Smyrna times., 1936-06-18

Empire, and every other Empire
that ever has existed.
In spite of what has happened in
the United States in recent years,
and in spite of the counsels of de-
spair and radical change which we
are accustomed to hear from var
ious quarters, have the confidence
to believe that my fellow-country-
men will not, because of the recent
disorders, abandon their historic
role and seek their salvation in
schemes that involve subversive
departure from the course we have
heretofore followed and a funda-
mental change in our political in
stitutions. In saying this I par
ticularly have in mind the division
of authority between the national
government and the governments
of the States. AS the attempt,
lately abandoned, to apply to the
whole country uniform rule in
sumptuary matters, resulted in an
appalling increase of crime, which
enriched our common speech with
such terms as fbootlegger," gang
ster" and "racketeer," it should
seem to be incredible that the peo-
pie would now seek to apply the
same principle to all their affairs.
In a real sense, all administration
is local. While a national postman
delivers your mail, the streets are
laid out and the houses are num-
bered by local authority. 1t is i'm
possible for officials at the nation
al capital to know local conditions
as the people of the locality do;
and the more the public authority
is centralized, the more likely it is
to be misled by local advice of an
interested and selfish character,
and thus to be prostituted to pur-
poses which are comprehensively
denoted in our political vernacular
as log-rolling.
Our Federal Constitution
In what 1 have just said, I have
intended no partisan implication.
l have spoken simply as a citizen
who believes in our historic insti-
tutions, and would cherish and de-
fend them against impulsive and
unconsidered action, as well as
against the attempt to apply alien
and unnatural theories which are
destined sooner or later to perish
even in the places of their origin.
Our federal constitution does not
preclude considered change, but on
the contrary expressly provides for
it. Our greatest menace is the
demagogue who overlooks or seeks
to obscure this fact.
Having always believed in teach
ing by example, give little weight
to words that do not square with
acts; nor, on the other hand, can
/ help feeling troubled when acts
do not square with words. Napol-
con, when in exile at st. Helena, is
reported to have said that he owed
his eventual downfall to the char
actre of England's public men. To
the same factor, as Burke in his
letter on the French Revolution
has so clearly shown, may be as
cribed England's emergence from
her domestic struggles of the sew
enteenth century with her historic
institutions not only unimpaired
but deliberately and explicitly con-
firmed and strengthened. The cir
cumstance that this was done by
the Parliament, in order to assure
the country against further secret
as well as open usurpstions of
authority by the Crown, serves
also to remind us that there is
nothing more inimical to the pres
ervation of free institutions than
timeserving legislature the MEM
bers of which put the retention of
office and its emoluments above
the independent exercise of their
constitutional prerogatives. But
great men are not always produc-
ed by great occasions. As we re-
view the worlds history, we find
no regular emergence, even in
critical times, Of 'the few, the i'm
mortal names, that were not born
to die" and consequently histor-
ians record not only the rise Of ma
tions, but also their fall.
It was the exceptional fortune Of
the United States, in the days in
which their independence was