The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1907-11-08
IF THERE WERE A
NATIONAL CATACLYSM
A Graphic Illustration Of the Endur
ance Of Government Under Our
Dual Form.

tional Administration toward Fed ..
eral Capitalization, the interfer-
ence OF the Federal Courts with the
enforcement Of State laws bearing
upon railroad regulation. and the
open advocacy Of President Roosr-
welt for an elastic construction of
the constitution to ineeet certain
policies that infringe upon the re-
served rights of the States, has
brought the question Of State 5
rights more forcibly before the
country than they have ever been
since the contention of the South.
ern States that one Of the rights
reserved by the States was the
right to withdraw from the Federal
compact. That question was settled
by the arbitrament of the sword
but it did not affect or change the
status of any other reserved right
of the States. Ferh APPS at no time
in the history OF our country was
the wisdom of our dual form of
government more manifest than at
the present, when the President is
urging Il broad construction Of the
constitution by the courts, instead
of the constitutional method of
amendment, to meet alleged
changed conditions, and powerful
corporations are appealing to the
Federal governmental relieve them
from responsibility to State laws.
Our dual form of government is
at once its strength and the safe
guard of the peoples liberties, and
the States will continue to guard
with jealousy their reserved rights,
which embrace all that are not
clearly delegated to the Federal
government. Since this question
has been forced to the fore by the
present Administrations policy,
we have been reminded OF happy
conceit expressed in u speech by
Capt. G. NJ. b. Thurmond Of Kan
sas City, at Il ward meeting OF
Democrats in February, 1904, set
ting forth the enduring character
of our State governments. We
give it here now because of its per
tinency and the originality Of the
conceit as we'll as its sound doe
trine;
Concerning some details of
party creed, time and conditions
change aud men change with them !;
but essentials, the fundamental
principles of our party faith, are
enduring truths, and the keystone
of the arch of our system OF gov
eminent is that no man has right
to govern another without his con-
sent. 1t has been my belief that
the leading doctrinaires of the so.
called Republican party, not its
mass of voters, have designed to
transform our system from II fed
eral union into consolidated
nation-centralizing all powers at
Washington, making the creature
greater than the creator and sub
stituting force for consent. Have
they not done this in the Phil
ippinesi That's the lever with
which they are prying under the
keystone of the arch. That cloud,
though distant in the political
heavens, is already much larger
than a man $ hand, and may grow
deeper and darker and spread til
all these sovereign States are over
cast by its blackness. Did | say
sovereign States? Well, let us see
Imagine that last night a grand
continental cataclysm occurred, aud
that upon awaking this morning
we discovered that all the sur.
rounding lands had been sub
merged by the overlooking OF al
the oceans, leaving Missouri llk,
an island in the vast eXpause Of
waters.
Then suppose that some citi'
zen here from the country, on re.
turning to his farm tomorrow
learns that a contentious neighbol
has driven one of his cattle of
under claim that it had been false
ly branded. Wouldn't the owner
apply to the most convenient jus
tce of the peace, who within the
limits of his jurisdiction represents
the Soyeseipnty of the State for the