Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1908-05-07

1895
wholly with the present but naah
with the future If the destiny ef the
rspublic is I'm the hands ~ the Amerf-
can ef today. then it becomes him 20
10 guided and governsd emily BY pafrf
stic impulss and ths -dssirs td1edo that
which will msss larvsly aeentr7buts 90
ths psrnansney ef republican inssttu-
ttoas. Adyanetng our civillzatien 10
that - WIN not. sby recognfz1nx shs
fnlss elatms 81 salEnA intsrasas sn<I fur.
getting the Americas maxfm thst cur
ohJsct ShouldL - o. latfaan .ths sreatsst
good Cor the greatsst nzmbsr, incur the
psna1ty wh1sA eeAse psspls have paid,
rather ist - hold sSse q ~uind that
hess. Whe tsnsa eR1 1sFsmm@ps BE-
ileFsd IN the equality q fhs psopio ana
- - a1111f o1n q Uevnrnznlk = %
s1einssin ut sQnafity.
Under cur system of government ths
oat1on has reached a material Develop
ment hitherto unknown. The people
have prospered beyond the dreams Of
these who lived q century ago. But
with the development Of the country
and changes in economic conditions,
and particularly with the growth Of
great private corporations performing
many OF the functions Of government.
has come the necessity for ths exercise
Of strict governmental control ana q
rigid enforcement Of all the laws en-
acted to restrain the rich and powerful
from encroachtng upon the natural and
legal rights Of the poor and weak.
The constitution OF the ancient re-
public OF Rome. which for 500 years
had recognized the voice OF the people
as supreme. was expanded by sxssu-
i've Interpretation and contracted By
executive administration until Rome
had 90 completely outgrown its demo
cratic conditions as to become only q
tragedy and q tradition. Let us Inn.
plore the aid Of him on high to pre-
serve us from the errors which ruined
Rome, by the avoidance Of which
America may travel on to that destiny
and realize that fulfillmsnt which viii
be the inspiration Of right thinking
men OF all ages yet to come.
Our government In divided into three
separate and distinct coordinate
branches-the legislative, the executive
and the judicial. Danger viii surely
come to this republic when any Of
these departments Of government at.
tempt In the slightest degree to usurp
the functions of the other. And while
now and then II may be that a court
OF the land In constituting the constitu-
tion may nullify section Of Il, 1 have
the faith to feel that the people Of the
country will rise above the fallibility
Of judicial tribunals and assert and pre-
serve their own rights. Our duty 4
not 70 crtffcisg the executive. the lsgis.
lature or the judiciary.
Very recently there has come from
the highest judicial tribunal In the land
q decision Of vital interest and con.
cern to the American people, becauss
u has established a principle. AZ stated
by one member Of the court, which
would work q radical change In ous
governmental system and would inau.
gurate new era In the American Judi
cial system and In the relations Of the
national and state governments. II
would enable the subordinate fsdagal
courts 10 supervise and control the ON.
cial action Of the states N though thsy
were dependencies or PROVINCES. II
would place the states OF the Union In
Q condition Of inferiority never dream.
cd OF when the constitution was adopt
cd Or when the eleventh amendment
was made a part of the supreme law
Of the land" ff this In the result oi
this decision, II 10, to my mind. one Of
the unhappy incidents In the history Of
car republic. because the very theory
ef our government In based upon the
right Of the states to control absolutely
their own domestic affairs.
II. then. our whole system Of gov
ernment In changed. have we not only
retarded the progress Of the republic
but have we not gone back q century
toward a centralized form Of govern
A@CAA hASh 70 uOb W N1C aoNdEtok0 VI
the peoplef What this government
needs In not more power. What II
needs today In to 30 distribate the
privileges under the government that
all citizens will have equal opportunity
America has been called the land OF
opportunity. but American opportunity
should not mean a granting Of special
f-fl
ford all alike the means for culture, I'd
ucation. prosperity and contentmsnt
For nearly a century and q half
America has presented to the world
the spectacle Of a happy. prosperous
and Intelligent people maintaining q
pure democracy founded upon their 50
prsme will. The hallmark Of q de-
mocracy Ia that the powers OF gov
srnment are close to the people.
Throughout the world wherever de-
nocracy 10 advancing its progress Ia
marked by q greater measure Of self
government TO each community. VIII
the American people turn to the set
ting rather than the rising sun1 ShaH
we now because some laws are found
irKsome By a class and interfere with
thsir selfish aims commence TO de-
priye our sovereign states Of that meas
ure Of home rule which untA now they
have seen fit to reserve to themselvssl !
I cannot believe IL Upon the contrary,
] believe that the limitations upon state
and federal governments, the nice bal
ancing Of the powers Of each and of
the different departments In each,
which have been so eficacious In the