White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-08-12

olhlllol DOuy VI ~ ia oAy
from the dawn of civilization. But
with all their wondrous learning and
practical powers of deduction they
were not s~uperhuman and failed to
foresee everything that might arise
TO bring to issue the comparatively
few weaknesses in the style of gov
eminent that they created. They
were denied the human power TO see
wherein one branch OF the govern
ment might use the constitutions
omissions to entrench itself in great
err power than was intended for it,
gradually throwing up the outtresses
of custom to hold that power by a
force thai can have no better defini-
ZION than acquiescence or habit OF
thought.
With there being no constitutional
warrant for this assumption of power
by the supreme court, ruling over
both congress and president. and by
the same act the people standing
behind both, and Il this assumed
power is to be further a%squiesced in,
it undoubtedly is logical and in the
interest of the preservation of this
theory of government that the power
be defined in words, it's scope limited
and it's application regulated in the
same detail as are the powers of tho
other branches of the machinery
which were set up for the purpose
of giving a free people the right and
power tc govern themselves.
To eradicate the worst OF the ill,
if not all of it, it has been suggested
that a law be enacted requiring that
it take the votes OF seven of the nine
supreme justices, instead of five of
the nine. to set aside an act of the
lawmaking body. BY that it is not
meant and must not be understood
that It is to be a mere proposition
of b%alloting on the personal likes
and dislikes of the judges, but be-
hind each vote there must be good
and sufficient reasoning to Justify
the opinion. But here arises the
question of whether or not the su-
preme court would not set aside that
very law as being ar encroachment
upon its alleged powers and there
fore unconstitutiona1-none of which
matter can be found in the document
With that thought in mind, which
seems to be well taken. some of the
proponents have advised that the law
be enacted as a constitutional amend
ment, thus perhaps effectively taking
it beyond the reach of the men whose
first motives and life work is to ,.surp
and to nu1lify.
Instances of fragrant usurDation
and distortion of the intent IF tho
constitution writer's are in the thou
sands. No more fragrant case of it
is there than the Interpretation
placed upon the Esch-Cummins law
by the interstate commerce commits
sion, which Interpretation was fed
out to it by shrewd but unpatriotic
corporation lawyers, that said COM
mission by that act had the right to
override the federal constitution and
regulate the commerce within n
state. Article l.. section 8, OF the
constitution provides that congress
shall have power to regulate COM
merce with foreign nations, and
among the several states, and with
the Indian tribes. This section lin
its the power of congress as to COM
merce within the United States. The
meaning of it is that where an arti-
Gle Of commerce is shipped from one
state 10 another it is under the reg
ulating jurisdiction of congress, but
where it is not shipped or removed
beyond the borders of q state it is
wholly within the jurisdiction and
subject to the laws of the state. Yet
whether intended by congress or not
the Interpretation placed upon the
Esch-Cummins law is that the inter-
state commerce commission may
enter a state and a what shall be
the rate of transportation that a
carrier may charge the shipper. The
supreme court has upheld the Esch-
Cumming law yet has not placed an
inhibition upon that Interpretation,
thereby countenancing and support
ing it. This is clearly a usurpation
of the exclusive rights of the states
as guaranteed by the constitution.
In other words, the constitution in
that particular is being violated in a
negative way, such violation being
with the passive assent of the su-
preme court, and any state attempt
ing to resist that passive assent as a
natural consequence will be called
TO account for running counter to an
implied command.
This reference shows the fal1ibil-
ity Of the court, being composed of
men as prone to err on questions of
law and fact as an equal number of
men in n walk Of life, and there
fore it is ~abundantly plain that such
men by q mere record vote of five to
four were never intended by the con-
stitution writers to constitute them
selves the absolute rulers of the land
that the supreme jutices have.
1t may not be begging the question.