The Washington times., 1910-01-16
GOVERNORS COMING
FROM MANY STATES
Efforts VIII Be Made foI
Uniform Laws on Many
Matters.
Continued from First Page

Continued from First Page
executives as a body, seeking, by their
united influence, to secure uniform laws
on vital SUBJECTS for the welfare Of
the entire country
THE States can make uniform laws
on many vital QueSuious without ex-
ceedinG their rights in the least. and
without requiring @-y new powers by
Unconstitutional amendment Some OF
these subjects closely connected with
the best interests OF the entire country
and on which free discussion tending
toward uniform legislation IS ceSlratD -e
may be named Marriage and divorce,
rights OF married women corporations
an aEruStS. conservation of national re-
sources, pure food laws. insurance, e,-
tradition child labor capltal punish
meRr- direct primaries convict labor.
prison reform, contracts. uniform SyS-
. TEN OF conveyancing- inheritance tax
. income tax mortgages referendum.
election reforms, and similar topics
Governors As Reserves.
There are honest believers in cen
Jralization. because they realized the
need Of Uniform laws and felt thar
they could come only through me Fed
eTal Government They must now see
the hOpeleSSneSS of such q belief. ana
should Welcome the house Of governors
and cooperate toward making 10 prove
equal 70 its possibilities
Those who are honestly opposed 70
the growing tendency 10 the cOncentra-
ton Of all powers IN me hands Of the
Federal Government must realize tha.
killing Capitalization Is not enough
this does not solve the problems. There
are burning questions in the buffer ter
ritOry between the F'eIeraI Government
and the States. ID the sp-CaiIesi -
light zone II We send hack The Fed
eral engines as rot being qualified. we
must call out the State reserve engines
I I
been inCredSIn slurS cast uuOC the
Constitution as a bacl--Eumher dOcu-
lmeDt, good enough for conditions a hun
dred and more years ago, but not for a
great nation Ike ours The ConSLitu-
ton IS a ularvelously wise, broad able
plan Il IS true Il may not ut q pa
te-nal. imperial, centralized Govern
meut. for II was not designed for such,
nor do We want such, but If we are to
continue as republic where the peo-
pie govern where the sovereign States
are governing and the Federal
Government only does those things
which the States Individually cannot
do for themselves then the Constitution
has not been OuJifTed- II merely has
not been lived Up to.
There should be no fetish worship Of
the Constitution as a complete, fnal- IN
CEauSeahle document, but we should
have reverence for II in whatever con
ditiOn we permit II TO remain IF Il be
in any point Inadequate 70 present
needs. let us modify Il by amendment,
but as our chart and our charter II
should be revered as the bulwark o.
American liberty
There Is surely no menace in q Con
sutuJiOn that, limiting The power u the
Federal GOvernTIeat- retains all powers
not thus exclusively granted In he
hands OF the states and the people The
trouble has been that, while the States
have had the power, no way has been
provided for them 20 ser together as
States and to execute Ele viii OF the
PEOPLE The House Of Governors sec MS
TO meet this need
The arrangements for the conference
OF governors are IN charge of q com
mittee of which Gov Augustus =. VIII
son Of kentucky Is Chairman
Other Organizations Here.
While the house Of governors is meet
ing in Washington, the National Civic
Federation viii also be here II will
begin its sessions Monday morning at
the Relgsc0 Theater and they viii con-
tfu1Ie three DAYS Tie National ASSo-
citation OF Uniform state Commissioners
viii also be in session
The meeting of the house Of governors
and The National Civic Federation viii
bring together IN Washington prominent
men. from all the States and Territories
No less than eighty commercial, manu-
facturiuc- shippers bankers. 2gricuI-
tUraI- labor professional and reform
examinations viii 7De represented at the
appointed delegates. most Of whom have
arrived in Washington ready for the
convention These delegates, with the
chief executives OF nearly all the states.
viii make washington this week the
center for g host OF men Of brains and
ideas on whom the eyes OF the nation
VIII be turned with keen attention
The National Civic Federation Is in
terested In practically the same sub
IectS IS the conference Of governors Tt
* making much just now Of uniform
State legislation and the conservation
Of State rights The conference OF GOV
,'TTJUTs and National Civic Federation
la a sense, therefore, are working in
harmony