Evening journal., 1915-11-10
" Free Government and
Means by Which Liberty
and Democracy Became
Established. " Subject Dis
cussed by Distinguished
JuriSt.

lish speaking peoples the world over
And not TO English speaking peoples
alone has the Great Charter spoken
It's practical wisdom has appealed Z,
all those who have. from time {,
: time, sought TO achieve the substance
rather than the form. OF liberty. Blu
for us who speak the tongue o
Shakespeare and the English Bible
, it is bone of our bone and flesh o
our flesh It's truths are those which
our fathers, in their great declaration
held to be self evident and which Wit
alize the atmosphere OF our daily life
Il do not mean, of course. that IN
; those rude and boisterous times thai
preceded and succeeded the grant o.
the Great Charter, the concept of i'm
individual liberty was as clear and dis
, tinct as we have IL today. but IL was
a graft upon that sturdy stock OF
which | have spoken. which. in the
slow process OF the ages, has pro
duced for English speaking peoples
its fruit in the successful resistance tC
the absolutism OF an English King
the Bill of Rights. the Habeas Corpus
Act the Revolution OF 1889. and. more
than all, our own Declaration of Inde
pendence and the free institutions EN-
bodied i'm our constitutions. state and
national. upon which our individual
liberty so securely rests.
Here, on these western shores OF
the Atlantic. the fathers found an un-
occupied continent. which Providence
seems to rave specially provided for
tie growth and happiness of the gen.
erations who We're to inhabit Il. Filled
with the instinct of free government
taII I.la.a II
pand and grow unhinGered by caste
or prejudice. No privileged classes
. barred the way to the equality of all
men before the law. and no vested
wrongs interfered with those inalien.
able rights of life. liberty and the
: pursuit OF happiness WI have 70
long been the posSession OF us all
: Hatred Of Tyranny.
+ These early settlers had inherited
; the passionate hatred OF tyranny ant
8 love of liberty and equality which
J. characterized the race from which the,
4 sprang and which has given tone AM
J. color to the political edifice erecte,
J. in this western world Il was thi
+ deep-seated hatred of arbitrary ant
d unrestrained power that was wri
large in the very forefront OF ou
! Declaration Of Independence The es
l sential manhood and self respect tha
dignihes our common nature is out
ragged by the attempt of one man oi
many 10 work his or their unrestrain
ed will upon those who may be with
lin their power, and our fathers were
Iswift TO declare these essential rights
OF life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness inalienable and indestructi
bic. II was this profound sentiment
that gave birth to the written consti-
tutions of government. state and ma.
tional. which America for the first
time gave to the world. In these.
I democracy first successfully asserted
the sovereignty of the people and
their capacity for self government.
Nearly $50 years of experience has
demonstrated the wisdom and sue
cess OF the experiment
"The happy accident that separate
colonies, independent of each other.
grew into separate and Independent
states, has given us a local self-gov-
ernment more complete and enduring
than any that has ever been known or
attempted In the world. When the
= sovereignty of King and Parliament
was abiured, the sovereignty of the
peoples Of the separate colonies as
serted itself, in the formation of
state constitutions and in their agree
9 ment as separate and independent
a states to the articles of confederation.
! Inese, as you have been taught. con.
n sututed too loose bond of tho states
u that were parties TO IL and failed
q 10 DO more than establish a govern
n mental agency to represent some of
those interests that were common h
D. all of the states.
N Commercial Handicaps.
e mere was no power Ca genera
n taxation permitted 10 this agency. an,
d, revenues could only be raised by an
H. pealing % the separate states for thei
o. quotas OF a general assessment, mad,
a under the authority OF the Continental
II Congress. These requests were oftel
neglected or inadeQuateIy respondd Il
Is by the state governments. The state
IS under these Articles of Confederatior
S too. had the right to levy impost
s. and duties upon vessels and CON
L merce from other states, and to othel
r wise hinder and inconvenience th
$ increasing commerce that was carrie
4 on between them. Il was out thes
: commercial handicaps TO interstat
f. commerce that the movement origir
, ated for a contention of delegate
from all the states, by which these do
! fects i'm the Articles of Confederatiol
: could be remedied. This movemen
was begun on the initiation of the Leg
islature on Virginia. i'm 1856 provid
! ing for the appointment OF five com
missioners from that state. and sug
gesting that such commissioners b,
appointed from other states, at time
and place to be agreed upon, TO take
= into consideration the trade of the
United States and consider how far
uniform system. in their CONNER.
cial regulations, may be necessary to
their common interests and their per.
: manent harmony, and to report 10 the
, several states such an act relative 10
I TINS great object as. when ratified bv
: them. would enable the United states
IN Congress to effectually provide for
S the same.
l. In September. 1856. commissioners
= from Virginia, Delaware. New York
u u NeW Jersey and PENNSYLVANIA met a,
- "A Asslsnapoiis' nps' the commissioners appoint,
u 60 oy Massachusetts,. New Hampsbire
North Carolina and Rhode Island fan
=, ing 10 attend. These commissioncrs
VI agreed TO use their endeavors 10 nro
cure the concurrence of tbe OH,
e states IN the appointment NJ .o,,,,,,.
y uSs 70 meet In Philadelphia on m,
e second OF May. following. The state,