Evening journal., 1915-11-10
ShOlUS That Constitution Is
a BullU0rk Safeguarding
People From Oppression
by a Majority of People
and Also Safeguarding
the Government.

Dy the people themselves. Thev
! eNolNe new theory and philosophy
as to the repository of sovereign now.
er Sovereignty, as you know nv
young friends, must reside somewhere
IN monarchial countries, more or less
despotic, it resides in the reigning
monarch In England, whose govern
ment Is monarchial i'm form only. II
:. resides in representative Pargia-
ment, but the American doctrine is.
, that 1t resides in the people at large
OF each independent community or
state. Sovereignty may be defined
shortly as the right to govern. When
we say, therefore, that state of this
Union is sovereign, we only mean
that she possesses supreme author
/, lty, except as to those matters in
which such authority or sovereignty
is delegated TO the federal govern.
ment or prohibited BY the Constitu.
tion of the states. As to the matters
thus delegated, the federal govern.
ment is sovereign and supreme. as
nave before explained In forminp
their state governments. the peonIe
have merely formed gencies-leeis
lative, executive and judicial-to which
the sovereign people have delegated
certain of their powers. The people
do not exhaust the sovereign powers
reposed in them by sucil delegation
but retain such part of their sover
eighty as they think wise not to use
or they may from time to time. out
OF that plenary sovereignty, increase
the powers of the governmental agen.
cies they have established, or dimin
ish the same
Care to Limit Powers.
But what ] want to call your at
I tention to is, that in all this matter
I care has been taken to limit the
powers that are granted to govern.
ment, whether state or national
These limitations are largely for the
conservation of that personal and in.
dividual liberty oil which have spok.
en- so much, for it is tlat that has
given zest and enjoyment to our life
the liberty to come and 60 to work
or not work. to govern our own con.
duct and UT own activities without
governmental control, so long as that
conduct and those activities do not in
terfere with the like liberty in others:
the right to be let alone, to pursue
our own happiness and our own des-
tiny, so far as our social well being
will permit, at our own pleasure; as
surance that we cannot be subjected
arbitrarily to the viii o. another with
out our own consent. These are some
of the liberties secured by our con-
stitutiOnal system and scheme of gov
ernment. They are liberties worth liv-
ing for; they are liberties worth dy-
ing for.
Let US see how these liberties are
1 guarded in different phases and de-
grees in all our state constitutions.
! We cannot examine them, but let
us refer to that great charter of lib
erty, the Constitution of the United
States, which Gladstone once pro.
nounced to be the greatest product
ever struck at one time from the mint
OF mans intellectual faculties.
"See with what sedulous care. our
fathers have guarded individual liber
ty. Nowhere else in the world does
| it exist under such guarantees. The
Constitution. as drafted by the con.
ventiOn, provided for the framework
Of our national government, describing
and investing it's three great depart
ments with the powers thonght neces
sary to the general government. Ad.
mirable in diction and style, clear and
concise in its description of the DOW.
ers granted, instinct with the genius
! of liberty and free government. II
was submitted to the states fer artif
cation. But Congress at its first ses
sion, on behalf of the people of some
OF the largest and most important
state. demanded. almost as a condi
/ tion precedent 10 its adoption, the &C
/ ceptance of certain amendments
which were then drafted and have
become part of the constitution. Il
was from superabundant caution that
! tie people demanded the guarantees
embodied in these smenoments. These
amendments were all. or nearly all
limitations upon the powers granted
/ to Congress, directly or by implica.
tiol. They all more Or less conserve
individual liberty as the priceless
! possession of the American people.
Ideal Of Democracy.
1T is for this reason that | want
! to adjure you to reflect upon these
restraints on power which the peo-
pie have placed upon all their grants
of power to governmental agencies
This was something new in the his
tory of the world. The experience
of century and third has demon
strated the wisdom of these limita-
tions. Attempts had beforetime been
made to limit the power of individual
sovereigns, but never before had the
sovereign people, by such self deny.
ing ordinances, placed limitations upon
the exercise of their own power. The
absolutism Of a popular majority may
be as dangerous as the absolutism OF
a single despotic sovereign. Under
our scheme of government, as pro-
claimed in our constitutions our es.
sential rights Of life. liberty ard prop
erty rest upon no such insecure foun-
dalton as the caprice of a popular ma
jority. My labor cannot be enforced
for another's benefit. nor can nv life
or liberty be put in danger or ieop.
ardy except by due process of law.
The security of individual life. liberty
and property is the jewel of our con-
httutional system. Unlimited power
4 is un-American and the people have
nowhere given Il to their government
nj agencies.
Pardon me II I dwell too long on
this theme. II is the burden of what
had TO say to you this evening. The
great ideal OF a true pemocracy-the
largest possible personal liberty con-
nistent with protection of all-this
was the spirit OF that Democracy
which our English ancestors brough,
with them to the western world and
Continued on Pare TweIva