Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-12

justification or preteXt upon which such
ferocious proceedings can be undertaken.
The President is exercising a great many
functions-executive, legislative and judicial,
lawful and unla wful, constitutional and I'M
constitutional. If he is possessed of the
Idea that he is the supervisor of all of the
public schools of the various states of the
Union, and he seems to be impressed with
this idea, because in the very last para
graph of his message he recommends to
Congress the establishment of shooting gal
leries in all of the large schools of the
country, we must either disabuse his mind
of this fancy or We must let him know
that we agree with him as to the omnipO-
tence of his Jurisdiction.
Admitting the Presidents Claim.
of he can take possession of the public
schools of California and compel the state
to admit to them Japanese students con-
trary to the laws of California, he could
with equal proprety send us an amend
ment to the Santo Domingo treaty and
demand the admission of the negro chill
dren of Santo Domingo into the white
schools of South Carolina. or of any other
state of the Union. OF course. If the peo-
pie have come to the conclusion that every
thing that the President recommends is
right then there is hardly any use in con-
testing any of his propositions. and instead
of comforting upon him the power to give
Congress information of the state of the
Union, we might confer upon him the func-
ton of furnishing his own peculiar views
upon the entire state of the universe and
recommending any improvements
changes in the general plan of creation
that he may deem eXpedient, from the cradle
to the grave. In fact, the President, upon
page 20 of his message. anticipates the
cradle and makes a recomm endation upon
the state of the Union that tends to place
in his hands the establishment of the birth
rate of the country. Now. if we can only
supplement this function by giving him
complete jurisdiction over the death rate
we will then have a ruler whose ubiquity
is uncircumscribed and whose unlimited
possibilities are beyond the reach of human
contemplation"
Mr. Rayner conceded with what the
President had said in his message in praise
of the Japanese. His sympathies had, he
said, been with them during their war
with Russia, and he thought it a great
shame that japan should have been over
powered in the conference room when she
had been victorious in battle. He proposed,
he said, to discuss the present question en-
tirely outside the particular circumstances
and plant himself on these two PROPOSE
tons:
Two Main Propositions.
81 That there is no provision whatever
in the treaty with Japan that confers the
right that the President speaks of, or gives
to the government of Japan the privileges
that it claims in connection with the public
state.
3d. If there was such a provision In this
treaty, or any other treaty comforting this
right the treaty would be void and without
any authority upon the part of the United
States to make it, and in violation of the
Constitution and the treaty making power
Of the government"
There were, he said, two distinct schools
Of thought on the question: One holding
that the treaty-making power is an in
herent element of sovereignty, the other
that this power exists for the purpose Of
carrying out the objects of government as
prescribed and defined by the Constitution
and that no treaty Is valid that violates
the Constitution or that surrenders the
rights reserved to the states. Mr.. Rayner
said he was a disciple of he latter school.
and he proceeded to discuss the arguments
Of both at length. The precise point In
volved, he said, was the tenth article Of the
Constitutions: THAT powers not delegated
to the United States by the Constitution nor
prohibited by it to the states are reserved
to the states, respectively, or to the people"
Rights Of the States.
Continuing Mr. Rayner said:
1.-The power of a state to regulate its
public school system is clearly among its
reserved powers. Have we, therefore, q
right to provide in treaty that the citi-
zens of foreign lands shall possess privi-
lagos in the public schools of the states
that are prohibited either by the Constitu-
ton or by the laws Of the state in which
they are claimed? II We can. in defiance
Of the laws and constitution Of state.
incorporate any such provision in treaty
SO as to bind the state, then we can un-
doubtedly deprive the state Of every re-
served right that it possesses, and rescind
and annul Its laws and its constitution
whenever they come In conflict with the
froo fy q II tray Ia f1afo
appalling doctrine. II ever such deform-
ity as this should creep into our judicial
decisions it would disfgure the Constitu-
ton to such an extent that its features
would no longer De capable OF recognition.
trate the intention Of the men who framed
It; 1t would undermine the entire frame
work of the government, and 1t would con-
into . Dictatorship, with the states in alb