Evening star., 1898-07-08
SENATOR HOAR.s TRIBUTE,
Eloquent Defense of the United States
Supreme Court and COnstltutien

After session lasting three days, the
Virginia Bar Association. which has been
in secsicn at Newport News, Va, adjourn
ed last night to meet next summer in the
n ountains. 1t being the custom of the asso-
clation to alternate between the seaside
and mountains. A brilliant banquet mark
ed the close of the convention. which was
attended by the states leading lawyers.
The principal feature of the session yes
terday was the address delivered by Sena-
tor Hoar, which was pronounced to be a
most profound effort. He said in part:
THE duty of the American lawyer is TO
persuade the American people to submit
all grievances to the arbtrament of law
If the law be right to enforce it; if It be
Wong, to change 1t. Experience has
shown that the errors of the judicial de-
cisions require no revolution or disorder
or violence for their remedy.
The power of the Supreme Court of
the United States to declare void acts of
the national legislature which it should
deem in conflict with the Constitution.
cannot anywhere be claimed ever to have
been an undue or a dangerous restraint
on the power of self government.
when 1 declare. that the power of our
greatest tribunal to keep the legislative
power within its appointed bounds is
power in aid Of liberty, protected by the
law, has been wisely exercised from the
beginning, ard that in every case from the
beginning of the court has been right, has
done what the fraHers of the Constitution
would have done, what the people who ac-
cepted the Constitution would have Gone,
what the great Nirginians of the elder day
would have done, what Virginia herself
then and always would have done-I am
sure, l believe, of your unanimous assent,
save so far as it is TO be qualified by your
opinion in regard to single case, the in
come tax case.
We must agree that the Supreme Court
OF the United states has scrupulousiy kept
itself aloof from political controversy and
kept OH the domain which belongs TO the
political power of the country. There have
been a few persons-such persons are net
now, l think, very numerouS-wh agrec
with the opinion which Mr. Jefferson ex-
pressed under the excitement of his contro-
Yersy with Chief Justice Marshall that It
never was intended that the Supreme
Court of the United States should have
authority to declare void the attempted
exercise of legislative power on the ground
that it was in Conflict with the Constitu-
ton. But | suppose with few and rare ex-
ceptions all thoughtful students and pa
trictic Americans are glad that the Con-
sutution has 50 been interpreted, and are
glad also that the necessity for this Judi
al interposition has been so infrequent and
lat the court has been sparing and scru-
pllous in the exercise of this great power
But We need to be taught the lesson of
which the American lawyer is the best
possible teacher-that everything which is
permanent Is of slow growth l hope that
our people Will be taught this lesson by
the American bar especially in dealing
| with their Constitution. Let US hold fast
TO the substance of this wonderful struc-
ture, the like of which the world never vet
saw, and the equal of which 1t is not like
ly TO see again until the experience, not of
year. not of presidential term, not of a
single generation, but at least of a century
has demonstrated that it has failed"