The morning call., 1894-07-06
CASTING SHADOWS BEFORE.

Passing events are leading thoughtful
men to examine the applica bility of form
OF government which is over hundred
years old to the exIgencies of modern So
clety. At the time the constitution was
adopted the opinion was general that the
people could not be trusted. Accordingly
an elaborate system of checks and bal
ances was devised to restrain self-govern-
ment. A Senate was created to represent
the equal sovereignty of the States and to
guard against the impetuosity and tickle
ness of the House; Supreme Court was
established to oversee both houses Of Con-
greSs and to prevent changes caused by
gusts of passion or sudden vagaries of
opinion, and amendments in the organic
instrument were forbidden except by a
slow and tedious process. Other checks
were supplied by the organization OF State
governments and State Jurisdictions; so
that when our institutions were put to the
test by the outbreak of the civil war 1t
was found by strict constructionists that
they were incompatible with the preserva-
tion of the commonwealth.
Lincoln wisely fell back on the rule that
the law is silent when the sword is drawn.
lie ign ored provisions which stood in the
way Of the restoration of the Union. In
the book which Jefferson Davis took the
trouble to write in his seclusion he de-
votes much space to proving that Lincoln
overstepped the constitution. Nobody
denies that he overstepped the letter as a
military and political necessity to save the
country, and far from demanding retur n
to first principles after the peace. some
people are inclined to wish that Mr..
Lincoln had gone farther. There has been
since 1866 a marked growth of nationa
feeling, and a decided tendency toward d
national centralization. The disposition n
of the day Is to modify the checks and
balances which were deemed essential a
century ago. The operation of interstate
commerce laws is guilty of transferring
the control of trade and industry from the
States to the nation.
Another silent danger of which no one
has yet fathomed the ultimate bearing is
in public opinion OD immigration. Until
the war the general feeling was that 1t had
to be fostered. Of late years strong feel
Ing of antagonism has grown up against it.
Thoughtful men are beginning to ask
whether we can afford to admit to resi-
OcuCO duu SiliLobouIp ouCu pOAouus oo SOui-
pose large element of our immigrant on.
and whether system which was admir-
ably adapted for small communities is
sure to yield the best results when applied
to nation of 65, 100000 people. The su b.
ject is delicate, but no conscientious OBJ
server of current politics will deny that the
attainment of needed reforms and the
march of progress are retarded by the
necessity of securing the support of classes
which are not always the most intelligent
or the most patriotic in the community.
Sir James Brice, who with De- Tocque-
vile shares the honor Of being almost
The only foreigner who understood the
American system, said that the strength
of our institutions was derived from our
experience In self-government. There is
ground for the statement, but as the ma =
ton grows, and a diversity of interest and
temper arises, it may be a question
whether the experience is broad enough to
cover the whole field Of American politics.
Certain it Is that wise men in public life
are often deferred frsm doing that which
they believe to be right through the fear
of antagOnizjng those who are less wise
than they, and that no scheme has ever
been devised by which the latter can be
taught wisdom. Nations may live and
thrive under almost any form of govern
ment, but the life may be troubled if there
be an inherent vice at its root