New-York tribune., 1900-08-31

simplest of men in his daily life; virginia gente
in the path of duty. but with the iron firmness
Which much more common In heneuse eee he was
Foderaiis it was often said that he was the = adyoi
to see how one % can be charged with fSyorhng bai an
bere opbt 80 be- direct Connection between that
government oil its citizens with no Srt ba
not failed to see that it the beliSysr SceTi1 N
the SG syo2fd of tne n but the
pon of system which woula "a ma dnaae aaeesnmed Sow
eFdisnty eepsnfynii iocPi GPYT but impperious 30,
II Marshall had hesitated or ine9eG issd With n conSe
ouences our experiment of constltuIlonal a 20 90
to haYe carried DESTRUCTION with it to all such ex,
periments for generations to come 90 nIsi1 path
But we should not forget that constitutions before
never Supreme in any real literal
and so gentlemen. the Constitution has marched
and OF the greatest steps 1t oce eHeF that it
the supreme and ultimate law. against which moth
ing could prevail There were men IN taS9e Who
sincerely believed the doctrine that the SupreInss
6at II yoated the Constitution was
ranted and dangerous assumption OF poweT peTids tbe
coordinate branches of tho n9f Thf
President must decide Tor hmseH sti s,'5gbich only
meant that constitutional provisions were Ou' iiei'
sounding phrases. signifying nothlng.
NATIONAL. AGAINST STATE RIGHTS.
Tho next great forward step of the Constitution
vrae NcCull0ch against Maryland. famous IN our
,TdciaI annals because It involved question apso-
ernn3ent to the governments of the States In Mar
bury against Madison the Court had heia tnat an ma
Of CONGRESS- repugnant to the Constitution IS Volo
Now came the question which, under our form OF OF
government. much more serious; Is ,Sti 2uS
statute which is repugnant 10 the feoerai C0llSA
tuition also void? -.
two questions involved
First-Has Congress power to incorporate
bank?
second.-If 1t mas can a state tax It?
Marshall opened his opinion by few sentences
what the Judge was about to decide. he sau
THE Constitution OF our country in It's most IN
conflicting powers Of the Union and of its members
marked In that Constitution are to be discussed
ence the great operations Of government. No tri-
bunal can approach such question without a deep
sense Of its importance and Of the awful RESPONSE
Gibbons against Ogden. decided in 1924 is the great
source TO which all must go who would understand
the scope and import OF the commerce clause Of
the Constitution Again, the great Chief Justice
and to strike down one of it's statutes, There is
with such duties to perform No judge ever had to
his judgments have stood every test as the firm
and convincing pronouncements of the law.
and without exaggeration it NAV bo truly declared
that John Marshall its guide its light and its
somewhat idolatrous feeling but 1 do not think It
10 excessive. When We consider what might have
been our fate if another and not he had occupied
that great seat. we may well believe that Provi-
dence watched the Republic
He interpreted the Constitution hut he intsr-
preted it in the comprehensive way which made it
a thing Of life instead of DEATH a chart Of govern
Hent instead of q collection of meaningless
phrases. No judge ever had more LOFTY idsa ~
tVo t,S once or upheld it with rmer hand Only
Gt iI our peopie-George Washington and Abraham
TANEY AND LINCOLN
n,s6 R0seT b Ta1ney who succeeded Marshall was
Learned able naien+ nttea 166 that exalted position
Eagas {ndge & But like Marshall, he had
school. Strict construction was as dear to b.m as
II @ was odIous to his predecessor But. gentlemen
our profession can never fail TO Acknowledged the
great services of Chief Justice Taney upon the
yoton to his sense of duty which always char
believe Tor professon1 wish here had Been
no No. Dred Scott case. 1t attracted much atten-
deeply that Taney's name is nseparabIy connected
tain that apart from the III us admedP TPaed TO IN man t
opinions the decision was wrong. the law then
by the entire Court, save two-McLean and Curtis
IL = dnatters e little now who was right and who
was settled forever. ~'N
mate of his judicial career, his lot was cast In
period OF angry political discussion and anxious
Chief Justice cams to him in the oFdeT Of d1ey
to administer the oath Of office to Abraham Lincoln
two men, each with different image OF our Gov
east porch of the Capitol. what strange emotions
memories and hopes crowded upon them! The ven.
cradle Chief Justice, bowed with the weight of
period was opening before the country. could only
perform the duty of his Office and silently repress
MS gloomy forebodings The President filed
with a solemn sense Of the future appealed to ali
will live forever:
I'VE not enemies but friends we must not
not bTeaf our BoSds Of may have strained it must
Ihls sad and tender language did not conceal
ana was not INTENDED TO conceal the inhexible pur
pose OF the man. He had already said in that
he
abided by il, II hold that in contemplation of
universal law and of the Constitution. the union
OF these States is perpetual 1t is not too much
10 say that in that moment the Constitution took
a distinct forward step, and the voice Of John
Marshall spoke again.
THREE GREAT AMENDMENTS.
need not. such theme recount the story ~
me var. During that memorable conflict the courts
continued 10 exercise their ordinary jurisdiction
AND II questions sometimes arose which brought
the unWecome answer, Inter arma silent leges -
no one now doubts that the essential PRINCIPLES Of
groat amendments that followed the war and
which made freedom and equality organic in onr
Jaw were the logical and Irresistible conclusion of
that great struggle
The Fourteenth Amendment perhaps In a larger
sense than its trainers realized and Certainly more
than the supreme Court at first recognized is the
great anchorage for the rights which essentially
Delong 10 cltizenshlp in a free government By the
tutn Amendment the people had protected their
I1ghts against arbitrary encroachments bv
General Government, while by the Fourteenth
against the arbitrary exercise of power by anv OF
the states. Taking them together, they are to us
What Magma Charta was and is TO the English
people, yet with this distinction that under onr
system fundamental rights are not mere ab-
stractions. Here constitutions mean what thev
Say ana every citizen may appeal to the courts