The Daily Alaska empire., 1938-01-03
The Ludlow Resolution

(NeW YOrk 1lmeS)
 Apparently under the stimulus of news from China enough signatures to discharge petition have been obtained to make certain that the Ludlow reso- ution will be brought before the House o Represen- tatives at early date This is the resolution which proposes to add a new amendment to the Consttu- tion providing that except in the event of an in vason of United States its territorial possess sons and attack upon it's citizens residing therein the authority of Congress to declare war shall not become effective until confirmed by majority of all the votes cast in nationwide referendum.
 The more than two hundred members of the House who have signed the discharge petition rec ognize that in many ways the authority to declare war is the most important power vested in the hands of Congress They argue in the words of the sponsor of the present resolution that the American people can cast their ballots for constabes dOg-catchers, the location of pest-houses water-works." :" And this being true they insist that the American people ought have power to decide the most crucial of all questions with which nation be confronted
 The to this argument is that not even in the relatively simple society which existed at the end of the eighteenth century did the authors of the American Constitution believe that the town meeting methods of pure democracy" could be applied successfully to national problems and that modern conditions immeasuraby complex The American system of government is a representative system of government in which power to deal with national affairs is delegated by the people to their chosen delegates The people. to be do elect the ccnstabes and the dogcachers they elect the Pres- dent and members of Congress and they have unques toned power to turn all these officials of office at the end of their if their work has been satisfactory. But is the representatives of the people and not the people themselves who necessarily enact the laws appropriate the money for the upkeep Of the Government departments and accept responsibility for other national decisions which cannot, as a practical matter be left to the method of the town meeting.
 It is to be noted that under the terms of the Lud- low resolution the whole American navy might be sunk in foreign waters, and it would still be m- possible for the Government to declare state of in order to mobilize the nation for purposes of self defense, until Congress had arranged for national referendum the question and the ballots had been counted. More than this the very act of holding such referendum might have consequences which were unfortunate in the extreme. For granted that war is poor substitute for honorable peace the fact remains that once nation goes to considera tions of vital sef-interest require it to present a united front The only practical effect of referen- dunn which gave sanction to a state of would be to destroy essential of unity and to advertise to all the world such differences of opinion existed within the nation crucial question:
 Under system of representative government the vote of Congress a question of peace is in itself essentially referendum since on so grave a upon to reflect sentiment in their communities To go beyond this and to propose legislation which might paralyze the defensive powers of the nation in a great emergency is to propose a course of action which is fraught with danger.