Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1896-09-16
HARMON CALLED DOWN.
If the Attorney-Ge is Right the
United states Have Become
Consolidated Sovereignty"

New York, Sept. 16.-William Hepburn
Russell, who ranks asa high authority on
constitutional law, has contributed to the
Journal of this city ss article on the re-
cent manifesto of Attorney General Har-
mon touching the right Of the president
to send troops into this several states of
the Union.
This manifesto, Mr.. Russell says, vio-
ates all the precedents set by Mr.. Har-
mons predecessors, and contravenes the
supposed rule of the administration that
"offensive partisanship" by federal Office
holders will not be permitted. It there
fore demands, he continues, immediate
consideration, analysis and reply. Mr..
Russell adds:
"If his tHarmon's) position be correct,
this is no longer IAN indestructible Union
composed of indestructible states (Chase,
chief Justice, in Texas vs., White, Wall
1851, but it has become consolidated
Sovereignty, with all power reposed in
the arbitrary will of the president and
with the federal troops at his command
for the purpose of enforcing that will in
any state, in defiance of the civil authori-
ties of the state.
aRutherford B. Hayes, discussing this
very power, said: The American flag
must wave over states, not over prov
inces.'
"Chase, chief justice, in the great case
of Texas va. White, said: But the per-
petuity and indissolubility of the Union
by no means implies the loss of distinct
and individual existence by the states, or
of the right of f.government by the
people,
"It has remained for an attorney gen
eral under Democratic national admin
istration to abandon the fundamental
tenet of the trainers of the constitution
which William Il. Seward we'll expressed
il 1865 when he said: THE states were
before the Union was.'
sour federal republic forever must ex.
ist through the combination Of these sew
eral free, self-existing, stubborn states,
and which the supreme court of the
United States crystallized into Judicial
law when Story, chief Justice, in Martin
VS.. Hunters Lessee Il Wheaton, 1861
said: 1t is perfectly clear that the SOW
ereign powers vested in the state gov
ernments by their respective constitu.
tions remain unaltered and unlmpaired
except so far as they were granted to the
government of the United States
Sand, finally, upon this point the tenth
amen dment to the constitutic.. OF the
| United States pzs4sides that The powerf
not granted to the United States by the
constitution nor prohibited by it to the
states are reserved to the states respec'
lively or to the people,
"The constitution of the state of Mas
sachusetts, mother of Republicanism and
federalism, az it has been, nevertheless
has always contained the provision: THE
people of this commonwealth have the
sole and exclusive right of governing
themselves as free, sovereign and inde'
pendent state, and do and forever here.
after shall exercise and enjoy every pow
or, jurisdiction and right which is not OF
may not hereafter be by them expressly
delegated to the United States of America
in congress assembled
After quoting at length from the con
stitution, particularly article 4, the su
preme court decisions, ETC., which fully
sustain the Democratic national platform
and Mr.. Bryan's utterances in the posi-
tion taken on the momentous question
Mr.. Russell says:
SIT was scarcely expected that the pres
ent attorney-general Of the United Statet
would com prehend the true spirit of loca
self-government which underlies the con
stitution of the United States and ami
mates our liberty loving people; but i
might have been expected that decen
regard for public opinion would have re-
quired at his hands fair and candle
statement of the law and constitution, in
stead of perversion of BOTH"