The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1921-10-23
The Constitution in Its I35th Year

"a Nv AAH MNNN
~ill be rcmedied. all patriotic Amcrl'
cans firmly believe 10 be the hest
which the world has yet known. one
hundred and thirty four years are not
long In the history OF a nation. hut
long enough for us to realize tho
value OF tho Constitution under which
We AVE lived and p~roapercd, until
today we are In many ways the fore
most nation In the world. The maxi
ers OF the Constitution brought to
their work a knowledge OF all which
could be known from history as 10
experiments In government. as viii
be apparent from a detailed eNami'
nation OF the qualifications OF the
members OF tho convention, and In
Renious opponents OF the Constitution
presented almost. IL not quite, all
that can be urged in the way OF hos
tile criticism as Is shown in the Fed
.eralist-the work OF those great men,
JAY, Madison and Hamilton, prinei'
pRily Hamilton-in defease Of tho
Constitution and In answer TO the at
tncks upon II. To those who are In
terested, nothing al DO OF more
value than a reading OF the Federal
ist, In which much can be found
not oniy OF the time when written.
but also much which II applicable to
many Of u later problems In pub.
lie affairs as though the authors
were gifted with prophetic foresight.
And yet today we find many who
think themselves progressive n
reformers, who aEsail the Constitu
tion as obsolete, good enough for the
time when Il was made but not up
to date and incapable OF meeting
modern conditions; but n careful eX
animation OF all they have TO say will
show that there Is nothing new In
their views nor anything which was
not considered by the Constitution
makers. and deliberately and fully
met later by tho defenders and ex-
FOUNDERS OF the Constitution.
Opponents OF Today.
Another and different source OF
danger Is 10 be found In the wide
spread propaganda in favor OF the
destruction Of all existing govern
ment anywhere In the world, with
the exception. perhaps, Of the syH
tenn which has been set up In Russia.
Such propaganda has Undoubtedly
made great progress In European
countries, and to some extent In our
own country where the masses OF the
people have not been much affected
by II and indeed are a%pathetic and
disposed 20 regard the propagandists
as Wild iunatics whose rawlings are
not worthy OF attention. But we
should he on our guard against such
teachings which arc a real danger,
Anarchists n socialists are as far
apart as the poles In their theories
which are dramatically opposed. and
yet, unnatural as the alliance may
appear. they are united In an attack
upon all existing government. They
are sincere. earnest and many OF
them Of great Intellectual strength
and present their ideas with such
force n ability as to produce won
dCrtul effect upon minds which have
moi had occasion previously to study
governmental affairs, and are there.
fore easily misicd.
Their visions, however. are ns i'm
practical as the dclusions OF the al
chemists to find the philosophers
stone which would have the power
Of transmitting metals into gold and
OF removing all seeds Of disease from
man and Of renewing life. and the
dolusion, which has continued 10
mOdorn times. of the possibility of
creating perpetual motion. The dif
ficulty with all the thcoricsts who
have devised schemes for tho amelio
ration of the lot Of mankind In that.
!mbucd with lofty feelings OF altru'
iStlc ~hencNolsncc. they surround
thoupsclvCs with m atmosphere u
their own creation and attrihuting
To man IN general tho SAM fcoliug
and desires which they themselves
possess, lose All sense OF practical
~ Us ~ AHNNAA AfAAhN iNAANkH
whom they imagine to he animated
with sentiments NJ benevolent and
universal philanthropy, when In fact
all too many human beings are in
spirod by nothing higher than tho
selfish desire To get all they can out
~ life with the least possible eNcr'
tion.
Men without Patience.
This thought, as to ideallstic phil.
osophers. was cpitomizcd by the pes.
simistic Carlyle Ia saying that the
good Emerson believed all men to
be good, or something to that effect.
In what | have said. I do not refer
to tho 'rag-taE and hoh.taii' who
attach themselves without thought
and often from tho lowest motives
to any movement" or scheme Of
social philosophy. but only to those
who have been really leaders ami
mated by high ideals.
Poe, the greatest literary genius
America has ever produced. in one OF
his fantastic sketches, has one Of his
characters, q rcsuscitatcd Egyptian
mummy, say, that great movements
were nwfully common things In his
DAY, and ms for progress. II was at
one time quite a nuisance, but Ii
never progressed
The great difficulty with most
would be rcformcrs of all kinds. is
that they have no patience, but want
Instantly to accomplish what appears
To them desirable, by Immediate and
oven revolutionary methods. They
would do well TO adopt a different
course, hut presumably that ia Inn.