The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1908-05-22

Wind that o VINO ffhIne0 our gov
eminent believed In the equality 0
the people and that the chief aim 0
government Is to maintain tina
equality.
Under system OF government
the nation has reached q material de
velopment hitherto unknown. Thu
people have %prospered beyond tn
dreams Of those who lived a eentur.
ago. But with the development Of thu
country and changes In economic con
ditions, and particularly with the
growth Of great private corporations
performing many OF the functions o.
government, has come the necessity
for the exercise Of strict governmental
control. and a rigid enforcement Of al
the laws enacted to restrain the rich
and powerful from encroaching upon
the natural and legal rights OF the
poor and weak.
The constitution OF the ancient re
public Of Roma, which for 500 years
had recognized the voice of the people
as supreme, was expanded by execu'
tive Interpretation and contracted by
executive administration, until Rome
had so completely outgrown its demo,
cratic conditions as to become only
a tragedy and a tradition. Let us i'm.
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 fulfllment which will
De the inspiration of right thinking
men OF all ages yet to come.
Our government Is divided into
three separate and distinct co-ordt-
nate branches: the legislative, the
executive and the judicial. Danger
will surely come TO this republic when
any of these departments Of govern
ment attempt In the slightest degree
to usurp the functions Of the other.
And while now and then It may be
that a court Of the land, In constituting
the constitution, may nullify a section
OF 1t, have the faith to feel that the PEG
pie OF the country will rise above the
faliibility OF judicial tribunals and
assert and preserve their W rights.
Our duty 1t not to criticise the execu-
tive, the Legislature or the judiciary.
Very recently there has come from
the highest judicial tribunal In the
land a decision Of vital interest and
concern to the American people, be-
cause It has established a principle,
as stated by member Of the court,
which would work a radical change
in governmental system and would
inaugurate a new era In the Ameri.
can judicial system and In the rela,
tons of the national and state gov.
ernments It would enable the subor.
dinAte federal courts to supervise and
control the official action of the states
as though they were dependencies or
provinces, 1t would place the states
Of the union In a condition OF infer
iority never dreamed of when the con.
stltution was adopted or when the
eleventh amendment was made a part
of the supreme law of the land" II
this Is the result Of this decision, It
is, to my mind, one of the unhappy
incidents in the history Of our repub-
lie, because the very theory OF u
government IL based upon the right Of
the states to control absolutely their
own domestic affairs.
II, then, our whole system Of gov.
eminent is changed, have we not only
retarded the progress Of the republic,
but have we not gone back a century
a centralized form of gov.
eminent which is not to the advan.
tage OF the people? What this gov.
eminent needs is not more W
What 1t needs to-day Is to 80 dis
the privileges under the gov
eminent 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 privileges
20 any class, but should afford all alike
he means for culture, education, pros.
perity and ~contentment.
For nearly a century and a half
has presented to the world
he spectacle of a happy, prosperous
md intelligent people, maintaining a
pure democracy founded upon their
will. The hallmark OF a de-
nocracy Is that the powers of gov.
are close to the people.
Throughout the world, wherever de-
nocracy is advancing, It's progress is
by a greater measure of self.
government to each community. VIII
he American people turn to the set.
ing rather than the rising sun? Shall
now, because some laws are found
by q class and interfere with
heir selfish aims, commence to de-
our sovereign states of that
MEASURE OF home rule which until now
hey have seen fit to reserve to them.
! cannot believe II. Upon
he contrary ! believe that the lmita.
ions upon state and federal govern
nents, the nice balancing Of the pow.
rs OF each, and OF the different de-.
in each, which have been
o e~fieacious in the past, will be-
Maintained in their full yIgor in the
lture.
Therefore, discharging all Of our
responsibilities al citizens Of a coun.
~, refusing to surrender our rights
I citizenship In any degree, let us so
We that the heroism exempliied on
his and other American battlefelds
lay not be simply a tradition, and
Ia national uirdnm a. 49, - I