Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-12-09

we're to draw each ball from box. There
was to be one coored ball, the rest to be
white. The senator extracting the colored
ball was to become President.
The foregoing instances Illustrate some.
thing more than merely the mental restless
ness inherent In a democracy. They damage
the contention that recent criticism of the
constitution Is novelty, and they en-
phasize the durability Of the original instru-
mcnt.
Nineteen amendments, the last four within
the last seven years, have been attached to
It. The revision process, elaborate though
it Is, Is workable in response to vigorous
public opinion. A charter Of laws reacting
to popular will In this way is not precisely
seized with rgor mortis.
And yet, babble in effect The malcontents,
look around you, survey the state Of inter-
national constructive political thought, Is not
the American constitution outmoded? Ac-
cording to Mr.. Wells, typical Of his class Of
speculative innovators, though much more
brilliant than most Of his confreres. the
makers Of this republic were ''all limited
men. They were limited In knowledge and
outlook; they were limited by the limta- =
tous of the time. And there was no perfect
man among them" How true; also how
trite.
If the constitution is to be judged by
standards which no instrument of govern
mcnt has ever attained, it is a failure. On
this erring planet, however, approximations
OF excellence have az yet to be sought, and
the quest is occasionally frightened by the
practical process Of comparison.
The responsible ministry system of France
and Britain is often lavishy praised by
would be exterminators Of our constitu-
tional prestige. Naturally, the character
istic exhibit Of the flexible political machine
Of our late allies excludes discrepancies.
1t is derogatory to the effect OF predeter-
mined conclusions to point out that the
ministry system is particularly workable in
countries compact and centralized by Gus
tom and existing conditions. The check and
balance system so carefully formulated by
the constitution makers intent on co ordi =
mating a congeres Of sovereign states would
be absurdly out of place in Franco and
England.
1t would obviously operate inconvenently
in the comparatively small states such rs
Czecho Slovakia, Jugo- slavia, Poland,
Austria. carved out Of the war map. Nee
essarily they must wrestle with the com
bined disadvantages and merits Of the cabi-
net machine, acted upon BY the popular will.
II the quick political decisions gained by
this method are alluring to Americans whose
impaticnce at long delayed conclusions Ia
sometimes tried, the perils of rushing rotat-
ing ministries are by no means to be dis
counted
In 1914 NJ. Ribot was premier OF France
for a few days. Americans, with all their
love of dramatic incident, would not con-
ceivably relish such hectic politics. On the
other hand, Herbert Asquith's incumbency
of the premiership in Great Britain endured
for nearly nine years. The anguish in E
evitabe in the eight year leadership Of any
American President is acute.
To the skeptics on the subject of Amcri-
can constitutional vitality 1t may not be
amiss to suggest that every one Of the larger
South American republics and the Austria
Ian and South African unions, covering n
diversity of territory, embracing dispRrate
conditions OF life and industry. are imita
tions of the federated nationality born of
patriotic compromise, practical statesman
ship and ideals of freedom both older and
more permanent than trolley cars. automo
bes and the telephone. and formulated in
the city OF Philadelphia, on Chestnut street
between Fifth and Sixth streets, in 1887.
There is, indeed some cause for uneasi
ness in the growing misconceptions of the
scope and underlying province of the consti-
tuition. The current wave of unnatural
federalism and passion to overwhelm the
instrument with special legislation is evil
dence of misinformation and delusion But
constitutional Interpretation, strict md loose,
has oseillated for more than u century. The
reputation of aggressive and light headed
putative thinkers is grounded In precedent.
Give the constitution decent show. There
is invigorating spirit and sound political
philosophy still in that imperfect but tough
old apparatus framed by Limited men,"