Evening star., 1924-06-07

country. Accordingly they boldly
undertook the creation of new
| code of laws which was to be con-
sIdered and ratified by the people of
Elson in his Side Lights on Ameri-
can History. says that the greatest
undertaking of this conveution was to
organize and consolidate these states
into one firm and compact nation, and
at the same time 20 retain the Sepa
rate state governments in such a way
| that state laws and national laws
would not conflict; this would secure
| ject in view of combining these op-
posite tendencies of government
! liberty and uniop-and of meeting
other specific needs of the colonies,
which. by its adoption. brought forth
on this continent a new nation.
The eminent Engiishman statesman
| Pitt said of our Constitution: 1T will
be the wonder and admiration of all
future generations. and the model of
all future constitutions"
The corner stone of this structure is
| composed of three fundamental ideas
The first is the representative form
of government. Ours is a govern
ment which derives it's power from
the consent of the governed.
The second is the division of gov
ernmental powers into three separate
lative, which is a Congress composed
of A Senate and a House of Repre-
sentativeS, to make the laws: the ex
ecutive, consisting of a. President, to
administer the laws: and the judi
ciary, consisting of courts and judges,
TO interpret the laws and apply the
principles of justice to the particu
lar cases that arise. The powers of
eSs,- N dAr oy&r VNYlf AI
and any tendency to overStep them is
restrained by an admirably worked
out system of checks and balances"
The third fundamental idea of the
Constitution is the guarantee of per-
sonal immunities, with judicial pro-
lection of these guarantees There
are certain privileges which liberty
loving people have always held dear,
of the press, the right Of peaceful as
sembly. and of trial by jury. In order
to secure these. and other privileges.
ten amendm ents, called the bill of
rights" were added to the Constitu-
tion.
These three - the representative
form of government, the three-fold
division of power and the protection
of personal rights-are the funda-
mental principles: of the Constitution.
The great Americans who designed
this Constitution had both wisdom
and foresight. They proved them
selves equal to the magnitude of
their task. They created an instru-
ment of government which is rigid
and flexible when fiexibility is nee
essary." This Constitution is built
upon principles of justice that are
secure and unchan Sng. yet it pro-
growth to meet the needs of an ex-
pandtng nation.
The. American people are adjusting
their system of government to the
new conditions which have arisen.
Care must be taken IN this work that
no essential element of the Consti-
tuition be sacrificed. 1T must be re-
:memhered that in the Constitution
the line dividing the authority OF the
federal government from the author
.drawn. Our federal government has
sbeen likened to the keystone Of an
arch: the state governments to the
supporting, stones: each dependent
upon the other. Whether or not the
federal relations established by the
fathers will be maintained depends
upon the people. Eternal vigilance
viii be the price. Our Constitution is
something to be worked. not wor-
$ hipped." In order to do this inteili-
phe.J, shS pcopiS "a the CIViIco OtdLes
Should be familiar with IL. in all its
essentials. This task is not difficult.
fo.v our Constitution is a concise in
st1 ument The constitution of Eng
land is contained in hundreds OF
volumes of statutes and reported
cas- es; our Constitution, including the
anne emdments, can be read aaIoud in
less than half an hour. 1t is so SIM
plified that the average mind, with
reas spnable effort, can master, its pro-
visions. To make this effo ct is not
only the duty and responsibility, but
the privilege of every American.
X X X
AS American citizens. VIC should
rfoL, a Grelv iptprast il, rn,hIi, af