Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-05-02

anarchy!" To raise four millions Of dollars
Government, and three hundred thousand
was the limit of the loan 1t could secure
from the money-lenders of Europe. Even
Washington exclaimed In despair; II see
I see one army gradually branching into
thirteen. which, instead of looking up to
Congress as the supreme controlling, power,
ing s o ON thei1 re espeS States And
later, when independence had been
won, the impotency OF the Gov
an ung o from him and the
contending against the usurpation OF Great
Britain. we may fall prey to our own folly
and disputes"
ness shot flame which illumined the COM
ing century, and kept bright the beacon
fires of liberty. The architects of consti-
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 martyrs spirit and the cru
The government of the republic by Con-
gress OF States, diplomatic convention OF
the ambassadors OF petty conmonwealths.
asunder. Threatened with civil war among
its members. insurrection and lawlessness
rife within the States, foreign commerce
ruined and internal trade paralyZed, its cur
rency worthless, its merchants bankrupt,
its farms mortgaged, its markets closed, its
labor unemployed, it was like helpless
wreck upon the ocean, tossed about by the
tides and ready to be engulfedin the storm.
Washington gave the warning and called
for action. 1t was voice accustomed to
command, but now entreating. The vet
Grams of the war and the statesmen of the
Revolution stepped to the front The
patriotism which had been misled, but had
never faltered, rose above the interests of
States and the jealousies OF Earring Con-
federates to find the basis for union. ut is
clear to me as A, B, CT said Washington,
that an extension OF Federal powers
would make us one of the most happy,
that ever Inhabited the terrestrial globe.
Without them we shall soon be
every thing which is the direct reverse. I
predict the worst consequences from half
starved. imping Government, always NOV
ing upon crutches and tottering at every
STEP" The response of the country was the
convention of 1887 at Philadelphia. The
vestibule of the temple which this jLustri-
GUS assembly erected With no successful
precedents to guide, it auspiciously worked
out the problem of Constitutional Govern
ment, and of imperial power and home
rule. supplementing each other in promot-
ing the grandeur of the Nation, and preserv-
ing the liberty of the Individual
The deliberations of great councils have
history of the world and the fate of EN-
pires; but this Congress bu1lded, upon pop
ular sovereignty, institutions broad enough
enough to fit all conditions of race
and traditions The experience of
hundred years has demonstrated
Tense against foreign foes, and for self
preservation against domestic insurrectiOn,
for imitless expansion in population and
material Development, and for steady
growth in intellectual freedom and force.
Its continuing influence upon the welfare
and destiny of the human race can only be
measured by the capacity OF man to Guilt
vate and enjoy the boundless opportunities
OF liberty and law. The eloquent character
ization of Mr.. Gladstone condenses its
merits: THE American Constitution is the
most wonderful work ever struck off at
given time by the brain and purpose of
man"
The statesmen who composed this great
Senate were equal to their trust. Their
conclusions were the results of calm debate
and wise concession. Their character and
mand the confidence of the country for the
reversal of the policy of the independence
of the State OF the power of the general
Government, which had hitherto been the
invariable practice and almost universal
opinion and for the adoption of the idea of
the Nation and its supremacy.
Towering in majesty and influence above
them all stood Washington, their President
Beside him was the venerable Franklin,
who, though eighty-one years OF age,
brought to the deliberations of the conven-
ton the unimpaired vigor and resources of
philosophy, and the largest experience of
the times. Oliver Ellsworth, afterwards
Chief Justice of the United States,
country; Robert Morris, the won
derful financier of the Revo-
luton. and Gouverneur Morris, the most
versatile genius of his period; Roger Sher-
of l,oYr of orr,in ort of SiCry,-
ers of the Declaration of Independence, and
John Rutledge, Rufus King. Elbridge Gerry,
Edmund Randolph and the Pinckneys, were
leaders of unequaled patriotism, courage,
ability and learning; while Alexander Ham
ilton and James Madison, as original think
ers and constructive statesmen, rank among
the immortal few whose opinions have for
ages guided Ministers of State and deter
mined the destinies of nations
There were no examples to follow, and the
experience of its members led part of them
to lean toward absolute centralizatlon as
the only refuge from the anarchy of the
confederation, while the rest chung to the
| sovereignty of the States, for fear that the
concentration of power would end In the
not want to surrender the advantage of
| their position, and the smaller States saw
| the danger to their existence.
At this crisis the courage and confidence
The temporizing spirit of compromise
seized the convention with the alluring
proposition of not proceeding faster than
\ the people could be educated to fol
low. The cry: Let us not waste
our labor upon conclusions which will
not be adopted, but amend and
| adjourn" was assuming startling unan-
| unity. But the supreme force and majestic
sense of Washington brought the assem-
blage to the lofty plane of it's duty and op-
portunity. He said: 1T is too probable
that no plan we propose will be adopted.
| Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be
sustained If to please the people we Offer
what we ourselves disapprove, how can we
| afterwards defend our work? Let us raise
| q standard to which the wise and honest
can repair; the event is in the hands Of God.
Freed from the limitations of its envir n
| ment, and the question of the adoption OF
| its work, the convention erected its Gov
| eminent upon the eternal foundations OF
the power OF the people. 1t discussed the
delusive theory of q compact between in.
dependent States, and derived National
power from the people of the United States
| 1t broke up the machinery of the COnfeder-
alton and put In practical operation the
| glittering generalities of the Declaration OF
Independence. From chaos came order, from
insecurity came safety, from disintegra.
| ton and civil war came law and liberty
with the principle proclaimed in the pre-
| amble of the great charter, We, the peo-
pie of the United States in order to form 6
| more perfect union, establish justice, in
sure domestic tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general wei
| fare and secure the BLESSINGS of liberty tC