Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-06-25
SCHAFFER WARNS
OF PERHS AHEAD
Attorney General Outlines For
State Lawyers Nations
Peace Problems

It is always hard to tell whether
the sessions of the Pennsylvania
Bar Association, which is holding
its twenty-fifth annual meeting, are
held indoors during the formal as
sembly. or out of doors under the
trees.
1t is the one time of the year when
the many picturesque characters in
the legal profession of the State
hold formally and informally their
genial symposium, replete with wit,
on all the problems of the universe.
At the formal evening meeting
last night former Senator Albert J..
Beveridge, of Indiana, dealt some
verbal uppercuts to the League of
Nations, while the Attorney Cen
eral of Pennsylvania, William 1.
Schaffer, in his presidential address
urged that the Federal govern
ment be speedily stripped of the ex-
traordinary and dangerous power
conferred under the stress of war"
Into the open these questions were
taken and like the old philosophers
in the groves at Athens, matched
its wits under the stimulus of the
open air, the sunshine and the gath
ering twilight.
Mr.. SchafTer's Address
Mr.. Schaffer gave a remarkable
and startling summary of war leg
islation, comforting upon the Presi-
dent and the bureaus of the govern
ment authority and power over the
rights and property of the citizens
such as had never been dreamed OF
and which had probably never exist
ed except under the rule of the most
absolute autocrats. This summary
showed how far the United States
had travelled away from the ancient
landmarks of the republic and how
great has become the concentration
of power in Federal hands. This
had been submitted to in time of
war in a most remarkable way, but
in time of peace every effort was
necessary to see to it that these
surrendered rights of the citizen
and of the states were resumed.
''It seems to me-" the speaker
said, that our problem of making
democracy safe for the United States
is to incorporate in the formula for
our government as much of the
democratic principles las it will
stand and as little of the oligarchic
principle as we can safely get along
without causing an explosion; that
we shall keep away from the COM
pound all anarchistic detonators
and that we shall see that the
oligarchic principle shall not un-
duly gather strength by being stored
up, and that the receptacle con-
tanning it shall be frequently drawn
off and renewed so that it shall
never outweigh or overbalance its
working mate, the democratic prin-
ciple, in the compound known to
us as a representative, federated,
constitutional democratic republic.
Rem rendering that the essence of
real democracy is that the power
of its rules shall be periodically re-
newed, and taking into account that
the oligarchic principle must gear
into the larger democratic wheel if
is is to properly work; that there are
well-defined limits to pure demo-
cracy which the great and wise men
who founded this Republic clearly
apprehended-are there not real
dangers to our institutions, in view
of the vast powers now lodged and
sought to be lodged in the depart
ments of Federal government with
the opportunity which this would
afford for the perpetuation in place
thereof in power of those who at any
given time desire to continue their
own rule, unless their great powers
are withdrawn?
Having seen how vast are these
powers, realizing that they compre-
hend, if continued, entire dominion
over our marine. our railroads, our
telegraphs and telephones, that this
means control of billions of dollars
WnFfh fu le
alone when taken over represented
a value in property of twenty bill
lions of dollars and in employment
provided for one million eight hun
dred thousand persons), and that
this insidious thing, crawling over
the country, is reaching out tentacles
ia take within it's grasp the mines,
the water powers, electrical supply
plants, and many kinds of manu-
facture, under the claim that their
ownership by government is to the
advantage of the people at large, is
1T not time for us to call halt and
to resolve not only that it shall TO
further go, but that all these enor-
nous powers and possessions, &C
quired under the stress of war, shall
be surrendered and that the Repub-
lie shall be brought back to it's an
SiSht way anu W tuC dS
Hamilton and jefferson, Washington
and Adams, Webster and Calhoun,
Lincoln and Cleveland mapped it's
course? If this is done, then what
ever party may for the time being be
in power matters not, so far as the
foundations of the Republic are con-
cerned."
In conclusion the speaker said:
"Do not allow the old-fashioned
ideals to depart from us. Let us con-
tinue to be plain men and plain wo-
men, with a plain mans govern
ment such as ours was designed to
be, with the balance of power all
kept true, with the States fulfilling
their allotted places in the Union, as
the units of the whole scheme; We
the People of the United States pre-
serving our individuality and our in
dependence; thus we will preserve
and make safe democracy for the
United States; our kind of demo-
cracy, with no foreign laber on it,
placed there by men not understand
ing our institutions. If thus we DUR