The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1906-06-30
GENERALIZATION OF POWER.
Alarm Again Sounded by Those Be-
Nevine Tbev Hava Grievance

Alarm Again Sounded by THOSE be-
lieving They Have Grievance.
In every form of popular government
whether republican or ostensibly mon
archical, there are ever at war two
sets of factors, one tending toward a
greater Capitalization of power and
the other toward its decentralization.
In the American government the ten
dency toward Capitalization has grown
steadily-or with but a few temporary
recessions in the movement-from the
time when Jefferson relinquished his
Office. This tendency toward centrali-
cation has never been more marked
than at the present period. We have
in the White House strong, resource
full, competent and aggressive man who
has won the personal regard of a great
majority of the American people re-
CARELESS Of political affiliations. More
than any other President of the United
States he has been active in initiating
legislation, and, indeed the most SER
GUS criticism which has been made of
the President is based upon his activ-
ity in matters which his predecessor
have deemed beyond the limits Of the
executive prerogative. The leader Of
the minority in the House of Represen-
tatives, when discussing the attitude
Of Representative Wadsworth, Of New
York, on the meat inspection measure,
referred with rather bitter sarcasm to
the fact that when the President and
the Speaker Of the House were agreed
as to in the fate Of measure, the
wishes or convictions of individual
memebers of the House did not count.
"A consideration of the measures
which have been enacted during the
present session of Congress, and Of
Congress. and of those which have at
tracted the largest share Of public at
tention, indicate that the tendency to-
ward Capitalization in government has
received an impetus which II uncheck-
ed will before many years practically
obliterate state lines and reduce state
governments to a conditions Of practi-
cal vassalage.
The railroad rate bill, the meat in
spection bill, the pure food and drug
bill, all add materially to the power and
the prestige of the central government.
and all in effect, though not under
strictly literal Interpretation, usurp
those functions of government which
the founders of our nation considered
as purely state functions.
The Judiciary is also being utilized,
and the suits which have been brought
under the Sherman Antitrust act all
acentuate government, Nor do the gov
eminent officials balk at consideration
of propriety. In their efforts to still
further aggrandize the federal power
the officials of the attorney generals
office, in commencing action against
the National Drug Association, did not
hesitate to copy verybatim large por-
ton of the presentation made by the
attorney for the prosecution. in the
Loder case, a civil suit between private
individuals. This fact was adverted to
in an able address delivered by Clayton
f. Shoemaker, of Philadelphia, before
recent meeting of the National as
ISOLATION of Credit Men. This act on the
part of government officers certainly
a lamentabe lack of the ordinary con-
siderations for decency which keep
public and private matters on separate
| planes.
In discussing the tendency shown by
the government in this as in similar
suits, Mr.. Shoemaker characterized
1t as a dangerous tendency toward ma
tional Inference in private affairs"
This tendency has never been so mark
ed as under the present administration
and it is one which it behooves the
thinging men Of the country, regardless
of party aff1liations, toconsider care
slider carefully and wisely. 1t is predict
ed by some observers that complete
liberalization is matter of only a
comparatively short time, and some