The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-08-11
Take This Flag, Says De.
mOCraCy
Continued from Page Five.)

assume the authority of the other" Ii
must be confessed that in the course
OF our history executives have employ
ed powers not belonging to them:
fStatutes have been passed that were
| expressly forbidden by the Constitu.
tlon and statutes have been set aside
as unconstitutional when it was diff.
cult TO point out the provisions saio
10 be offended against in their enact.
Inent; all this has been done with q
| good purpose, no doubt, but in diSre-
gard, nevertheless, of the fact that
ours is government of laws, not OF
men, deriving it's Just powers from
the consent of the governed" If VIC
| would nave our government continue
| during the ages to come, for the
| benefit of those who shall succeed us
we must ever be on our guard against
| the danger of usurpation by officials
representing one of the three great de
partments of government or by
body of men acting without a commits
sion from the people.
Impatience of the restraints of law,
as we'll as of its delays is becoming
more and more manifest from day to
| day. Within the past few years many
Instances have been brought to our at
tcntion, where in different parts of oul
| beloved country supposed criminals
| have been seized and punished by a
mob, notwithstanding the fact that the
| Constitution of each State guarantees
to every person within its jurisdiction
that his life, his liberty or his proper
ty shall not be taken from him with
out due process of law.
OutrageS in Colorado.
In a struggle between employers
and employees. dynamite is said to
have been used by the latter resulting
in the loss of life and the destruction
of property. The perpetrators OF this
offence against the laws of God and
man, and all others engaged in the
conspiracy with them, should. after
due trial and conviction, have had
neted out to them the most rigorous
punishment known to the law. This
crime, added perhaps to others, led to
the formation of committee of citi-
zens that, with the support of the
military authority, deports from the
State, without trial. persons suspected
of belonging to the organization OF
which the perpetrators of the dynamite
outrages were supposed to be mem
bers. In both ceases the reign of the
; law gave way to the reign of force.
These illustrations present some evil
dence of the failure Oh government to
protect the citizen and his property,
which not only justified the action of
your convention in this regard, but
made it its duty to call attention tC
the fact that Constitutional guarantees
are violated whenever any citizen is de
MED the right to labor to acquire and
to enjoy property. or to reside where
his interests or inclination may deter
mine; and the fulfiment of the assur-
ance to rebuke and punish all de-
malls of these rights, whether brought
about by individuals or government
| agencies, should be enforced by every
official and supported by every citi-
zent The essence of good govern
ncnt lies in strict observance of con-
, stitutional limitations, enforcement of
law and order and rugged opposition
to all encroachment upon the SOW
ereignty of the people.
The foregoing suggestions but en-
phaslZe the distinction which exists
between our own and many other
forms of government. 1t has been well
said, in substance, that there are but
two powers in government, one the
power of the sword, sustained by the
hand that Yields it, and the other
the power of the law, sustained by an
enlightened public sentiment. The
difference in these powers is the differ
| ence between q republic, such AS ours
based on law and a written constitu-
ton, supported by intelligence, virtue
and patriotSm-and a monarchy
diyidual, uncontrolled by laws other
than those made sanctioned by him;
one represents Constitutionalsm, the
other Imperialism.
The Present Tariff Law Unjust.
The present tariff law is unjust in
its operation, excessive in many OF
Iits rates and so framed in particular
Instances as to exact inordinate profits
! from the people. SO well understood
| has this view become that many
! r0minent members of the Republican
party, and at least two of its State
conventions, have dared to voice the
general sentiment on that subject.
| That party seems, however, to be col
| lectively able to harmonic only upon
a plank that admits that revision may
| from time to time be necessary, but IL
is so phrased that it is expected to be
satisfactory to those in favor OF an IN
crease of duty, to those who favor a
| reduction thereof, and to those oppoS-
ed to any change Whatever.
| Judged by the record of perform
ance, rather than that OF promise, on
the part of that party in the past, it
/ would seem as if the outcome. in the
| event of it's success would be to graft
! fy the latter class. With absolute con-
| troll Of both the Legislative and exc
cutive departments of the government
! since March 4th, 1897, there has been
neither reduction nor an attempt at
reduction i'm tariff duties 1t is not
unreasonable to assume, in the light OF
| that. record, that a future Congress OF
| that party will not undertake a reVi-
sion of the tariff downward in the
| event that it shall receive an endorse
ment of it's past course on that subject
| by the people. 1t is a fact and should
| be frankly conceded that though our
| party be successful in the coming con-
| test we cannot hope to secure a ma
| iority in the Senate during the next
| four years and hence we shall be un-
able to secure any modification IN the
tariff save that to which the Repub-
| lican majority in the Senate may con
sent. While, therefore, we are unable
! to give assurances of relief to the
people from such excessive duties as
burden them it is due to them that
we state our position to be III
favor of a reasonable reduction of the
tariff: we believe that it is demanded
/ by the best interests of both manutac-
| turer and consumer and that
wise and beneficent revision of the
tariff can be accomplished as soon as
| both branches of Congress and an eX-
eclltiVe i'm favor of it are elected,