The Tucson citizen., 1902-07-12
OUR SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

In the course OF his most recent
nublic address. that delivered at Pits
burg on the Fourth of July President
Roosevelt referring to Attorney Gen
eral Knox, who sat on the platform
with him. said:
~ have been fortunate in being asso-
ciated with him. and | should lndeeu
think III Of myself If I had not learned
somethng from association with man
who possesses all the sturdy quallties
xnd legal attainments calculated 10
make a man distinguished In q
democracy like ours,
"A democracy like ours is phrase
that challenges attention. President
Roosevelt follows a long line of Illus
trious exampers in speaking OF our
government as a democracy A re-
public based on suffrage might be
democracy. hut to fit that designation
there would have to be something IKE
equality in the power of the Individual
voters. That Is not the case under
cur system. OHe iudA ia biN AS"~'~
populous State is the equal in the
Senate of about $40 men in the most
populous State. and something like
that disparity exists in the election Gr
President and Vice President through
the provision that gives each State an
equal number OF electors-at-l -large-or
Senatorial electors. as they are some
times called-in the electoral college.
Again. In the case of failure Of any
Presidential candidate to receive ma
1ority of the electoral vote, the election
goes to the House OF Representatives,
and each State has one vOte-Dela-
ware, Nevada, Rhode Island and Idaho
having the same power as New YORK.
Pennsylvania Ohio and Illinois. That
is what is liable TO happen once in
every four years lin a democracy like
ours"
In a democratic republic the govern
ment would be responsive to the VIII
OF a majority of the voters duly ex-
pressed through the ballot box. Moth
ing of that kind is provided for under
our system, and we believe that anti
democratic feature is one OF the best
products Of the craftsmanship that was
employed in the construction of our
fundamental law 1t has often hap
peued that the voters have decided by
a great majority against the policies
Of the party in power without effecting
any change in those policies That Is
likely to occur every two years. The
popular branch of Congress and the
Senate are often opposed in politics.
Not many years ago we had Demo
cratic Congress-both House and Sen
atc- and Republican President. I'm
a democracy like ours" President can
nnllify the will of the people with his
veto. He can also nullify the will Of
the people and the States as declared
by the House of Representatives and
the Senate. The Citizen is not OPP
posed to the veto power, but it utterly
fails to see anything democratic in that
more than monarchcal prerogative.
The chief factor or force in our gov
ernment is the Constitution Of the
United States. All the laws. national
State, Territorial or municipal, must
be in accordance with that instrument
The men who framed and adopted it
have been dead for a century. but they
still govern this republic OF $4,000 ,000
in fortyflve States. as they governed
the more perfect union" of 100000
in thirteen States. In democracy or
in a democratic republic 1t would not
be impossible for the people to amend
their fundamental laws. But 1t is
practically impossible to get two-thirds
of both Houses Of Congress and three
fourths Of the State legislatures to
agree upon any amendatory PROPOSE
ton. Is government which requires
all that preliminary in order tn
change a line Of the instrument whica
creates and controls all its officials,
and determines, in large measure,
what It's laws shall be-is such a gov.
ernment democracy? Is it demo
cratic republic?