emerged from its shadow. He
popular rights, and the barriers
against civilization, and he saw
in the growing power of the nation ever
increasing encroachmentS upon the rights
of the people. For the success of the pure
Democracy which must precede presidents
and cabinets and congresses, it was per-
haps providential that its apostle never
believed great people could grant and
still retain, could give and at will reclaim;
could delegate and yet firmly hold the
authority which ultimately created the
power of their Republic and enlarged the
scope of their own liberty.
Where this master mind halted, all stood
still. The necessity for d permanent I'm
ion was apparent, but each state must
have hold upon the bowstring which en-
ciicled it's throat. 1t was admitted h tt
union gave the machinery required to sue
csssfully fight the common enemy, but vet
faor hut II f11iCrbt haoor,,o
Frankenstein and destroy its creators.
Thus patriotism and fear,
difficulties OF communication be-
tween distant communities, and
the intense growth of provincial
pride and interests, led this congress to
frame the articles of confederation. hap
PLY termed the league of friendship. The
result was not government. but ghost.
By this scheme the American people were
ignored and the declaration of independ-
ence reversed. The states. by their legis-
latures, elected delegates to con-
gress, and the delegate repre-
sented the sovereignty of his common
wealth. All the states had an equal voice
without regard to their size or population.
1t required the vote of nine states to pass
any bill, and five could block the wheels
of government. Congress had none of the
powers essential to sovereignty. 1t could
neither levy taxes nor impose duties nor
collect excise. For the support of the
army and navy, for the purpose of war, for
the preservation of its own func-
tions it could call upon the states.
but it possessed no power to enforce its
demands. 1t had 70 president or execu-
tive authority. no supreme court with
general jurisdiction, and no national
power. Each of the thirteen states had
seaports and levied discriminating duties
against the others, and could also tax and
thus prohibit interstate commerce across
its territory. Had the confederation been
a union instead of a league it could have
raised and equipped three times the
number of men contributed by reluctant
states, and conquered independence with
out foreign assistance. This DAralYZed
government, without strength, because IL
could not enforce its DEGREES; without
credit, because it could pied ge nothing for
the payment of its debts; without respect,
because without inherent authority;
would, by its feeble life and early
death, have added another to the
historic tragedies which have in many
lands marked the suppression of free
dom, had it not been saved by the intelli-
gent, inherited and invincible under
standing of liberty by the people, and the
genius and patriotism of their leaders.
But, while the perils"of war had given
strength to the confederation,
peace developed its fatal weakness. 1t de-
rived no authority from the people, and
could not appeal to them, Anarchy threat
ened its existence at home and contempt
met its representatives abroad. Can
you fulfill or enforce the OBJ
legations of the treaty on YOUR
part if we sign one with yous" was the
sneer of the courts of the Old World to
our ambassadors. Some states gave
halt hearted support to its demands; 9TH
ers defied them The loss of public credit
was speedily followed by bankruptcy.
The widest phantaseis assumed the force
of serious measures for the relief
of the general distress. States pass
ed exclusive and hostile laws against each
other, and riot and disorder threat
ened the disintegration of society. Our
stock is stolen, our houses are plundered,
our farms are raided," cried delegate in
the Massachusetts convention; ''deSpotism
is better than anarchyf To raise 81. O0O,-
0G0 a year was beyond the resources of
the government, and $500. 600 was the limit
of the loan it could secure from the money
lenders of Europe, Even Washington ex-
claimed In despair: Il see one head grad
ually changing into thirteen; | see one
army gradually branching into til irteen:
which, instead of looking up to congress
as the supreme controlling power, are
themselves as dependent on
their respective states" And later. when
independence had been won, the impotency
of the government wrung from him the
exclamation: After gloriously and sue
cessfully contending against the usurpa-
ton of Great Britain, we may fall
prey TO our own folly and disputes
But even through the Zimmerman dark
ness shot flame which illumined the
coming century, and kept bright the bea-
con fires of liberty. The architects of con-
freedom formed their inStitu-
tons with wisdom which forecasted the
future. They may not have understood
at first the whole truth. but. for that which
they knew, they had the mar