Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-10-28
THE NEW NATIONALISM."
Just What 1t Implies and How Best to
Preserve State Rights.

Just What It Implies and How Best to
Preserve State Rights.
1t will be a great mistake If critics
and opponents Of the new national
alism" permit their criticisms and OPP
position to be construed merely as an
tagonism to Theodore Roosevelt. Re-
sisting Roosevelt, the man, and his
ambition, is one thing and Is justified
by one set of reasons Rejecting GER
tain definite ideas and proposals
which he has promulgated Is another
thing and justified by another set OF
reasons The man himself may be
considered, and by a growing number
Of Americans he Is considered dam
gerous to our institutions, not so
much on account of what he stands
for as for what he is-his character
and temperament, his habits Of
thought and speech and action. But
it may also be held, and Is held by
many, that the ideas he stands for are
dangerous In themselves without ref
erence to the personality Of their
chief advocate. To attain clearness
on this point, it Is desirable to point
out precisely what those ideas are.
Now, there seem to us to be at least
five propositions or proposals In the
new nationalism," as expounded by
Colonel Roosevelt in his western
speeches, which look distinctly to
very important changes in our sys-
tenn or plan of government, ana as
such they ought to be considered.
That is to say, 1t Is incumbent on our
people 20 consider carefully whether
or noi they favor departing, in these
several respects, from our establish
ed practice under the constitution
Here are the five features Of the new
nationa.ism" which have this charac-
ter:
|. Colonel Roosevelt announces
that the conditions of today are such
that no only did the fathers fail to
foresee them, but that in dealing with
them 'the political theories of hun
dred years ago. simply will not work.
That sweeping contention may be held
In a way to cover all the others; but
the revolutionary character OF the
others Is clearer because they are
more specific.
2. Colonel Roosevelt holds that
government must concern itself with
business and industry more intimate
ly than the fathers dreamed. This
general contention Is not uncommon;
but he goes on to propose for this in
tervention and control form that
unquestionably controverts establish
ed legal and constitutional principles.
Big fortunes are to be allowed only II
in the winning and keeping OF them
la In 10 rnT
dered. 1t Is not enough II 1t can
merely be said that no positive dam
age is done to the public. In that
case the big fortune is not to be per-
mitted. He goes further, and con-
tends that in dealing with the corpor-
atoms we must not only distinguish
between the good and bad and pun
ish the bad, but we must see to 1t
that those which are good yield fair
profit.
8. He would, by a commission or
bureau, also, see to 1t that laborers In
protected industries get the benefit OF
the protection. Clearly, this proposal,
as we'll as No. 2, looks to government
al interference with earnings in vari-
Gus industries.
4. He contends that this great
increase Of governmental powers
and activities shall go to the
nation, not the states; and he
stands, further, quite, distinctly, for
increasing the powers and functions
of the Federal government at the ex-
pense of the states. This also can
only be interpreted as a proposal OF
radical departure from our constitu-
tional usage.
5. He has not merely criticised the
courts for such decisions as he holds
to have created or permitted to exist
the twilight zone" in which neither
national nor state legislation Is effec-
tive, but he has set up new stand
ard for the courts to guide them
selves by. He practically says that
1t is not enough for them merely to
interpret the law as they find 1t. He
would also have them take account OF
the public welfare and the demands
Of democracy as he understands them.
Here, unquestionably, are very grave
and far-reaching changes proposed.
Revolutionary" Is hardly too strong
word to apply to them. 1t certain
ly behooves us all to look into them
carefully before we accept them.
Their meaning is fairly plain, but
their ultimate consequences no man
can foresee. 1t Is to the last degree
unreasonable and misleading to talk
as If ones attitude toward them In
volved nothing more than approval
or disapproval, trust or distrust, of
the m"l who proposes them.
OF the five innovations proposed In
the new nationalism," the one that
has so far seemed to provoke the most
opposition in Colonel Roosevelts own
party is the setting up of a new
standard for the courts. But oppo-
sition to the proposal OF still more
Capitalization, of more power for the
Washington establishment and less for
the state establishments, also instant
ly showed itself among Republicans;
and Democrats, Of course, found there
the most direct challenge TO tn m.
There are, of course, two ways or
meeting it. One Is the merely argu-
mentative way. The other is the
practical way. Both from the consti-
tuition and from broad considerations
of expediency, one can draw strong
reasons against the proposal. The
states having come into the Union on
terms set forth in a carefully framed
written document. it is not idle to say
that they have rights under the IN
strument which cannot with justice be
taken away from them unless the in
strument is amended. Equally strong
is the consideration of the value OF
the principle of home rude, of local
self f-government-and the practice
also. 1t is best for different communi-
ties to attend themselves to aftiairs1
which belong to them severally, to
care for their own interests, make
their own laws. But it is doubtful II
mere reasoning, no matter how sound.
is the best way to oppose the tendency
to decentralization The more prac-
tical way to preserve for the states
their rightful powers Is to see that
those powers are actually exercised.
and wisely When all the states take
up vigorously and sensbly the work
of conservation-as some of them
have in fact. begun to do-the like
lihood of the nations monopoliZing
that sort of activity Will diminish. |
When they control properly the cor
poratiOns they charter, so far as their
present legal authority goes, we shall
hear much less Of the necessity OF
the nations taking complete control, |
and so in other espects.-Harper'
Weekly
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS. |