Evening journal., 1896-08-28

commend themselves 20 the Judgment OF the
American people.
Supremacy of the Constitution.
They denonnce in their platform interfer-
ence by federal authorities In the local affairs
as a violation Of the constitution Of the Unit.
I'd States and crime against free institutions
Mr. Tillman, in his speech, approved this
declaration. 1t was intended to be in words
a direct condemnation Of Mr. Cleveland as
president of the United States for using the
power OF the executive to brush out OF tho
way every obstacle TO the FREQ passage of the
mail trains Of the United States and the inter
state commerce. And. my friends. whenever
our people approve the choice of president
who believes he must ask Governor Altgeld,
" any other governor Of any state, permis-
sion to enforce the laws Of the United States,
we have surrendered the victory the boys won
in 1881. Once we were told and a grave ques
ticn was raised, whether the United States
could pass its troops through Kentucky to
meet rebel army in Tennessee. My friends
this constitutional question: this division be-
tween the general and local authorities is q
plain and easy one. A disturbance which is
purely local in a state is a state affair. Tho
president cannot send troops or lend any aid
unless the legislature calls upon him for help,
or the governor il the legislature ia not in ses
Sion But when a law Of the United States
is invaded and broken il is the sworn duty of
the president to execute it, and this cOnven-
tion arraigns the president for doing what his
oath compelled him to do. Comrades OF the
great war for the Union, sons Of those who
went ont To battle that the flag might not lose
its luster, Will we consent after these years
that that doctrine that was shot to death in
the great war shall be revived and made vic
torious in civil campaignf But this assault
does not end there. The supreme court Of the
United States and the federal lower courts ara
arraigned because they used the familiar writ
OF Injunction to suppress Violence TO restrain
men from breaking the law.
] willsshow you that it was understood in
the convention and in the committee on reso
lutions that the Democratic policy was that
when the supreme court, exercising its con
stitutional power and duty, gave an interpre-
tation to a law OF the United States that was
not pleasing to congress they would increase
the number Of judges and pack the court to
get decision to please them.
The Attack on the Supreme Court.
My friends, our fathers who framed this
government divided its great powers between
three great departnents-the legislative, the
executive and the judicial 1t sought to make
these independent the one of the other, so
that neither might overshadow or destroy the
other. The supreme court, the most dignified
judicial body in the world. was appointed to
interpret the laws and the constitution, and
when that court pronounces a decree as to
the powers of congress or as to any other con-
stitutional question there is but one right
method If we disagree, and that is the method
pointed out by the constitution, to amend it
To conf orm to our views.
That is the position today. Mr.. Hill said in
his speech Of this assault upon the court nThat
provision, if it means anything, means that il
IS the duty Of congress to reconstruct the SUI
preme court Of the country. 1t means"-and
now note his words-ftand it was openly avow-
ed that it means the adding Of additional
members to IL or the turning out OF office and
reconstructing the whole court. will not fol-
low any such revolutionary step as that.
You are to answer, them my fellow citizens,
in all the gravity OF a great crisis, whether
you will sustain $ party that proposes TO de-
stroy the balance which our fathers instituted
IN our system OF governments and wherever a
tumultuous congress disagrees with the SUI
preme court and a subservient president is in
the White House, that the Judgment Of the
court shall be reconsidered and reversed by
increasing the number of judges and packing
the court with men who will decide as con
gress wants them to.
cannot exaggerate the gravity and the i'm
portance and the danger of this assault upon
our constitutional form OF government One
Of the kindest and most discriminating critics
1 who ever wrote with a foreign pen about
| American affairs, Mr.. Bryce, in his American
Commonwealth" pointed out this danger that
| the constitution did not fix the number OF the
| supreme court judges, and it was possible for
a reckless congress and reckless executive to
subordinate and practically destroy the SUI
preme court by the process / have Just de-
| scribed, and ths Englishman, after speaking Of
this, says "What prevents such assaults on the
fundamental lawf Nothing but the fear Of the
people, whose broad good sense and attach
ment to the principles Of the constitution may
be generally relied on to condemn such per-
version Of its powers" Our English friend
did not misiudge, think, the sound good
sense OF the American people when an issue
like this is to be presented. Whatever the
question is, whether Mr.. Bryan's view Of the
constitutional question shall prevail, or that
OF the august tribunal appointed by the con-
sttution to settle It, the courts are the de-
fense of the weak. The rich and powerful
have other resources, but the poor have not.
The high minded, Independent judiciary that
will hold to the line in questions between
wealth and labor, between the rich and the
poor, is the defense and security Of the de-
fenseless.
The Business Depression.
do not believe there has ever been time
except perhaps in the very heat Of some active
panic, when universal business fear and anx.
/ iety and watchfulness, even TO the point Of
desperation, has characterized this great me-
/ tropolis as it does today. Men have been afraid
/ to 80 away for a vacation They have felt that
/ they must every day in this burning heat
come into the city and watch their business.
i That is the situation. What has Brought it
about? Gentlemen, who is there to defond the
/ Wilson tariff billf Who says 1t is a good tariff
/ measured
don't believe a Democrat can be found TO
say that It is. Mr. Cleveland repudiated IL.
/ It was so bad that he would not attach his
1 official signature to it, and il became a law
without it. What has been the result Of that
measurel The old Democratic doctrine used
L to be that the burden Of our public expenses
should be laid upon importations that the tar
/ if should provide for the cost Of running our
| government, but our Democratic friends left
that platform and endeavored to obtain rev
nue. by internal taxation rather than to allow
the support Of the government Of the United
States to be maintained upon the importations
Of foreign goods. What has been the result2
One VI these experiments in internal taxation,
the income tax was held to be unconstitution-
| al BY the supreme court. So eager were our
Democratic friends TO relieve their embarrass
ment and to put directly upon our people, ac-
cording to the English system, tax to sup
port our government, that they passed an un-