Henderson daily dispatch., 1937-09-18
THE CONSTITUTION-ITS
TWO SECRETS.
(Christian Science Monitor)

Like children gathering around a
patriarchal grandfather, myriad COM
munities throughout the United States
are joining this week in celebration
of the 15Oth anniversary of the sign
ing Of the Constitution. What is this
impersonal document, this selfless
ruler, that can evoke such loyalty
after an unbroken reign of century
and half?
Could the wisdom of any dynasty,
the prescience of any dictator or the
force of any oligarchy have held so
great a nation within a single frame
of government through a span Of
more than five generations? It is url-
precedented in the knowledge of man
kind that one written plan of admin
istration should serve so broad ane
populous nation through so many
vicissitudes of TIME and change. Is it
any wonder, then, that Americans hal:
their Constitution as something botl
unique and grand, something of mo
mentous Significance in the long flu
ture of the world?
Here is an idea of government so
old that it is vehe-ated as tradition
and yet of such youthful vigor that
only the most reckless would venture
overly to overthrow it. Whence comes
such strength? How explain such
paradox? Its democracy was scoffed
at in the beginning and today certain
believers in autocracy say 1t canno.
endure though they have seen it do Sc
for longer than some of its own au-.
thos thought possible. Recent events
have attested its grip on the allegi-
ance of the people. 49,
The secret of this strength lies. we
believe, in. two features. The Constitu-
ton has been -described-a little pa
tronizingly at times "a bundle of
compromises. It is a structure of
compromises, and that fact is one of
its .excellences. A compromise indi
Gates the striking of a balance be-
tween differing factions, the finding
of a way for conflicting forces to
live together.
The essence of government is the
maintenance of just balance among
the interests of the governed. The
written constitution embodies a re-
cognition that there are rights of
minorities as well as of majorities,
that government is entitled to the
powers necessary to its functions, Tut
that these functions are to be deter
mined by democratic processes and
that in them the state is 20 be the SER
want of the people, not the people the
servant of the state.
Thus there exists, not only in the
written Cor s. tuition itself but in the
unwritten lode that has grown up
around it, structure of delicate
working balances between the federal
government and that of the states,
between legislative and executive
branches, between these and the judi
ciary, between various sections of the
country, between the influence of
wealth and of numbers, and finally
between the rights and the respon-
sibilities of the citizen.
This is the first great characteristic
O! the Constitution. In striking the
balance the. founding fathers and the
later administrators have drawn up
on the wisdom of ages of mankind's
experience in self-government, and
that experience is not lightly to be
cast aside. Nevertheless the men who
wrote the Constitution End those who
added the BIZ of Rights knew that
it must have sufficient flexibility to
adapt itself to the changing needs of
generations. 70 come.
They wrote into The document the
provision for It's own amendment ans
then in tl:s First amendment the all
important guarantee of freedom Q
thought freedom of worship free
dom of the press and freedom. o
sneech and assembly. That is, having
set. the machinery going, they trus.
ed untramn1eled thought and untrarr
meled discussion to make the adjust
rner,ts which might become ecessar,
from time to time il order to redrcs
THE pslan-e or provide new balance
in situations the march Of progre
should evoke. Holding fast to tina
which is sco.. men shovld likewis
nress' forwa,. ! - that which is bette
This was the second great feature