The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1895-08-23
THE CONSTITUTION.
Fhs People sho2s1 Arise In Their Mig
and Remodel and Reconstruct 1t.

cision, which appears in the May Maya
zine, is sensible and to the point. You
say: "If the constitution is to be a
cloak under which landlords are to be
sheltered, the time has come for the
tenants and home owners to change
the constitution" This is true, and
the necessity for action in this direc-
ton admits of no qualification what
ever. There is no ''if' about the mat
ter at all; not only landlords, but
privilege mongers of all description,
whose only aim is to rob the laborer
OF the results of his toll, have found
shelter behind the imp-egnab!e bull
warks of the constitution: the instru-
ment which was created by our fathers
for the protection of the liberties of
the people has been interpreted by our
court of irresponsible judges on the
supreme bench always SO as to preserve
intact the privileges of the few and
visit tyranny and oppression on the
mass of the people; and the time has
come when, if we would preserve our
liberties and make this country the
abiding place of freedom for future
generations, the constitution must be
altered so radically that its own
authors, if they were on earth
to-day, would be unable to recog
niZe it. 1t needs to be overha uled
from top to bottom, and brought into
harmony with twentieth century ideals
of democracy. The political theory
which permits the laws enacted by the
representatives of the people to be
overturned whenever. in the opinion
merely of five irresponsible persons
called justices of the supreme court,
they fail to harmonize with the pro-
visions of an instrument created for
the government of four millions of peo-
pie scattered principally along the
Atlantic seaboard, in the days when
the railroad, the steamboat, the tele-
graph, and telephone, the electric
light and the electric railway, and,
what is more important still, the
syndicate, the industrial corporation
and the trusts were unknown; when it
took the traveller longer to go from
New York to Charleston than it now
takes to go from Portland. Me-, to
Portland, Ore: when the localisms of
the people were pronounced and their
interests diversed; when all concep-
tions of life and all social conditions
were SO totally different from what
they are at present-that theory is not
a sound one for this day and age, from
the standpoint of democracy. What
have we in common with the founders
of this republic, except our desire for
liberty? Why should we consent to
govern our social relations after ideas
and methods laid down more than a
century ago, by persons who,
however wise and patriotic
they might have been. could
not possibly have had the
slightest conception of our needs? The
theory is SO farcical one that the won
der is that an intelligent people has SO
long given adherence to it. do not
hesitate to express my belief that the
people shall never be able to secure
such legislation as they demand, bear
ing on the momentous social problems
of the day, until this theory is aban
doned, to be replaced by one more ra-
tional. AS long as our lawmakers con-
fine their legislative energies to the
regulation of petty details of govern
mental administration, the spoils of
Office, the giving away of the peoples
money through grants of bounties,
dicates, corporations and trusts, there
is nothing said about constitutionalism
or lack of authority, and the laws are
not called in question. But let a law
be enacted that is clearly in the inter
ests of the masses, one which inter-
feres with vested rights and cuts down
the privileges of the rich and power
full, and there is at once howl about
the unconstitutionality of such legis-
lation, the incompetence of the peo-
Piles representatives to pass such laws;
the host of privilege mOngers hasten to
bring the matter to the attention of
our sapient and all but omnipotent SUI
preme judges for the purpose of secur-
ing their opinion as to what George
Washington and his compatriots would
think about the matter if they were
alive; and it rarely happens that these
sapient authorities do not come to the
conclusion that our revolutionary
fathers never intended to invest the
peoples representatives with power
sufficient to make such laws, when
absurd spectacle!-the law becomes at
once as ineffective as though it had
never been enacted.
These Dogberrys on our supreme
bench pretend to tell US the intention
of our constitution makers concerning
the solution of questions about which
they could have had no more concep-
ton than the average man has of the
attributes of the Deity; and once they
have delivered their opinion, we,
moved by the same superstitious rever-
ence for the unknowable and the abb
surd which animated our idol-worship-
ing ancestors, bow our necks to the
yoke in humble reverence at the words
of our idol, saying: ut is kismet; our
god has spoken his mind to his chill
dren; let us not disobey the will of our
god" The Greeks had their Delphic
oracle which, for a consideration, in
terpreted the wishes of the gods con-
corning the temporal affairs of men.
The Americans have their supreme
court which, for q consideration inter
prets the wishes of their god concern
ing the conduct of temporal affairs
We ridicule the absurd idea of the
Greeks, but wherein is our own idea
anv the less ridiculous? In the lam
.guage of a modern classic: You pays
your money, and you takes your
choice
We are told that we must abide by
the intention of our fathers with re-
spect to the conduct OF our govern
mental affairs. Very good. We find
that the Third congress passed the fol-