Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-26


known controversialist on the wet side
austen g.. For.
NEW YORK. May 25-There is per-
haps nothing in English or American
history that stands out more clearly
than the refusal of the English and
recurring demand by constituted
authority that the people must respect
all laws without limitations Of any kind.
Hence, take as the subject Of this
statement THE Presidents Commits
sion and the Limitation of Law
The subject is by no means new.
Even cursory reading of the history
of the English and American peoples
shows that often they have rejected
the doctrine of the autocrat, that there
Is no limitation to the duty of obedience
to any and every law, and that they
have insisted on the great truth that
law has its limitations, no matter how
free it may be from successful attack
on the grounds that it is unconstitu-
tional.
The most recent public statement of
that truth was made in August, 1922.
before an audience at least as well
fitted to appreciate its force as any in
the country. the American Bar As
SOCldGkOIl Lc SPtdhcI % 3lG udy IlhQ
chosen as the title of ciS address. The
Limitation of Law" He was not only
a member of the bar, but he was the
immediate predecessor of Mr.. Hoover
in the office of President of the United
States. With characteristic terseness,
Mr.. Coolidge summed up the plain his
toric truth.
Quotes Coolidge Statement.
I'm republic" he said, law reflects
rather than creates the standard OF
conduct. To dragon the body when
the need Is to convince the soul will
end only in revolt
Mind the word only" Mr.. Coolidge
did not say that such a course may
end" but rather that 1t will end only
in revolt" II was against the newt
able, not the probable consequence of
such legislation that he uttered those
pregnant words. Let the present law
enforcement commission, selected by his
successor, disregard at their peril the
solemn warning Of Calvin Coolidge in
1922.
Contrast the words OF President
Coolidge with those spoken on the
floor Of the Senate by Senator Jones
of Washington when he offered the
act that bears the Senator's name:
In a republic there is no such thing
refusing TO convict citizens indicted
for violations of this law that changed
overnight misdemeanor into felony,
and permitted cruel and unusual pen
alties.
Mr.. Hoover Allied his inaugural mes
sage with assertions of the duty of
obedience to each and every law. This
Is nothing new in the mouth of
authority, but the people of this country
have shown no more than one occasion
that they do not share this view.
Force" Laws Lack Respect.
Fugitive slave laws, prohibition laws
and the force laws enacted in the
effort to enforce the fourteenth and
fifteenth amendments are all alike.
The fugitive law of 1850 made every
man in Massachusetts, liable to official
summons In aid of the return of es-
capped slaves" (Emerson's Diary, May
3, 1850. Each instance was an illus
tration Of what President Coolidge
called the limitation of law" In the
case Of the force" laws the Govern.
ment found that even with the aid Of
the Army laws could not be enforced
and at last gave up the attempt. Once
again the Executive and Congress will
find that laws which do not reflect 1.-THE
standards Of conduct in the republic"
are unenforceable.
Within a few days the daily press
has carried accounts of attempts by
prohibition agents to hire undergradu-
ates in Harvard and Brown universities
as spies to "snoop" on their brother
students and betray them to the Gov
eminent for pay. For all such conduct,
unless disavowed and disapproved, the
sanction of the Chief Executive is fairly
to be assumed.
Speaking in 1891 on Mr.. Fox's ':bel
bill, Erskine, England's greatest advo-
cate, said: IT consider the jury as the
commons house of the judicial sys-
tem-the balance for the people against
the prerogatives which 1t is necessary to
trust with the crown and its magis-
trates, but which will often, when I'M
balanced, degenerate in to oppression"
Charges Grave Abuses"
Judge Crane Of the New York Court
OF Appeals, IN a public address, said
recently:
The jury is the last vestige of pure
democracy that remains" No matter
what the Presidents commission may
report, no matter what Presidents may
say. the American people will continue
to refuse to respect law which is not re-
spectacle, and juries will refuse to con-
vict in cases in which the Government
stoops to ignoble methods.
The American people are still capable
OF righteous indignation at the I'M
broken series of grave abuses" Of which
the President Is quite well aware.
(CopyriRht, 1921