Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1912-01-26
Buflded Better than They Knew.

gralt-prosecutor. at Sacramento, Cal,
recently gave TO the United Pres
Association: the following statement
- believe the constitution Of tn,
Cnited States possesses some defect.
which are fatal to true democracy, ane
| believe further that these defects wert
deliberately inserted by It's trainers t,
accomplish dat very purpose.
"If this be treason, then make the NOS
, ii it,
Fifteen gears ago, no man of prom
inence in public affairs would have had
the temerity to make such state
ment, without some reference to the
environments and conditions of those
times. He would have been at once
branded as anarchist and enemy to
our institutions who ought to be pun
ished
Further on in his interview, Mr.. II.
delivered himself thus:
NO man who has ever studied the
debates occurring in the constitutional
convention can have any doubt on this
subject. A majority OF the leaders in
that convention frankly avowed, after a
pledge of secrecy had been exacted from
ali its members, that they believed in a
monarchial form OF government. But
they realized that public opinion in this
! country would not tolerate or accept any
form OF governments except republican"
That may be true, in part at least,
but what could have been expected
from a body of men who had Just
emerged from monarchial rule, by
means OF rebellion, that had it not
been successful, would have placed
its leaders under penalty for treason?
1t is the success of such struggles
that count for honor and glory. 1t
was no more than to be expected that
Tree government was approached with
the hesitation OF an untried expert
ment. and that a diversity of opinion
was honestly maintained in laying the
foundation of a new government.
Heney seems to think the initiative,
referendum and recall, as applied to
all Officers-legislative, executive and
judicial. and the election of United
States Senators by popular vote, will
remedy some Of the evils in the con-
stitutioL, which, be it noted. was
necessarily of comprehensive nature
subject to reasonable interpreta ton.
Jefferson was, in his time, strict
constructionist, and believed it to be
unwise for the Executive to follow
the Supreme Court rulings when the
President deemed it unwise to do so.
He was in favor of weak government,
that the peoples rights might not be
menaced or ignored further he
claimed no government should remain
permanent beyond the period of thir-
ty-four years-Vol. III. of his works.
In all of his writings he claimed the
Constitution was framed to accord
with the policy of the Federalist
party, to protect property rather
than maintain human rights. After
his disappearance from the stage of
action, property contentious and con-
tractual obligations developed at an
accelerated speed in the realms of
economic and political life. Jackson,
OF course. endeavored to bring the
Constitution and our institutions
back to their mornings. In a charac-
teristic remark, Old Hickory OBJ
served. Chief Justice Marshall has
declared such to be the law, now let
him enforce the measure; but Mar
shall did not attempt it all the same.
But owing to the rapid commercial
development of the country the tide
had set in too strongly; troubles have
multiplied and intensified ever since.
That is undoubtedly the lever that
is now permeating official life-an
observable disposition to regard the
acquisition of preferment and the
holding of Office as the perquisites of
a better" class. This was specially
observable in the old Wing party.
but it was gradually ground out Of
party rule, by devotion of the peo-
pie to the idea of free government.
1t will be remembered when the
first election Of Cleveland was an
uounced, how local office-holders de-
plored the fact and prophesied all
manner OF disaster. Just imagine:
they declared carpenter in charge
of an executive Office. or q brick
layer keeping the records posted, or
navigator steering the ship-of- state
amid the breakers. But they soon
saw that their fears were groundless,
and that mankind could adapt itself
to circumstances, without any SER
ious fear of the impending ruin so
freely prophesied.
r. W. MCKINNEY, of Pomona, CAL,
spends his spare time in raising
poultry OF the Minorca breed. A
short time ago, as he was cutting
some eucalyptus wood for use in the
kitchen stove, he noticed that his
hens were crowded about the block,
eargerly devouring the small chips as
they flew from his Ak. Quickly see-
ing the advantage which would lie in
owning hens, which would subsist
on this diet, Mckinney resolved to