The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-01-20
CONGRESS VS.. ROOSEVELT
"A Great Principle Involved i'm Which
INC People Are Vitally Interested.

our government. In his thorouebIv
balanced and impressive statement IN
me house on Friday last Representa-
tive Perkins, of New York, a Repub-
lican, chairman Of the special com.
mittee to which was referred the ob-
]ectonable passages in the presidents
message OF December s and the con-
temptuous reply of the president to
the house In the message Of Jaunary
A. said:
1T is dangerous to the republic
that large portion Of our people
should have their confidence shaken
In the judges who interpret the law.
1t is equally dangerous that their con-
fidence should be impaired in those
VINO enact the laws. !" During long
centuries our English-speaking an
cestors struggled and bled that a rep
resentative government might be es-
tablished among English people. Our
Revolutionary forefathers, more than
century ago, struggled and bled that
our government should be a repre-
sentative government; that the laws
Of the American people should be
passed by the representatives chosen
by the American people. The con-
gress of the Unuited States today
exists as a result Of centuries Of strug-
giles for populra government.
The administration of President
Roosevelt has abounded in acts Of
executive usurpation. In carrying out
certain of his policies he has acted
upon the principle that the end justi-
fies the means, and he has exhibited
amazing indifference whether either
the means or the end, or both, were
In conflict with the constitution of the
United States. Senator Rayner. of
Maryland. In a searching review in the
senate of the presidents record of
usurpations, demonstrated that in a
number Of instances Mr.. Roosevelt
had far exceeded his powers under
the constitution, and that the effect
Of his course, If not it's deliberate pur-
pose, was to magnify dangerously the
authority Of the executive at the ex-
pense OF the law-making department
of the government 1t is no extenua-
ton Of the residents lawlessness that
congress has been lax and irresolutc
at times; that 1t has submitted to acts
OF usurpation by the executive, and
thus has permitted the president to
establish dangerous precedents. It is
regrettable. of course. that the ma
jority of the members Of the law
making branch Of the government
have sometimes been governed more
by considerations Of party expediency
than by the determination to sanction
and uphold no assumption Of authori-
ty by the president which was in de-
rogation Of the constitutional powers
Of congress.
We do not suggest that in exercis-
Ing dictatorial powers the president
has been actuated by sinister motives.
But it seems to be clear that If there
should ever be in the White House a
president who was ambitious to exer-
else a complete dictatorship he could
adopt no more effective method of un-
dermining the foundations of consti-
tutional government than that by
which President Roosevelt has exalted
himself at the expense Of congress.
And the people ought not to lose sight
OF the fact that a deliberate and per-
sistent policy Of discrediting and over
riding congress will invitably react
upon the people. In the American
electorate there is q very large ele-
ment of citizens Of foreign birth or
thed escendants Of foreign-born pa
rents who probably do not understand
the vital principles Of representative
government. They do not realize, per-
haps, the menace to free institutions
which arises from the ususrpation by
the executive Of powers inherent in
the law-making branch of the govern
ment or powers which, as in the case
OF treaties. the executive can exercise
constitutionally only in combination
with the law-making branch Of the
government. We do not, Of course,
include our fellow-Americans of Ger
man descent among those Of Euro
pean ancestry and traditions to whom
the spectacle Of the President of a re-
public magnifying his office and
authority has no dangerous signifi-
canoe. The people Of Germany have
given recently most inspiring mani
festation OF their determination to i'm
pose constitutional restraints upon