The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-08-10
TAKES LEAF FROM
CLEVELAND BOOK
Continued From First Page.

menL or the guilty; the encoura cement Of
INDUSTRY. economy and thrift; the protec-
Ton o. property and q guarantee Of the
enforcement for the benefit of all Of mans
lnalienable rights, among which, as said
IN Inc Declaration Of Independence. are
ire, liberty and the pursuit Of happi-
ness. Liberty, as understood In this
country, means not only the right Of free
dom IRON actual servitude, imprisonment
or restraint, but the right Of one to use
his faculties in all lawful ways to live
and work where he will and to pursue any
lawful trade or business. These essen
tial rights Of life, liberty and property are
not only guaranteed to the citizen by the
constitution OF each of the several states,
but the states are by the Fourteenth
Amendment to the Constitution OF the
United States forbidden to deprive any
person Of any one of them without due
process Of law.
Limit by Constitution.
Occasionally, by reason of unnecessary
or impatient agitation for reforms, or
because the limitations placed upon the
departments of government by the con-
stltution are disregarded by officials de-
string to accomplish that which to them
seems good, whether the power exists in
them or not, it becomes desirable to call
attention to the fact that, the people, in
whom all power resides, have seen fit,
thru the medium of the constitution,
to limit the governmental powers con-
ferred and to say to departments created
by 1t: Thus far shalt thou go and no
farther" To secure the ends sought the
people, have by the constitution sepa-
rated and distributed among the three de-
partments Of government-the, executive,
legislative and judicial-certain powers.
and it is the duty Of those administering
rather than to destroy, the potency of the
coordinate branches of the government,
and thus secure the exercise of all the
powers conferred by the people.
Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Will
liam G.. Jarvis, touching the perpetuity
Of our institutions written many years
after he had retired to private life, said:
IF the three powers Of our government
maintain their mutual independence of
each other, 1t may last long, but not so
If either can assume the authority Of
the other" It must be confessed that
In the course of our history executives
have employed powers not belonging to
them statutes have been passed that
were expressly forbidden by the consti-
tuition and statutes have been set aside
as unconstitutional when 1t was difficult
to point out the provisions said to be
offended against in their enactment; all
this has been done with a good purpose,
no doubt, but in disregard nevertheless,
of the fact that ours IS government Of
laws NOT Ggof men, deriving it's Just
powers from the consent of the gov
erneG." If we would have our govern
ment continue during the ages to come,
for the benefit of those who shall sue
coed us, we must ever be on our guard
against the danger Of usurpation of that
authority which resides in the whole
people, whether the usurpation be by
officials representing one Of the three great
departments of government, or by a body
Of men acting without commission FROM
the people. "
Source Of Mob Law.
Impatience of the restraints Of law,
as well as OF it's delays, is becoming more
and more manifest from day to day. With
in the past few years many instances
have been brought to our attention, where
in different parts of our 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 jur-
isdiction that his life his liberty or his
property shall not be taken from him
without due process of law.
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 prop
erty. The perpetrators of this offense
against the laws of God and man, and
all others engaged i'll the conspiracy with
them, should, after due trial and convic-
tion. have had meted out to them the most
rigorous punishment known to the law.
This crime, added perhaps to others, led
to the formation of a committee of citi-
zens that, with the support of the mill
tary authority, deports from the state,
without trial, persons suspected Of be-
longing to the organization of which the
perpetrators Ct the dynamite outrages
were supposed to. be members. In both
eases the reign Of law gave way to the
reign Of force. These Illustrations present
some evidence Of the failure Of govern
trnent to- arutects the citizen and his. prop
/ erty,s which not only justified the action
| OF yvour convention in this regard but
made: 1t its duty to call attention to the
| fact that constitutional guarantees are
violated wher ever any citizen is denied the
fright to labor to acquire and to enjoy
property, or to reside where his interests
or inclination may determine; and the full
fllment Of the assurance to rebuke and
punish all denia1s of these rights, whether
brought about by individuals or govern
ment agencies, should be enforced by ev-
I.ery official end supported by every citi-
zen. The essence of good government lies
| In strict cb:,,nvance Of constitutional lirni-
tons, enttrt en- ent Of law and order and
rugged oppt sttion to .,all encroachment
upon the sovereignty OF the people.
| TWO Powers OF Government.
F The foregoing suggestions but empha-
f size the distinction which exists between
cur own ard many other forms of govern
mcnt. 1t has been well said, in SUBJ
stance, that there are but two powers
lin government. one the power of the
sword. sustained by the hand that Yields
II, aud the ether the power Of the law,
sustained by an enlightened public senti-
ment. The difference in these powers is
the difference between q republic-such
as ours, based on law and a written con-
stitution. supported by intelligence, viz
| tue and patriotisn-and monarchy
sustained by force exerted by an indivii-
ual, uncontrolled by laws other than those
made or sanctioned by him; one represents
constitut ionalism, the other imperialism.
/ Tariff Laws Unjust.
The present tariff. law is unjust in its
1 operation, excessive in many Of its rates
| and SO framed in particular instances as
i to exact inordinate profits from the peo-
| pie. So well understood has this view be.
come that many, prominent members Of
the republican party, and at least two o,
its state conventions, have dared to voice
the general sentiment on that subject
That party seems, however, to be collec.
! lively able to harmonic only upon
plank that admits that revision may from
4 time to time be necessary, but it is 81
phrased that it is expected to be salts
4 factory to those in favor Of an increase
Of duty, to those who favor reduction
thereof, and to those opposed to any
4 change whatever.
i Judged by the record of performance
rather than that Of promise, on the
i part Of that party in the past, it woult