The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-05

legislation and administration on this sub ject: the law must if necessary be strengthened and it must be vigorously enforced The national government can do but little in the matter of child labor though I earnestly hope that that little will be permitted to be done by Con gress. The great bulk of the work how ever must be left to the state legisla- tures and if our state legislatures would act as drastically and yet as wisely on this subject of child labor as Pennsyl- vania has acted within the present year as regards the subjects I have enumer- ated above the gain would be literally lncaleulable; and one of the most vital needs of modern American life would at last be adequately met.
 Regarding National Duty.
 So much for the state. Now for the nation and here can not do better than base my theory of governmental action upon the words and deeds of one of Penn sylvana's greatest sons. Justice James Wilson. Wilson's career has been sin gularly overlooked for many years, but believe that more and more it Is now being adequately appreciated; and I con- graduate your state upon the fact that Wilson's body is to be taken away from where 1t now rests and brought back to lie, as it should in Pennsylvania soil. He
  pendence. He was one of the men who that the revolution. in which he had served as a soldier, would be utterly fruitless unless 1t was followed by close and permanent union of the states: and in the constitutional convention and in securing the adoption of the constitution and expoundng what 1t meant. he rem dered services even greater than he rem dereG as member of the continental congress, which declared our independ- ence, for it was the success of the mak- CTS and preservers of the union which justified our independence.
 He believed in the people with the faith of Abraham Lincoln: and coupled with his faith in the people he had what most of the men who in his generation believed in the people did not have; that is. the courage to recognize the fact that faith in the people amounted to nothing unless the representatives of the people assem- bled together In the national government were given full and complete power to work on behalf of the people. He de- Veloped even before Marshall the doctrine Absolutely essential not merely to the efficiency but to the existence of this naton) that an inherent power rested in the nation, outside of the enumerated powers conferred upon 1t by the constf tuition. in all cases where the object in- volved was beyond the power of the sev- eral states, and was power ordinarily exercised by sovereign nations
 In a remarkable letter in which he ad- vocated setting forth in early and clear fashion the powers of the national gov ernment, he laid down the proposition that 1t should be made clear that there were neither vacancies nor interferences between the limits of state and national jurisdiction, and that both jurisdictions together composed only one uniform and comprehensive system of government and laws; that is, whenever the states can not act, because the need to be met Is not one of merely a simple locality, then the national government, representing all the people, should have complete power to act. It was in the spirit of Wilson that , Washington, and Washingtons lieuten- ant, Hamilton, acted and it was in the same spirit that Marshall construed the law.
 Means of Asserting Sovereignty.
 It Is only by acting in this spirit that the national judges, legislators and exec utives can give a satisfactory solution of the great question of the present day-the question of providing on behalf of the sovereign people the means which will enable the people in effective form to as sert their sovereignty over the immense corporations of the day. Certain judicial decisions have done just what Wilson feared: they have, as a matter of fact ] left vacancies. left blanks between the i limits of possible state jurisdiction and ] the limits of actual national jurisdiction over the control of the great business cor i porations. It is the narrow construction of the powers of the national government 1 which in our democracy has proved the i chief means of limiting the national pow l CT to cut out abuses, and which Is now i the chief bulwark of those great moneyed
 interests which oppose and dread any at
 tempt to place them under efficient gov ernment control.
 Many legislative actions and many judi cal decisions which 1 am confident time
 will show to have been erroneous and a l damage to the country would have been avoided if our legislators and jurists had l approached the matter of enacting and l construing the laws of the land in the ] spirit of your great Pennsylvanan. Jus 1 tice Wilson-in the spirit of Marshall and of Washington. Such decisions put at
 a great disadvantage in the battle for in- l dustrial order as against the present in- l dustrial chaos If we interpret the consti- tuition in narrow instead of broad fash | ion, If we forsake the principles of Wash l ington. Marshall, Wilson and Hamilton.
 we as people will render ourselves impo- | tent to deal with any abuses which may
 be committed by the men who have &C., cumulated the enormous fortunes of to- l day, and who use these fortunes in still vaster corporate form in business.
 States Are Powerless.
 l The legislative or judicial actions and decisions of which I complain, be it re- membered. do not really leave to the l states power to deal with corporate wealth in business. Actual experience has shown that the states are wholly pow. erless to deal with this subject; and any action or decision that deprves the na- 1 ton of the power to deal with 1t. simply results in leaving the corporati-ns Anao- supervision whatever; and nu7h a course is fraught with untold danger to the fu- ture of our whole system of government, | and, indeed, to our whole civilization. l All honest men must abhor and repro- | bate any effort to excite hostility to men 1 of wealth as such. We should do all we | can to encourage thrift and business en- ergy to put premium upon the conduct of the man who honestly earns his liveli- l hood and more than his livelihood, and | who honestly uses the money he has | earned But 1t is our clear duty to see, in the interest of the people, that there is | adequate supervision and control over the business use of the swollen fortunes of to- | day, and also wisely to determine the | conditions upon which these fortunes are | to be transmitted and the percentage that they shall pay to the government whose protecting arm alone enables them to exist Only the nation can do this work. To reegate 1t to the states is farce, and ] is simply another way of saying that 1t | shall not be done at all.
 | Under a wise and farseeing interpreta- | ton of the interstate commerce clause