The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1903-04-23
Paper Read Before the Ch1utauqla Circle.

Paper Read Before the Oh 1utduQud Circle.
TIME RIGHT of eminent domain
is coexistent with civil gov
ernment. In other words, it
is the right which all consti-
tutional governments have reserved to
themselves, of all their domain, and
which they assert against the individu-
al owner only when it is deemed neces-
sary for the best interests of the gener-
al public. AS the life of the govern
ment depends wholly upon its power to
exercise this right, it may be we'll to
ask, What is government?
The verb "tO govern" was derived
from the old French word gouoer7aer,
and in it's oldest form was the Latin
guber7aore, word borrowed by the Ro-
mans from the Greek, and which orig
inally meant "to steer the ship" Thus
it eventually came to mean "to guide,"
@'to direct" "to commando" and from
this we have the term "ship of state"
Government, then, is managing the
affairs, or attending to such business
as affects the general welfare of all the
peOple-as, for instance, the enactment
and enforcement of laws, the building
of roads, streets and bridges, the orgaf-
izing and equiping of an army and
navy, the protecting of life and proper
ty, the building and maintaining of pub
lie institutions of learning, and so on
To do all this, requires vast expendit-
ures of money, and this money is col
iected from the people in the form of
taxes; each contributing, theoretically,
according to his ability. Here, then,
we find one way in which government
exercises the right of eminent domain.
1t annually takes from us portion of
our property and converts it tspublic
use.
No government could long exist
without this right, as it is the only way
in which it could hope to raise the
money with which to carry on the
affairs of state. Our own early history
gives us striking illustration of this
truth. The old Continental Congress
OF 1774 to 1889 had no power to levy
taxes or enforce their payment. An
eminent statesman of the time said:
1.-The Continental Congress have ex-
elusive power for the following pur-
poses, without being able to execute
one of them: They may make and
conclude treaties; but they can only
recommend the observance of them.
They may appoint ambassadors; but
they cannot defray even the expenses
of their tables. They may borrow money
on the faith of the Union; but they
cannot pay a dollar. They may coin
money; but they cannot buy an ounce
of bullion. They may make war; but
they cannot raise single soldier. In
fact they may declare everything; but
they can do nothing" And all this be-
cause they could not apply the right of
eminent domain. AS they could not
raise money by taxation, it became
necessary for them to borrow vast sums
from France and Holland. They also
issred promissory notes, but having no
way to redeem them, they soon became
practically worthless. 1t has been truly
said that one of its chief functions was
to solve the riddle of paying bills with
out spending money. This congress
was therefore, in true sense, not
sovereign body. ga government is not
government until it can impose tax
es and thus secure the funds necessary
to its existence"
Remove the right of taxation, OBJ
tanned through the right of eminent
domain, and you at once destroy the
medium through which has been sup
piled our splendid school system, our
beautiful parks and pleasant drive
ways, our wonderful bridges, our har-
Dor, river and canal improvements so
necessary to commerce. Yes, even our
great cities, whose wonderful growth
have been the envy of the world, could
not exist, owing to our inability to sup
ply the proper sanitary and commercial
requirements.
The right of taxation, then, when