The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-18
WANT TO TRY TT AGAIN.

such a generation in the public mind
that no paternaiist has dared openly
to assail that provision that gives to
congress the regulation of commerce
between the states and prohibits the
latter from levying imposts. But if they
very obnoxious provisions that prevent
the local application of the fostering
and shielding policy paternalists are
always FESTIVE under them and lose no
opportunity to avoid them. We have
had repeated instances of state legis-
latures attempting to get by indirection
what they could not get directly and,
under the excuse of the police power
| expansible thing, they have succeeded
| in some cases in lodging the constitu-
ton.
! We had one illustration some years
ago, when sundry entirely public spirit
ed gentlemen, with a thrifty turn, fam
cied that there would be money in
packing meats in Minnesota, IL some
other equally public spirited and
thrifty persons, but non-residents,
could only be kept from sending their
meats, dressed or packed, into our mar
kets. Cudgeling their brains for the
means whereby the uitlanders could be
Kept 'uit,' they hit upon the police
power of the state as affording an am
pie and dependable means. Whereupon
the legislature was invoked to apply
this vigorous arm of the state to the
upbuilding, fostering, promoting and
SO on, of the meat packing bushes con-
templated by the purely patriotic gen
tlemen referred to- The dear meat
eating public were suddenly advised of
the unhealthfulness of the meats upon.
which they had been feeding for years.
enjoying meantime their usual good
health and happily unsuspicious of the
dangers they had escaped Then the
poor farmer was worked and his guile,
1essness played upon. He, too, had
been the victim of the rascally uitland-
ers, who had paid him less for his
beeves and swine and sheep than they
were worth, piece of rascality from
which he would be relieved if only his
| representatives in the legislature would
sustain the laudable efforts of the local
humanitarians
And so the famous inspection on the
hoof" act was passed, and meat con-
sumers We're dismayed to find their
butchers bills growing RAPIDLY in snite
of the assurance that inspection on the
hoof would not make any difference in
the price, but would, as usual. gin
time" reduce it. And the philanthropic
| gentlemen rubbed their hands gleefully
| and congratulated themselves that the
| men who built the federal constitution
never knew anything about or dreamed
! OF such thing as the police power of
the states. Then came trouble thick
and fast. The law had barely got into
| operation, inspectors, elected to wis
dom.' as one bright editor put it, had
hardly received their certificates and
/ 40 -1 A1ASkSSIAiA6 pCLOIC TIE act got lnCO
court and kept on going In and out of
courts until it had been hauled into and
kicked out Of every court from the mu
| nicipal court OF Saltwater to the Sill
preme court of the United States. And
when the kicking operation was all
over there wasn't a breath of life in
the poor old act
And now comes another set Of pater-
nalists, scorning the proverb about
burnt children dreading the fire, who
propose to go over the same old process
/ again foget the same old end of build
! ing. up something or somebody which.
translated into the language of fact
out of the vagaries of sentiment, means
making somebody richer by making all
pay something more for their meats
And the same old set of paternalists in
the press are repeating the same old
yarns, and the legislature will go over
the same old road, for that is what IT
/ is there for, and there will be another
/ kicking bee, and, in the end, another
kicked and bedraggled, limp and life
less bit of paternal constitution-dodg-
ing will be laid away among the fulfil
tiles that have assaulted that venerable
and invulnerable old constitution.