The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1935-06-25
NEWSPAPERS OPINION
HANDS OFF OUR CHARTER OF LIBERTY

i The American government was created in three
separate and distinct divisions; legislative to make
laws the executive to enforce laws, and the judi
ciary to interpret laws. The Congress, the Presi-
dent and the courts are charged with responsibility
for these functions of government. Each division
is independent of the other. The purpose was 10
| establish system of checks and balances to pro-
mote efficiency and economy, and to check any
overreach of authority by an ambitious or over
Jealous official.
! The intention was to allow the individual free
dom of initiation and action in the pursuit of life
and fortune and happiness so long as he did not
interfere in the exercise of the equal rights of
others. In civic affairs the principle was ap-
piled. The township was made sovereign in its
strictly local affairs. The county assumed broad
err jurisdiction without authority to interfere with
the home rule of the township village. In It's
sovereign power the state respects the rights Of
the smaller civil units and finally gives up certain
of its powers to the nation but reservng to itself
all powers not so delegated.
The spirit and intent of the trainers of our Fed
eral Constitution was to carry this principle of IN
divdual liberty and civic freedom all the way from
the individual up through the political units to and
including the national government. These fathers
of the American Republic had the political history
I,UU
ing of autocracy, olgarchy and despotsm They
knew the slavery and miseres of the multitude
They were familiar with the doctrine of democracy
that had been taught by philosophers for Il cen
turtles or more, and they formed government Of
the people in which the right to life, liberty aud
property is secured to the This was gained
with the least possible restraint of personal free
dom or individual liberty. They gave in the
ii hot thn
Oldest and what is ever the noblest and the best
charter of human rights and liberty that has ever
been written.
Franklin D. Roosevelt took solemn oath to
support and defend that Constitution when the
American people exercising their sovereign fran
chse chose him as their President for a term Of
four years. 1t was in time of emergency depres-
sion. deAation and panic. The people wanted a
change in government. In good faith they accept
ed his promise that reckless spending of public
money would be stopped that public expense would
be reduced and that the budget would be balanced,
and taxes finally reduced. He pledged reform that
could easily be made within the framework of the
Constitution. The people did not reproach him be-
cause he did not or could not keep these promises,
but they gave him no authority to change their
cherished form of government or to override the
dience.
The President has the right to advise Congress
as to conditions at home and abroad and to sug-
eest laws within Constitutional limits. He has no
authority to write laws or to dictate their passage
in the Congress With the political prestige and
power of his position President Roosevelt did in
duce Congress to pass laws delegating unusual ana
extraordinary powers to himself Under these laws
nm
dertaken especially under the NRA and the AAA.
They were proposed as temporary means to work
ont of the depression The President promised that
if the experiments not successful ne would be
the first to admit the failure and stop them. The
people doubted the efficiency of these laws at the
start In two years everybody, except the President
and his bureaucracies knew they were in the man
failures and retarded recovery instead of helping
us out of the depression. But instead of admitting
the failure, he demanded that his powers under
them be further increased and that they be made
permanent.
Now the Supreme Court has decreed that the
NRA and at least some of the AAA are repugnant
to the Constitution and consequently void. This
was the unanimous decision of the nine judges of
the Supreme Court of the nation. In this decree
the people of the nation concurred and for the
most pdrI reJOlCeu.
The reaction of President Roosevelt to the decl-
sion of this high court has forced the people to
the conclusion that the violation of their Constitu-
ton was not careless oversight but rather de-
liberate and Intentional purpose to change the
whole intent and structure of the government and
to create in its stead despotic regime. Newspa-
pers have previously reprinted extracts from the
Presidents statements tending to this line of
thought and purpose. The "brain trust bureau
Gratis have been repeatedly charged with oligarchic
ambitions. 1t has always been the tendency of
ambitious rulers and their obsequious bureaucratic
satellites to build up centralized governments as a
means of creating autocratic power and aggran-
tdizement for themselves. President Roosevelt has
won applause by his winsome form of speech in
generalites, but he has never taken the people
fully into his confidence by revealing his official
plans and purposes in frank detail, and in conse
quence business have hesitated to make invest
ments and recovery has been delayed. If the Pres-
dents mind is not clear on the problems of govern
ment it is probably well that he does not attempt
to discuss them publicly in detail, but if he hopes
ito retain the respect of the American people, as
whole, he would better keep his hands off the fun