Evening star., 1924-03-02

What Of the Constitu-
ton? Are we in these
latter days pushing the structure Of
government off it's firm corner stone"
Many men in public life. not only in
Congress and official Washington but
throughout the country. are asking
these questions, with their attention
focused upon Il thought that has been
bothering them insistently for some
years, by such recent actions as
these:
The ceremonies of placing the Con-
stitution and Declaration of Inde-
pendencc, as the most sacred funda-
mental documents of this nation. in a
special shrine in the Congressional
Library.
The first attempt under the new
rules of the House to- discharge the
committee on the census from fur
ther consideration of reapportion-
ment measures because it has failed
to act, although it is nearly five years
since the decennial census. and al
though for more than 125 years the
Constitution has been interpreted as
mandatory in this regard.
Repeated attempts during consid-
Grafton of the tax revision program
to invade property rights, which We're
a prime consideration in the Consti-
tuition.
The charges openly made by sew
eral members of Congress that the
fourteenth and fifteenth amendments
are practically dead letters and that
thereby situation is created where
equally proportioned representation
has ceased to exist.
Other charges that certain church
organizations are interfering in the
affairs of state by attempting to die
tate legislation.
During the last Congress there
were some 500 proposals to amend the
Constitution and in the present Con-
Eress the indications are that there
will be an even larger number.
Great Concern Shown.
Public men are concerned at this
growing habit to propose amends to
tho Constitution. Washington warned
against it when he said:
"One method of assault may be to
effect in the forms of tie Constitution
alterations which will impair the
energy of the system, and thus to
undermine what cannot be directly
overthrown.' Many of the proposed
changes are based, as Washington
foresaw, upon the credit Of mere
hypothesis and opinion"
Those who are thus deeply con-
cerned because they see this govern
ment drifting away from the letter
and spirit of the Constitution and
lightly endeavoring to alter that great
instrument which has stood the
test of time as no other in all the
history of the world call attention
that there is scarcely an amendment
of recent adoption that has not left
in it's wake some degree of contro-
versial discussion and dissatisfaction.
They favor the long holiday for con-
stitutional amendments.
Lincoln said, "This country cannot
endure half slave and half free"
William Tyler Page, clerk of the
House, has coined an adaptation Of
that famous aphorlSm, This country
can not endure partly under the Con-
sritution and partly outside of 1t"
Peoples Responsibility.
By increasing the number of cleo
tive officers the direct responsibility
of the people for the election Of such
officials is being increased instead of
oil E.
ffcer for their good conduct.
The principle was laid down very
early in our national life that the
power, to tax is the power to Destroy
1t was never apprehended by the
founding fathers as the late Presi-
dent Harding used to say. that direct
taxation would be employed for the
national government except on the