River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1924-10-23

During the world war, passion and
prejudice infiamed the minds of the
people. Suspicion and hatred influ
enced opinion and action. Frequently
individual, neighborhood and com
munity bitterness resulted
During this time of infiamed and
often unjust public sentiment, let us
assume that constitutional safeguards
had been made imperative, or could
have been nullifled by act of Congress
as is proposed in the personal plat
form of La Toilette, what could have
been the result?
Let us assume that under the in
fiuence of this infiamed wartime senti-
ment, Congress had passed law af-
fecting the rights of naturaliZed citi-
zens, declaring that the civic and pro.
perty rights of those coming from
countries with which the United
States was at war was null and void
and that the property of such persons
should be under the control of the
alien property custodian. There were
hundreds Of. thousands of newly natur-
allied citizens. 1t is further assumed
that such law might be made retro
active. Suppose Congress had passed
such law-and in the highly i'm
famed sentiment existing no one can
dispute that there was agitation along
this line-and the constitutionality OF
such law had been called to the at
tention of the Supreme Court Doubt
less the Court would have declared it
unconstitutional Passion, prejudice.
mob thought and action influencing
Congress to re-enact the same law, ac-
cording to the La Toilette proposal,
would give it force and effect. This
illustration furnishes an undoubted
example of what might happen any
time under an infiamed public senti-
ment.
Again, article one. declaratory of
those fundamentals of religious free
dom, free speech, free press and the
right to peaceably to assemble, sought
to be abridged and invaded times
without number in our history, but
always preserved by the Courts, af-
fords another illustration of the pos
sible destructive use of this pernicious
La Toilette doctrine The Oregon
school case, the Nebraska language
case and others, show how vigorously
the federal courts have steadfastly adj
hered to the principles adopted by the
American people and made effective
in 1791 In the preservation of human
liberties and rights these sacred prin-
ciples are as effective to-day as they
were then.
Another illustration is afforded by
the operation of the Eighteenth amend
ment Here again the federal courts
have vigorously enforced the rights
conferred upon the people under
Article four of the constitution, gov.
erning search and seizure and the pro-
lection of persons and property. Ere
quently the federal courts are required
to pass upon litigation arising from
a misuse of official power. Public
sentiment influencing Congress under
the La Toilette plan, might nullify
the force of this amendment by the
re-enactment of legislation.
Let us assume that this plan of
La Toilette, proposed in his own plat
form and adopted by his own conyen-
ton, is made a part of the federal
constitution and the right to nullify
supreme court decisions by Congress,
is given. 1t will follow that the same
forces, acting locally, will demand
amendments to the state constitutions
and the power given to legislatures to
set aside decisions of the state SUI
preme courts The La Toilette plan
affects every personal and property
rights. 1t has in this campaign been
adopted as the proposal of political
army organized and agressively de
handing this change in the coRstitu
lion.