Devils Lake weekly world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1911-1914, 1912-02-23
lere fresidents and /. Members Of the

address you. You are engaged in the
fundamental work of self government.
You are engaged In. framing a consti-
tuition under and in accordance with
which the people are to get and to do
Justice and absolutely to rule them
selves. No representative body can
have n higher task. To carry It through
successfully there is need tozscombine
practical common sense OF the most
hard headed Kind with spirit Of lofty
idealism. rs, y
Il believe. in pure democracy. With
Iincoln.I hold that ..'this country, with
It's institutions, belongs to the people
who inhabit it, Whenever they shall
grow weary Of the existing govern
ment they can exercise their constitu-
tional right of amending it," We pro-
gressives believe that tile people have
the right, the power and the duty to
protect themselves and their own well
fare; that human rights are supreme
over all other rights; that wealth
should be. the servant, not the master,
of the people. We believe that unless
representative government docs abso-
lutely represent the people it is not
representative government at ALL We
best the worth of all men and all meas
ures by asking how they contribute to
the welfare of the men, women and
children of whom this nation is COM
posed. We are engaged in one of the
great battles of the age long contest
waged against privilege on behalf of
the common welfare. We hold it a
prime duty Of the people to free our
government from the control Of money
; in politics.
This country, as Lincoln said, be-
longs to the people. So do the natural
resources which make it rich. They
supply the basis of, our prosperity now
and hereafter. In preserving them,
which is national duty, we must not
forget that monopoly is based on the
control Of natural resources and nat
.ural advantages and that it will help
the people little to conserve our nat
ural wealth unless the benefits which
It can yield are secured to the people.
Let us remember also that conserva-
ton, does not stop, with the natural re-
4ources, but that the principle of max,
Rig the best use of all we have re.
quires with equal or greater insistence
that we shall stop the waste Of human
life in industry and prevent the waste
81 human welfare which flows from
the qnfalr use Of concentrated power
aud wealth in the hands of men whose
eagerness for profit blinds them to the
oest Of what they do. We have no
higher duty than to promote the eff
cheney, of the individual There Is no
surcr road to the efficiency Of the ma.
3,'''fSo' Power Ii tho Peoples. :s-F'
am emphatically a believer ip con:
Stit1tfdnahsm, and because of this fact
~ mo less semphatlcally protest against
}4Any theory that would make Of the
seonstitutlansa means Of thwarting in
+. stead of securing the "a bsolute right Of
l!the people TO-, rule themselves and t.
q proyide, for their own, social, and "a.
!, dpstrial well being. All constitutions
those Of the states no less than that
of the nation, are designed and must
rs interpreted and administered 80 as
stpt'nt human rights: Lincoln 90 in
g tefpreted and administered the ma,
tienal constitution. =. Buchanan at
q. tompted the reverse. attempted to al
luman rights to and limit them by
he constitution. It was Buchanan
who treated the courts as a fetish
wh6 protested against and condemned
~ criticism Of the judges for unjust
sahd SInffehteous decisions and upheld
Att1s stttntiuns ass arr instrument 70,
the ptsetion Of nrivilege and of,Yest
Cd wrong. IT was Lincoln who sap
3 peeled 30 the people against the Judges
when the Judges went wrong, who ad
vocated and secured what was prac
tically ths8fecall Of the bred Scott de
cislon Sanilrswho treated the constitu
ton asa.a living force for righteous
ness. We stand for applying the con
stitution to the Issues Of today as Lin
coin applied it to the Issues Of his day
!. Lincoln, mind you, and not Buchanan
!. was the real upholder and preservel
Of the constitution, for the true pro
gressive, the progressive Of the Lin
coin stamp, is the only true constitu
t3onalist, the only real conservative
: Il the constitution is successfully In
voked to nullify the effort to remed,
. injustice it is proof positive either tina
the constitution needs immediate
amendment or else that 1t is being
wrongfully and improperly construed
I therefore very earnestly ask yot
clearly to provide In this constitution
: means which will enable the people
readily to amend it If at any point i
works injustice and also means which
viii permit the people themselves b!
popular vote, after due deliberatio1
and discussion, but finally and with
cut appeal, to settle what the proper
construction Of any constitutions
point Is. It Is often said that ours 1
q government Of checks and balances
But this should only mean that thes
checks and balances obtain as anon,
the several different kinds Of repre-
sentatives Of the people judicial, ex
ecutive and leglslative-to whom tn
people have delegated certain portion
Of their power. It does not mean tina
the people have parted with their pow
er or cannot resume it. The ''divisiol
Of powers" is merely the division
. among the representatives of the pow
ers delegated to them. The tern
. must not be held to mean that tn
i people have divided their power wit
e their delegates. The power is the pee