The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-09-12
A More Serious Matter, in His Jndsmon''
Than the "NIoney Question or Any other
Ouestiou Now Before the People oil tho
United States."

posed to which they can possibly apply,
these protests were intended and are un.
,derstood to be directed against the recent
action of the president in forclbly sup
pressing riotous disorders which had
stopped the carriage Of the mails and In
terstate commerce and were detying the
civil officers of the United States
The president took this action not only
without the request, but in some instances
against the protest of the authorities Of
the state in which the riots occurred, and
Mr.. Bryan, taking Section of Article Nv
OF the constitution to be law on the sub
ject, pledges himself against any rcpcti-
ton of the violation thereof, which his let
ter necessarily charges He yindicates tho
wisdom of the trainers Of the constitution
by declaring that tho local authorities
''are better qualified than the president to
Judge of the necessity for federal assist
nnce."
t. This, in my judgment, IS far more seri-
ous matter than the money question or
any of the other question before tho peo-
pie, grave as they all are Our form of
government may survivoa wrong decision
Of those questions, and the people may
endure for time the evils which result
from false systems of finance and taxa
bon, but if tho president has deliberately
disregarded tho instrument upon which
the Union is founded by supplanting the
authority of sovereign state by armed
force, a precedent has been made which
threatens our form Of government, while,
II a candidate for president may properly
pledge himself in advance, rs Mr.. Bryan
f.na = l. / II 81.
property, maintain the authority and en-
force the laws of the United States unless
and until the officers of another govern
nent request or consent, then we really
have no federal government; for a govern
ment which is not entirely free to use
force to protect and maintain itself in the
discharge of its proper functions is NO
government at all.
The section of the constitution to which
Mr.. Bryan refors is as follows:
"The United States shall guarantee to
every state in this Union republican
form Of government and shall protect
each of them against. invasion, and, on mp
plication of the legislature, or of the exec
utive (when the legislature cannot be con-
veped), against domestic violence
; This section plainly refers merely to tho
protection Of the states against interfer-
once with their authority, laws or prop
srty by domestic violence, and they nre
wisely made the same Judges whether and
when they need such protection Mr.
Bryan botrays a consciousness of the lin
ited operation Of this prov ision in tho OK.
preston federal assistance in the clause
1bave quoted.
BY the express terms Of the constitu-
Gion state has nothing to do with the
maintenance of the authority or the OK
ecution of the laws of the United States
within the territory of the state. The pro-
yention and puniisanlent Of offenses con.
nectcdl H1th the maih,with interstate COM
merce and with the administration of
Justice i9 the federal courts, are committed
Is The general government, and to 1t alone.
Such offenses in no wise menace the gov
prnment Of the state within which they
are committed. Therefore the state can.
not require protection against them. The
state has no duties to discharge in those
matters. Therefore it can require no fed
sral assistance" with respect to them.
OF course domestic violence often, as In
the recent riots, is directed against both
state and federal authority indlscrlmi-
nately, so that either or both may sup.
press it. And in such cases the action Of
each In maintaining It's authority over
the subjects commuted to 1t tends to aid
the other. But in such cases each is act
Ing in its own independent right as u SOW.
erelgn government, aud on its own be-
half. 1t would be as absurd to claim that
che United States must neglect It's own
interests. because In protecting them those
Of state may be incidentally protected.
as to claim that state must lot riot run
free because ID happens to be directed
against federal rights or officers as we'll
as It's own. This would limit and belittle
the sovereignty Of both governments
According to Mr. Bryan there is some.
where implied In the constitution, for it is
nowhere expressed, prohibition Of the
use of force by the United States against
persons who, within the limits OF state,
may be successfully resisting its officers
and completely paralyzing all its opera
tions rs government unless the local
authorities shall first make request OF
give consent
This is contrary to the settled principle
that, while the federal government is one
whose operation is confined to certain
subjects it has, as to those subjects, all
the attributes OF sovereignty, and one Of
these Is always and everywhere, within
the territory Of the states which compose
II, to suppress and punish those who In
any wise Interfere with tho exercise Of its
lawful powers. Tho fact that there are
within that territory other governments
exercising sovereignty over all matters
not so committed to it can make no diff
ference under our double form of govern.
ment, the essential principle of which Is
partition Of powers to bo exercised inds.
pendently over the same territory.
This sovereignty right of tAs uDitaat.
stat5s necessarily follows it. officers and
agents every here they 60 protecting and
maintaining them in the discharge OF their
duties. Congress has accordingly, by 500.
tlon 6,297 of tho revised statutes, author
izod the presidents to use the armed forces
Of tho government ip aid Of state author.
files when requested by them, as provided
IN the constitution. and has also by the
following section, $685. authorized him to
use such forces, upon his own Judgment
alone, against unlawful DISTINCTIONS
combinations or assemblages OF persons"
dn whatever state or territory thereof the
laws of the United States mny bo forcibly
opposed or the execution thereof forcibly
,obstructed
1t was under the power conferred by
the section last named that the late rebel.
aion was suppressed Mr.. Bryan's doctrine
that this law Is constitutional Is moro
dangerous than that of secession, the latter
at least left the government some power,
and the authority In the territory Of state
which should choose to romain Mr Bryans
would reduce 10 to the idle mimicy of the
stage.
1t was no more intended to make the
general government dependent upon the
statcs with respect to the matters com.
mitted to ID than to make tho states sub.
scot to the general government with re-
Spect to tho rights reserved to them As
She general government Is authorized to
naintain regular army and navy, which
che states cannot do, and as the militia OF
Of the states is subject to the direct cnll OF
ehs president, 1t was natural that thoy
should bo inado to call on it for aid against
violence, bat there was NO reason why V