The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-08

ciety a vast amount of human weak
ness and meanness and reckless selfish
ness. The account appeared not mere
ly in the general and humiliating un-
willingness to pay the really slight cost
of our national independence and in the
shameful neglect of the suffering army
in army mutiny ard in plans for a
military dictatorship, but also in Shay S
rebellion against the collection of debts
and in the subsequent whisky rebellion
and Fries rebellion to prevent slight
federal taxation. If the revolution was
to be proven worth the while the new
republic must subdue at once the an
archie turbulence and reputation in
which its stormy birth had educated a
generation. This is the real meaning
of the struggle for a new constitution.
The contest lasts through the orsani-
cation Of the new government in WASH
ington's administration. and the hero
of the twelve critical years. the victor
ious leader OF the forces of order and
honesty is Alexander Hamilton. Until
this time, however brilliant his services,
stands forth for his real life work. a
statesman-apostle of energy and
union.
1t is true that his aristocratic and
monarchic tendencies, his distrust of
the people. intensified now by his con-
hict with popular prejudices, were
wholly wrong for America, and his
party. which shared them. was soon
properly punished by annihila'ion. But
his demand for strong government and
for national unity was wholly right,
and was az indispensable to our Ameri-
ca as Jefferson's democracy was to be.
We could have spared neither of these
great antagonists each of whom con-
tributod fundamental principles to our
national life.
Hamilton's brief congressional expe-
rience was followed by his courageous
struggle IN New York against the cruel
and foolish persecution of the old 10y
alists-in the course of which a club of
opponents in a newspaper controversy
complimented him by a proposed plan
to kill him off by successfully challeng
ing him to duels--and then by the open
ing of the contest for constituent
convention.
The plan, so natural to us. was novel
enough then. AS early as 1880. in pri-
vate letter, Hamilton had suggested a
rational convention to form new con-
stitution-even before the articles of
confederation had been ratified-and in
i7S3 at his suggestion. the New York
legislature recommended the plan to
congress. Wher Virginia finally secur-
ed the germ of a convention at Annap-
oils in 1856 Hamilton was delegate
from New York. one of the five states
and he drew the address OF
this meeting to congress and to the
states which did result in the great
philadelphia convention the next year.
Intimately connected as Hamilton's
name is with the constitution he took
little part in the convention. The vote
of his colleague from his state was
against any effective union, and he
himself on the other hand. desired II
more aristocratic and consolidated plan
than there was any chance of getting
adopted. In his one great speech he
advocated as his own ideal a president
and senate for life and the reduction of
the states to provinces by making the
governors appointees of the central
and by placing in them an
absolute veto upon all state legislation.
However unable to get what he want
ed. like a practical statesman. he took
without sulking what he could get. and
threw all his marvellous energy into the
contest for ratification The. debt to
him is for first securing from the New
York legislature a most reluctant rep
at Philadelphia at all. and
then for his desperate victory in Sthe
ratifying state convention
Organization of the Government.
The critical questions before the new
government were those of national
credit and finance. With his in.s-in>1.s !
insight Hamilton had seized upon their
coming Importance even during the
and had already studied and
written much upon them. Fifty now,
called him to the head OF
the treasury. which he easily made RI
leading position in the government. The
story OF his work Here would be a his
tory of Washington's presidency. The
striking figure 50 justly applied to him
He smote the rock of national re-
sources and abundant streams of rev.