Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-12-02
PROHIBITION, SUFFRAGE
AND GENERALIZATION
The Governor Of South Carolina Says to
the Governors Of the Other States
That II ls Long Time Since
State Rights Were Respected

state Rights Were Respected
GOVERNOR COOPER, of South Caro-
~ lima, addressed sympathetic audience
when he reminded the conference of COVER
nors in Harrisburg that there is an un-
wholesome drift toward Capitalization Of
authority in Washington.
There was not a governor present who
has not seen the authority Of his state dis
regarded by federal officials The national
government busies itself with affairs today
which the states would have forced it to
keep its hands off a hundred years ago.
The doctrine Of states rights in its old
form was shot to death in the Civil War.
But there are certain rights which must be
preserved to the states if the nation is to
continue to be a union Of independent SOW
ercigntics.
Governor Cooper evidently wonders whether
any one wishes the rights Of the states to be
preserved, for he said that we are drifting
toward Capitalization because the people
will it, or at least they do not check it,"
This drift will continue until the people de-
eide to stop IT,
The recent decision of the Interstate Com
mercc Commission on railroad rates in New
York is the latest illustration of the en-
Croachmcnt of federal power. The commits
sion permitted the railroads throughout the
country to raise their rates few months
ago. 1t has been supposed that the au-
,hority of tho commission extended only to
interstate rates The New York Public
Service Commission denied the petition Of
the railroads for permission to increase the
rates within the state to correspond to the
rates fixed by the national commission. The
railroads then appealed to the national COM
mission. which has just ordered that the
rates within the state be raised to CORE
spond with the rates in interstate traffic.
The validity of this order will be disputed
in the United States Supreme Court, but
those familiar with the provisions of the
Esch CummnS railroad law and with pre-
vious decisions of the court in similar cases
are expecting the court to sustain the Inter
state Commerce Commission.
II this expectation Is realized, our own
Public Service Commission will have about
rs little control over railroad rates as it
has over the price of gas to be charged by
the United Gas Improvement Company to
consumers in this city. 1t Is expressly for
hiddrn 10 interfere with rates charged by
municipality owned public utilities. The In
tcrstatc Commerce Commission is acting us
though it had virtually absolute jurisdiction
over rates charged by all railroads. The
state commission which was created in the
first place for the primary purpose of regu-
Iatlng r0lTOaQ rates, Is III uanRcr Ol ilnuluS
its chief occupation taken from it.
President Roosevelt formulated the theory
that in spite of the provision in the consti-
tuition that the rights not delegated by 1t to
the federal government were reserved to the
states. the federal government could do any
thing which it was not forbidden 70 do. II
he wished TO bring something TO pass, the
absence of constitutional authorization to do
il did not deter him. Nor did the fact that
the thing he wished to do was among those
things which had been supposed to be within
the purview of the state governments cause
him 70 hesitate. He said frequently that
the failure of the state governments TO act
was justification for action by the national
government This is very advanced doc
trine, but If things go on as they have been
going no one need be surprised to find il the
accepted doctrine in Washington in the
course of the next generation.
The states are no longer so jealous of
their rights as they used TO be. The pro-
hibitory amendment to the constitution,
ratified by all but one or two Of them, was
q surrender TO the federal government Of
their police power over the liquor traffic. No
argument against that surrender carried any
weight in view of the overwhelming popular
sentiment in favor Of it. The states in
which the sale Of liquor was prohibited by
local laws found it difficult to enforce those
laws so long as liquor was manufactured in
other states They were willing to surrender
their authority TO the federal government,
and the states in which liquor was made and
sold ignored the principle involved and con-
sentcd to the plan Of federal prohibition.
Likewise, the states have partly surren-
dcrcd their control over the qualifications of
bo al cuff
mpnt 10 the constitution. The states, it is
true, mag still say whether there shall be
an educational or a property qualification,
but they may not say that there shall be
sex qualification.
The next logical step is the passage Of an
amendment which shall make all qualification
for voting uniform throughout the country.
Plausible arguments can be offered in sup
port OF such an amendment. In some states
today immigrants who have declared their
intention to become citizens may vote in
local elections after residence in the country
for single year. In other states the i'm
migrant may not vote until he has been
naturalizcd 1t cnn be said that the Who'll"
nation Is interested in the conditions under
which the immigrant is allowed to vote.
The states however, are still allowed TO
use their own judgment in this matter
The Republican party, which will be in
absolute control Of all branches of the gov
ernmpnt after March 4, is committed TO fed
eral child labor laws in spite of the fact that
Congress has not yet been able to pass such
n law as will meet the approval of the Su-
preme Court. a national child labor law is
demanded because there are many states in
which the children are not properly pro-
tcctcd by state laws. In this part OF the
country the need of laws which will prevent
the exploitation of children is admitted. In
other parts of the country, where whole
families work in factories, it Is argued that
il is better that the children should work
along with their parents than that they
should be allowed to run the streets with no
proper care. 1t is easy to show the fallacy
in such special pleading, just as easy as it
is TO point out that the invasion of the right
Of the states to pass their own labor laws
is of a piece with all the Capitalization Of
recent years