Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-08-27
WATERBURY EVENING DEMOCRAT TUESDAY AUGUST 27 1907
ASSAILS ROOSEVELT
Alton B. Parker Attacks Pres-
 ident's Policies.
HE IS OPPOSED TO GENERALIZATION
Declares Antitrust Agitation h Likc-
 ly to Lead to Pandemontum-AA s. Abuses Must Be Checked Constitutionally.

PORTLAND, Me-, Aug. 27.-The fea- ture of the first days session of the thirtieth annual meeting of the Ameri- can Bar. association was the address of Alton B. Parker, president of the as- sociation, who discussed at length the policies of President Roosevelt. He said in part;
 "The recent claims for federal inter- yention in directions heretofore un- heard of are based upon the commerce and post road provisions of the consti- tuition. As to the first the constitution says the congress shall have power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states and with the Indian tribes Is 1t within the spirit and purpose of that provision that congress may control the manufactures and all other pro ductive interests of the states, whether controlled by individuals or corpora tions, the creations of the state? The answer of even casual student of the constitution and the conditions sur rounding its making must be in the negative.
 Tt is not my purpose to discuss the merits of the various claims for an in- crease of the federal power at the ex. pense, of the states. In the end such of them as are favorably acted upon by congress will have to pass the test of constitutionality before that great est of all courts, the supreme court of the United States, and such statutes will stand or fall as they show or fail to show fidelity to the spirit and pur- pose of the constitution. aS
 "The attempts, however, on the part of the federal government to despoil the states of the powers and functions belonging to them will not tend to smoothness in the working of our dual scheme of government. Already it has had its effect. The indignation of the governing forces of many of the states is already aroused. It is shown in the legislation of the year. It had not a little to do, in my judgment, with the recent conflict of judicial authority in North Carolina.
 .The abuses lying at the foundation of the earnest but sometimes reckless groping for remedies must be checked. k And if it were necessary in order to promote this result to pass through these processes, many of which will prove destructive of the rights and in. terests of a multitude of innocent and honest persons, still it would be we'll For the property, the services and even the life of a citizen should be cheer fully sacrificed on the altar of the country's necessities.
 '.So much of 1t, though, is unneces. sary-aye, worse than that-so much of it is deliberately mischievous prompted by the same spirit. that cries out, Away with law and its restraints Lynch him! Lynch himg that every i patriotic student of the times, while hoping for the best, fears that the con sequences will be disastrous unless We again take up and press forward in all earnestness the shibboleth of the ia thers, A government of law, not oi men, When we do this we shall find a faithful adherence to the constitu tional plan of the fathers today as nearly ideal as it seemed to them.
 You cannot move legislators crazed with ambition. but the people can -ant will do so when they fully understand | the situation. And we need never feal they will not understand 1t after { time. But the people should be in formed now. Do not forget, however that if you attempt 1t you will be de nounced by the demagogue and car tooned by the yellow press, fat which has come to the few who hay, appealed to reason and to justice These tactics have enforced silence up on many whose hearts have prompted them to point out the danger of gov ernment by passion, but they canno keep silent the earnest lawyers of thi country for a minute after they hav' 4 determined that duty calls them t
 speak out. God grant that the hour O that determination Is at hand"