Evening star., 1920-09-17
CHARTER ORLEACUE
PARAMOUNT ISSUE,
| HARDING DECLARES
By the Associat ted Press.

By the Associated Press.
MARION. Ohio, September 17.-Pro-
nouncing the league Of nations cove
can Constitution, Senator Harding de-
clared in a Constitution day address
here that the time had come for the
United States to decide whether it
would preserve or abandon the char
atty
The Constitution or the covenant.
that is the paramount issue" he said.
The two are irreconcilable. We can
not be governed from both Geneva
and Washington. We cannot follow
our present magistrate without for
saking the father of our country"
The nominee also asSailed the ad-
ministration's policy toward the
smaller nations of the western hem
isphere. asserting that the executive
had usurped congressional powers to
carry on an unconstitutional war
with Haiti and Santo Domingo.
He declared the recent utterances of
Franklin D. Roosevelt. the demo-
cratic nominee for Vice President.
had revealed officially for the first
| time the American governments
rape" of the two little republics.
Speaks From Porch.
l Lie SpeeCn, QeliteTe0 from the lTOut
porch to delegations from several
Ohio counties. reviewed the circum-
stances surrounding the making of
the Constitution and outlined the
| candidates conception of the balanced
powers of the executive, Legislative
and judicial branches of the govern
| ment. Only by preserving that bal
ance, he said. could the United States
fulfill it's greatest destiny.
The Constitution has never failed
America" he continued, land despite
needless assertions to the contrary.
And now, as never before, she stands
ready. and, let us hope. will soon be
in a position. through earnest coop
GRAFTON OF all branches OF our gov
ernment, to lend a helping hand. but
she herself must point the way.
First Step II Plain.
How can we, then. in reason and
filing our mission on earth? The first
step Is plain. We must strictly main
tain and scrupulously observe, in let
ter and in spirit, the mandates of the
Constitution Of the United States. We
are not doing so now. We are at war,
not alone technically with Germany.
but actually with the little. helpless
republics Of our own hemisphere. The
wars upon our neighbors to the south
were made and are still being waged,
though never declared, through the
usurpation by the executive of pow
ers not only never bestowed upon
him. but scrupulously withheld by the
Constitution.
"Of the fact there can be no ques-
tion. It is admitted, even boasted OF,
by the democratic candidate for Vice
President, between whom. if elected,
and the presidency itself. would be
but a single life. You know. he said
to the people of Montana. as his words
were quoted by the press:
"I have had something to do with
publics. The fact is. that 1 wrote
Haiti's constitution myself. and. II
do say it, think 1t is pretty good
constitution. Until last week I had
two votes in the league assembly;
now Secretary Daniels has them
Admission Of Grape"
ITO the best of my information this
is the first official admission OF the
rape Of Haiti and Santo Domingo by
the present administration. To my
mind, moreover. it is the most shock
ing assertion that ever emanated from
a responsible member OF the govern
ment of the United States.
True. we know little OF the con. con,
duct of1these wars OF occupation
and the imposition OF laws upon our
helpless neiThbors. The censorship
is no less strict than 1t was during
the secret conferences and con-
spiracies in Paris. Practically all we
Haitians have been killed by American
marines, and that many OF our own
gallant men have sacrificed their lives
at the behest of an executive depart
ment in order to establish laws draft
ed by an assistant secretary OF the
Navy. to secure vote in the league
and continue at the point OF the
bayonet a military domination which
at this moment requires the presence
of no less than 5000 of our armed
men on that foreign SOIL
Would Transfer Power.
'vastly more important and far
.sc."x to our own popular
institutions than even this distress
Ing example is the proposal to trans
,. by Indirection the chief preroga-
tive of one department of the gov
ernment to another. AS all are well
w. Constitution vests in Con-
Eress exclusively the power to de-
- ~4r. put 1t also declares that
a duly executed treaty shall be the
supreme law of the land.
'Under article X of the Versailles
covenant. now being subjected to
appointee and representative Of the
President-not of Congress, nor of
the people-who would either ac-
quiesce in or reject proposition in
the council OF IQc ledSu Sue 10 upnOlu
by force Of arms the cause of one
power against another.
'"The Constitution or the covenant
that, my countrymen, is the para
mount issue. The two are irrecon-
ciliable. We cannot be governed from
both Geneva and Washington. We
cannot follow our present chief mag
istrate without forsaking the father
Of our country We cannot pin our
faith to hazy visions of the future
80 a}vSl he rkA
realities Of the past"
Harding Makes Statement
Ushering In Observance
of "Constitution Day"
Of CONSTITUTION day. in his home
state, Senator Harding, the republi-