Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-14
Importance Of States.


aristicrats Of the Venetian Senate"
Importance Of States.
There is no more important question
| before the American people than that
| involved in the preservation OF the
States in all their vigor, authority and
power. If the States are compounded
| into a general mass; If they cease to be
sovereign and supreme in their domes-
| tic concerns then our form OF govern
ment Is destroyed. That there are forces
at work undermining the States, weak
ening their authority and destroying
their prestige. no one can deny. 1t Is
as reasonable to attack the sovereignty
! of the States as 1t would be to make
war upon the Federal Government. Lo-
calf self-goyernment lies at the very
| foundation of a free country. It is one
of our most precious heritageS. 1t Is the
school in which dependence and lib
| erty were bred. This Is not question
of bringing to life dead States rights
doctrine" it is dealing with a funda-
| mental question of political science.
| The question of local self-government
and the principle of the sovereignty OF
| the States is not O. dead issue. It is one
Of the most vital problems in our body
| politic. These United States cover
vast territory, possessing every variety
of soil and climate and inhabited by mil
| lions of people. many OF whom come
| from other lands. They have different
physical environments and varied his
| torical conditions. They have different
customs, manners and thoughts. While
essentially one people along purely ma
| tional lines there are differences. as
| there should be. and must be, II local
government survives and indivtdualism
is preserved.
A powerful bureaucracy is being es-
t.. Ynf$ al
most autocratic power. More than SOU,.
600 persons are clothed with Federal
authority and constitute a part OF the
great bureaucracy under which We live.
The activities of the Federal Govern
ment are being extended into almost
every home of the land. Through It's
numberless agencies. bureaus, DEPART
ments and instrumentalities it Is ex-
ercising power, a portion of which 1t
is believed by many it does not possess
under the Constitution. Paternalism is
growing, and side by side with 1t So
cialism strides with vigorous step, While
bureaucracy marches with triumphant
banners throughout the land. The mel
ancholy picture is presented OF many
of the people Sinking domestic ana
legal responsibilities, betraytng their
States and contributing to their decline
by giving support to Federal aggression
and Federal bureaucratic government.
The States are being devitalized and To-
cal governmental units exhibit o de-
pressing form of atrophy. Students or
history do not fail to discover analogies,
If not parallels, between powerful ma
lions of the past whose tragic fate MIS-
torians portray. Aggressions OF the ex-
ecutive departments Of our Government
and its increasing power, much OF which
was not granted under the Constitution,
no longer provokes serious opposition
or resentment among many OF the
people. y
Unfortunately the idea Of uniformity
of thought and conduct and ideals and
standardization of the lives OF the peo-
pie has become a dogma and an OBJ
Federal control over individuals and
even States is urged with increasing
vigor through constitutional limitations
upon the Federal Government are to be
disregarded. It Is apparent that rever-
ence for the fundamental law Of the
land Is diminishing and many citizens
treat with contemptuous scorn appeals
to the Constitution against legislation
destructive Of personal liberty and the
rights of the States.
Wards Of Government.
There is a growing demand that the
Federal Government project itself into
the States and that it take over their
functions and responsibilities. Demands
are made that the Federal Government
shall construct local highways, provide
educational facilities, supply revenues
for schools, provide for and take over
the public health of the people, grant
old-age pensions, provide all forms Of
! insurance, control all persons under ID
years Of age, perform the police func-
lions of the States, enact criminal stat
utes covering substantially all offenses
defined in criminal codes, furnish finan-
cial aid and assistance together with
technical advice not only to agricul-
turists but to those engaged in most
business activities. The individuals, the
homes, the local communities and the
States are to be the wards Of the Fed
eral Government which Is, through
bureaus and Federal agencies and hum
dreds of thousands of Federal employ
eS. to perform the duties of a benevo-
lent despot or q gracious and yielding
a.