The Butler weekly times., 1897-11-18
OeArmond Discusses Modern
Legislation.

Congressman DeArmOnd Sees in
the Limitless Powers Given TO
Corporations, in the Monarch
cal Life Tenure of the judiciary
and in Spurious Civil Service
Reform a Departure From the
Institutions of the Founders OF
this Government.
Congressman D A DeArmond, in
the Illustrated American, Oct 30.
The main purpose Of the found
ers 10 establishing this government
of ours was to insure to themselves
and to their posterity the possession
and enjoyment of civic and religious
liberty. They proceeded upon the
theory that the people are the real
source of power, and that those who,
from time to time, administer the
government, should be servants, not
masters. They repudiated the doc
trine of divine rights of Kings, and
proclaimed the divine right of the
people. They ts.ayed to build an
empire Of people, wherein the power
exercised by the governors should
be derived, in fact as we'll as in the
ory, from the consent OF the govern
ed
TIE wise founders did not attempt
to anticipate in detail the various
phases Of national life, as the years
and centuries might disclose them.
But they were careful to trace in
the constitution the strong line OF
enduring principles. trusting to
those who came after them to apply
those principles, in the light OF the
future, SO as ever to preserve the lib
critics of the people, by maintaining
unimpaired the peoples control ovel
the peoples own government.
The slges and heroes of the Dsc
laration of Independence, the revolu
ton and the constitution knew vel
enough how free governments had
been overthrown.
It would accordingly be idle te
doubt that they tried to put int
their constitution ample power tt
withstand such evil agencies as hat
destroyed the popular governments
of the past, upon whose wrecks the,
looked when planning the new gov
ernment for the American people
Partially in and under the law, b.
which wealth aud power centered il
the hands of the few, while burden
and wrongs became the growing
portion of many-that had brough
the death
Thus the masses were driven
through suffering and despair. t.
the destruction of what of good re
mained, that, in the chaos of univer
sal ruin, the intolerable evils of cor
rupt and tyrannical governmen
might perish.
II our government has kept tru
to the purposes Of its founders,
has continued in the control of tn
masses; has successfully resisted th
assaults of the selfish aud unpatrioi
ic classes, who would take from tn
many for the benefit of the few.
The question is not how our 60,
ernment compares to-day with th
governments fashioned upon th
theory that the few are born to rul
and the many to serve But as W
have grown greatly in population
extent OF territory and wealth, hav
We followed closely the model {
the founders, enlarging the structur
without abandoning anything fund,
mental or introducing anything a,
tagonistic! The world may be be
ter now than it was a hundred year
ago,msrvelous advancement has bee
made in the arts and sciences. B,
have the people of the United State
received their full share of the ric
harvest of the century, If SO, tt
government thus far may ha,
acbisved the sublime purpose of IL
founders.
Tpon the othsr hand. csn X !