Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-21
THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION
"l787 and Today
BY RANDOLPH LEIGH,
Director National and International Oraorical Contests

/ on the part of the judicial branch, but
on the part of Congress- with the ap-
| proval of the Executive. The case, OF
course, was that of the State of Rhode
| Island. brought about by It's dilatori-
| ness in joining the new Union, whose
Constitution it had ratified.
Congress passed a law treating
Rhode Island as foreign power and
raising ruinouS commercial barriers
against her goods. She was also. in
formally, given to understand that If
her attitude did not change, her terri
tory might be divided between the
States adjoining her.
This was the first step in that march
toward the indisputable supremacy of
the Central Government over the States
which has been the outstanding char
acteristic of our political history.
The march of the Federal Govern
ment has been spectacular in the ex-
IRENE, and often to the sound of drums.
On the other hand, the march Of the
people has been comparatively noise
less. The results. however, have been
just as unmistakable.
Recall for a moment the original re-
latlOnShlp of the three departments to
the people. Only half of one depart
ment (the Lower House of Congress)
was. by the Constitution of 1887, direct
ly elected by the people. The Senate
was elected by the State Legislatures.
The President was elected by electors,
designated by or under the supervision
OF the State Legislatures. Finally, the
justices of the Supreme Court were Sc
lected by the President and approved
by the Senate.
What is the situation today? The
House remains popularity elected. The
candidates for the Senate and presi-
dency must submit to the same direct
popular vote as the members of the
Lower House. The Supreme Court, still
appolntlve, is, nevertheless. drawn much
closer to the people by the fact that
its makers, the President and the Sem
ate, are low popularity elected. (The
polite fiction of continuing the original
system of presidential electors remains
on paper, but, of course, does not OBJ
scure the fact that the President today
owes his office just as much to direct
popular choice as does any mayor or
county Officially
1t is not necessarily true, however, as
Is SO often said, that the return of a
member of the Constitutional Conven-
ton to the United States of today would
cauSe him to be shocked back into the
shadows because Of the changes which
ne would observe. He would of course.
look out upon a vastly altered world,
put the debates in the convention and
show that the Delegates, without fore
seeing the exact nature of the changes
ahead, nevertheless foresaw them, and
PROVIDED an instrument of Government
flexible enough to cope with them.
Ihey laid down a fundamental sys-
tenn OF Government. not code of laws.
mat fundamental system provided for
amendments under certain carefully set
forth conditions and it made the people
the ultimate arbiters as to the desir-
ability OF any changes in that system.
Chief Justice Marshall makes that
basic point clear in the following words:
TO have prescribed the means by
which the Government should in all
future times execute its powers would
have been to change entirely the char
acter OF the instrument and to give it
the properties of a legal code. It
would have been an unwise attempt to
provide by immutable rules for exigen-
cleS which, If foreseen at all, must have
been foreseen dimly and can best be
provided for as they occur"
(CQpyrght, 1917