Evening star., 1924-07-08

method of amendment, was made by
| Robert e. Lee Saner. of Dallas, presi-
| dent Of the American Bar Association,
in his annual address before the asso-
| ciation
| The address recounted the history
| or the foundation of the American
republic. the exigencies that con-
eVoISed gave type Short
account of the trials and tribulations
that have assailed 1t, and made sew
| eral suggestions for the conduct for
the members of the association while
to heighten the respect for the Con-
stitution and the American govern
ment.
The speaker made a plea for the
maintenance Of the balance of power
between the three major divisions of
| the government, and between the ma
| tional and state government. $50
long as the balance between the GEN.
tripetal force, which tends to draw
the states into the nation, and to de-
stroy them. and the centrifugal force,
which tends to throw the states out
of the nation is maintained. our gov
ernment will endure" he declared.
Would End Prosperity.
But when that balance is de-
| stroyed and the states are consumed
by the nation or. on the other hand,
the states become all-powerful and
free themselves from the restraints
imposed by our national government
under the Constitution, then the DAYS
Of our prosperity and happiness are
ended. and We are doomed to the
cataclysmic annihilation which all
governments, not Anglo Saxon, have
had to suffer-"
In referring to amendments to the
federal constitution, Mr.. Saner said
fS hol haa
adopted between 1904 and 1913, or
one to every thirty-six years. and
that four had been adopted since 1913
or one to less than every three years.
There are now pending in Congress
| nearly one hundred proposals to
| amend the Constitution, practically
all of them conceived, fostered and
| urged by highly organized bureaus
or associations" he declared Writ
ually all of them strike at the fu ada-
mental principles of our government,
| and many of them are fostered by
! the selfish interests of minority fac
tlons for purposes purely selfish The
insistent demand of this paternalistic
movement is for creating new bureaus
and departments of Offices. vastly
increa sing the number of federal en-
ployes, with relative increase in
| the cost of government"
Like Caligula OF Rome.
A comparison of the legislative
mania of the American legislative
bodies was drawn with Caligula of
on pillars so high that the people
| could not read. Congress and the
various states daily grind ou. laws
and go to the other extreme by en-
tombing them in bulky volumes. The
59th Congress passed $3.50 laws, and
in 1915 the states adopted 1908 laws,
not TO speak of municipal enactments
and rulings Of the various bureaus
commissions and departments. And
yet the citizen is presumed to know
all the law
IF the tendencies of the times are
not checked Mr.. Sauer continued,
IF halt is not called. the congress
would, if unrestrained by the Su-
preme Court, speedily wipe out state
lines and our government would
degenerate into paternal sumptuary
bureaucracy, government, directing
and controlling every activity of its
citizens. even to the method and
manner of their living.
Hits Mass Movements.
Nowadays we move in mass forma-
tion, We think as the crowd thinks,
we vote as the party votes" Mr..
to join every massed movement,
every bloc or faction that Will aid
our selfish aims or appeal to our
personal vanity, even though we sac
rlnce our lnQlNl0udllty we, the
people. are easily persuaded that
whatever is for our own benefit is
best for the country. To be perfectly
honest and brutally frank, the fact
is that we, the people, are slaves:
slaves to Incidence. we are too lazy
| to vote. Slaves to selfish interest: we
want everything from the govern
ment that other people pay for.
Slaves to faction, we blindly but none
the less vociferously advocate what
one particular bloc, clique. or faction
tells US is right. We are slaves to
party, without question we vote and
we act in accordance with the die
tatcs of self-chosen political leaders.
I'VE, the people, in our madness to
make money. frequently forget our
obligation of citizenship both to the
state and the nation. The sad ending
of the chapter reads: We, the people,
have sold our birthright as American
citizens for a mess of political pot
tags."