The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-08-01
ROOSEVELT AND THE Law.
An Admirer CONFIDENT That nc 10 clever
Enough "a Bend II tn btis Purpose.

To TIE EDITOR or TIE SUS-Sir; Mr..
Edward l.. Andrews In q letter to THE y
calls our attention to the following excerpt
from the Presidents speech A. Harrisburg
and pessimistically refers to H. a. having a
tendency to ~relegate 10 oblivion the spirit Of
the Constitution.
There must be vested In the Federal Government
n full power ~ supervision ana control over TIE
railways doing Interstate business. II must pos
scss the power Ia exercise gipsfvlElon over us
future issuance OF stocks and bonds. either through
n national Incorporation (which ] would prefer, or
In some similar fashion. The Federal Government
will thus be able 10 prevent all oveTcapltalizatiGn
In the future; 10 prevent any man hereafter from
plunderlng others by loading railroad properties
with obligations and p%ocketlng the money Instead
of spending II on improvements.
What in heavens name In there in Thu,
speech that In any way conflicts with the true
spirit OF our Constitution? ] have tried hard
TO discover II in the letter OF Mr.. Andrews.
but have been baffied. He says:
This declaration referring again 10 the Presl-
dents speechl indicates that the result 10 be NJ.
tanned is in no constitutional sense. to USE thelsn-
guage Of the supreme Court. legitimate, though V
might he quite laudable.
What a deplorable state Of AFFAIRS Are We
to understand that an act Of our Executive
pertaining TO the welfare OF the people. and
admittedly worthy of praise. Is to be con-
demned simply because we can find no sup
port for IL in the Constitution III so, in
Justice to our forefathers let us not stand on
sentimental grounds In reverencing this an
cient document let us amend III
However. I am of the opinion that Mr..
Andrews, no matter how honest he may he
in his conviction. Is wrong. From the dry
legal construction OF his sentences am dis
posed to think him a lawyer, and rs such
holding a too exalted opinion Of this fckle
goddess that regulates our earthly difiCul.
lipe We are TOO HDt 10 DeTNeTt law To suit
our own selfish desires. Mi. Andrews for
gets that the courts exist only by the authority
given through Congress, which is in Itself
only an institution built on the mandates ~
the Constitution and therefore IN subjectlon
to the moral construction OF whatever aU-
pears in this document devised. by our an
cestors 10 insure protection to all the. people.
tained therein and compiled by our forebears
that In, such law, at least. as MIR. Andrews
would. invoke 70 suit his ideas OF what Is al
low able and what Is not allowable IN the
The main point at issue is whether We are
getting the protection intended by the franz
ers Of our Constitution. Recent develop
ments convince us that We are not. Thou
st snJ msnipulations OF the railroad kings
and IL is time to call a halt. The strict word
ing OF our Constitution should not be taken
from it's sentences the moral intent. Mr..
Andrews says:
II follows that the Federal power 10 incorporate
ns1,TsaI r esnns d TslIr oSt they mnnnse y" shown SS MEGA w.
be necessary and proper within the meaning Of
the Constitution for the regulation of interstate
Well. is it not necessary and proper" thar
this Wholesale gambling i'm railroad stocks n
me Se en9er1 II Mr. tEndreWse i is aware srS'i thai r%e
farmers of the Far West, where one railroad
has the monopoly, find themselves unable 10
realize any more than a minimum profit on
the production OF their fields owing TO the
railroads arbitrary schedule of rates on
freight. The representative of the octopus
is always on hand to report on the fecundty
Of the grain or other produce. II the farmer
has a big harvest the rates are higher.the +,
poor the rates are lowered accordingly. In
other words, the schedule is set" for al the
farmer is allowed to realize only SO much;
the railroad is always on hand TO share his
pr s9Iersi. w snsh Confession ne wipl or sim moi; because aGe we
OF q fine point Of aw?
Mr.. Andrews quotes Chief Justice Marshall
a. saying:
Its power pass laws for the accomplishment o.
objects not lntrustcd to the Government II would
e ossem req S 4 ps's such 1 !" DECISION q. ions c enSHP before seo Il. TO 9
say that such an act was not the law OF the land.
Such a statement is ~dogmatic. and in keep
whether Mr., Marshall, il he had awakened in
have had the temeTity to cut himself down
before hearing legal opinion as TO his right
IN the mater; The dlftiohsTy defnes Law az
" lhN' - wv ny
authority to enforce justice and direct duty"
A true conception of justice and duty can he
arrived At only through our inner conscience,
which prompts us when in doubt as to whether
We are right or wrong; any Juggling OF Ian
guage which tends to swerve us from the
TO the only law recognizable by a just judge,
and that IL a moral law: intelligences that
are truly Just will tolerate no other. The
Constitution was intended 20 give to the peo-
pie Of the United States that liberty and jus
tice which Is every mans right. Any other
conception Of IT is false and misleading. The
argument that a corporation is entitled TO
Investments protected is Just II that corpora
ton h honest and does business through
legitimate channels. III II is not honest, IL ID
merely a lot OF conspirators who have banded
together TO obtain money under false pre-
fences. and as such It should be punished.
is the anarchists lead pipe and the other il
the law. Not being an anarchist. / am in
favor Of the latter. Mr.. Andrews gives usa
gloomy outlook for such a possibility. It
seminds us Of the opinions Of those who
prophesied failure in the laying OF the Atlantic
cable. asserting that the FISH would eat the
insulation on the wire. His scientific analysis
problems are to be solved more by practice
than profound reasoning. Granting that the
law stands between Mr.. welt and his ret
theory. the bare truth remains that a great
evil Is upon us and something must be done.
The law is shiftg, but the irrepressible Teddy
u equal TO IL. The greatest dissolvent Of law
~ other law. and when the time comes the
champions Of Rooseyeltism in our Govern
ment are confident that the Chief Executive
will find the means of attaining that which
will be a death blow to Mr.. Andrews hypoth-
esis W. II. CLIFFORD.