Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1896-10-20

Congress, can you go, thus far and no
further, as laid down in this written doc
ument.
We named an officer to execute the
laws, called the President, comforting
upon him certain powers to execute and
carry out the provisions of Congress.
His powers were conferred and limited
by the written constitution; il had never
been done before. What then? Still a
further check in this new experiment
TO what tribunal or what umpire shall
it be referred to decide upon the question
whether Congress goes beyond its writ
ten license under this constitution of the
United States, and to what umpire shall
it be referred if the President shall go
beyond the powers conferred upon him
by this constitution of the United
States?
We had created congress independ-
ent Of the President; we had created
President independent of the con-
gress, within the powers conferred by
the written instrument. Then the faith
ers decided that another cheek was
necessary; this President and this Con-
gress, that we have set up. may go the
way of the French republic. or the
Roman republic, and of other systems
of government that have been formed;
even with n written constitution they
may agree upon n certain construction.
We will set up here tribunal, FAR re-
moved from political contest. the SUI
preme court Of the United States Tap
plause), with power to say to the public
body and the representatives of the state
and the Senate: "Thus far shall you
go in dealing with the rights OF the peo-
pie, thus far and no farther, and we
hold that you are forbidden to do these
things by this constitution of the United
States" (Applause)
thaf
occupying the office of the greatest po-
tentate on earth, with these great pow
ers conferred upon him. he may trans
gress this constitution Of the United
States, and there is no power TO inter
fere with him as it stands, except by
way of impeachment before the Senate.
and if the Senate and the President
agree. that power would be futile, SO
that we will name this great tribunal.
far away from partisan politics. far
away fIom the passions of elections, Tar
away frtm the dictation of party conven..
tions, and the decision of this tribunal
as TO what may be done. or what may
not be done, by the President or the Con-
gress Of the United States, that decision
Shall be final and binding OH all the
people of the United States. Ap-l
plause.)
Now. what have we today? In the
first place, we have this extraordinary
proposition made. We find the powers
conferred upon the President of the
United States to execute the laws of
Congress in these two things; we find
that by the law of Congress the Presi-
dent must see to it that the mails OF the
United States, the communications be-
tween our commercial people. shall he
kept open; that the mails shall go at all
hazards. (Applause.)
We find Congress providing, as be.
tween the states, that the President shall
execute the law regarding the free trans
mission of freight and merchandise from
state to state. We find this power re-
sisted, and find in the declaration of the
party platforms made at Chicago state
ment in effect that the President of the
United States cannot execute the fed
eral laws; cannot execute the power
conferred upon him by Congress and the
Constitution of the United States, except
by leave of the governor of the state
(applause), and this is declared, fellow
citzens-mark it well--this is declared
at Chicago and declared that they were
WHY. gentlemen, in 1892, John G. Cal
houn advised that a convention gather
i'm the state of South Carolina to con-
slider the question whether President
Jackson could execute the law for the
collection of tariff, this high protective
III.
the state of South Carolina. That con-
yention declared that the federal gov
eminent. through its President, had no
power to execute that federal law in that
state without the leave of the govern
ment of South Carolina.
What did Jackson do? These people
call themselves Jacksonian Democrats,
and l speak by the card. Before the
latter end of 1882, jackson ordered Gen.
Scott. then in command of the United
States armies, to establish his military
headquarters in the capital of South Car
olina. in the first place. (Applause.)
On the same day he ordered the two
most powerful ships in the American
navy to Charleston harb0r. Next he or
dered the troops of the United States
available on the Atlantic coast to con-
ccntrate within striking distance of
South Carolina. (Applause.) And he
sent word to John G.. Calhoun, not by
public proclamation, but in private--they
had been good friends before; he said:
"You tell John @. Calhoun that ifN he
persists in this reasonable advice to his
state, by the Eternal, 1 win hang him
higher than Hannah. daughter and APP
plause)