Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-09-30
Wild IMPERIALISM
SENATOR FULTON WANTSFEDERAL
CONTROL OF everything.
The Oregon Senator Wants All Pow.
erS Vested in the General Govern.
ment, and the States Allowed OnIv
Such as Congress Night Endow
Them With.

Oregon, will expire March 8, 1909.
and he is now canvassing the state
as candidate for re-election: it be-
ing the custom in Oregon for the
voters to instruct members of the Leg
islature how they shall vote on the
election of United States senators by
expressing their will at the polls.
Senator Fulton made a speech recent
ly at Corvallis, in which he advocated
the election of senator's in congress
by the people, a proposition generally
favored by democrats and opposed by
republicans; but he went good
deal farther and linked this propo-
sition with two others which are en-
tirely undemocratic and subsersive
of our whole system of government.
In fact he went as far as Roosevelt
ever went in the direction of Destroy
Ing state and local rights; and put
the propositions of those ultra i'm
perialists into plain language. II am
firmly convinced" said he, that in
stead of delegating certain specific
powers to the general government, all
power should be vested in it, and
that the states should exercise only
such powers as congress may from
time to time endow them with, or, at
the utmost, their powers should be
limited and confined to subjects nec-
essary to local self-government, and
all other powers be vested in the
general government" This doctrine
is simply monstrous and reasonable.
1t would destroy the equality of the
states and in the senate and reduce
the smaller states to mere vasalage.
1t is a reversal of the theory of a
federal government, and is the very
quintesence and deadly virus of i'm
perialism. 1t is, indeed, imperialism
run wild. For, as it is now, the
states alone have original powers,
and the United States government
has only delegated powers, and can
exercise no power not plainly dele
gated. How could government
having delegated powers only, dele
gate such power back to their origi-
nal possessor without leaving itself
devoid of all powers? In effect, Sem
atOr FultOn's idea is for the govern
ment of the Union to make a quit
claim deed of all it's powers, and then
secure new deed giving it all pow
ers, and making it like the old kings
of England, the fountain of honor"
and the only source of power, having
local government to depend solely on
it's favor. Again the senator says:
THE power to regulate commerce of
every character, state and interstate,
should be vested solely in the federal
government. | have prepared and
shall offer at the coming session a
proposed amendment to the federal
constitution granting to the general
government that power" This is
dangerous and futile doctrine.
The federal congress at Washing
ton is far less responsible to the pop
ular will than the state legislature,
many of which are watched as care
fully by the electors as are the local
municipal councils. Most grievances
are more or less local, and when they
must be carried to congress they can
with safety be perpetuated by the
votes of members from districts in no
way interested. The railway inter-
ests on the other hand, are concen-
trated and thoroughly organized and
can bring their political powers to
bear more effectually at Washington
than at the state capitals. AS a gov
ernment establishment becomes far
ther removed from and above the
popular source of its authority the
stronger is its tendency to sacrifice
the public interest. What the people
need is local self-government in all
matters involving purely domestic af-
fairs. Oregon needs this as much as
North Carolina does