Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-09-11
Courts and Schools


the continuing trend in this
country toward the centrali-
cation Of power in the Federal
Government and the result
ant degradation of the State
governments is a dangerous
thing; that it is a procedure
not intended either by those
who drafted our Constitu-
ton or by the original %
States which ratified it or
by those States which later
entered the Union, and is, in
fact, prohibited by the Con-
stitution itself.
1t is clear that those who
drew UP, those who ratified.
and those who later came
under the Constitution under
stood that what had been
created was nothing more
than a servant of free and
independent States which
had voluntarily surrendered a
few powers but which spe-
officially retained all powers
not surrendered in writing.
We know this for two rea-
sons: /. The second amend
ment to the Constitution
tArticle II of the Bill of
Rights") provides:
"A well regulated Militia
being necessary to the secu-
rity of a free State, the right
Of the people to keep and
bear Arms, shall not be
abridged"
That's right. 1t actually
does say Stree State"
2. Article x, with which
most of US are familiar even
though no one seems to pay
attention to it. says:
1.-THE powers not delegated
to the United States by the
Constitution. nor prohibited
by it to the States, are re-
served to the States respec-
lively, or to the people"
Now, let's look at where we
stand today. At long last we
are in a position which, I
most sincerely hope, will
cause us to face up to the
fact that by devious, twisted,
and generally hidden paths
the executive, legislative, and
judicial branches of the Fed
eral Government primarily,
Of late, the judicial branch)
have brought the States and
the people to such depths
that as Of this writing Fed
eral judges have said that
they intend to take over
even so elementary a func-
ton as the assigning of spe-
cif1c individual children to
specific schools within the
so-called free States" and,
what is more. within the coun-
ties thereof and even within
the cities, towns, villages and
hamletS of those States.
How long will it he before
they take over the grading of
papers? How long before they
take over the determination
of the maximum allowable
distance between the first
grade rooms and the toilets?
Don't laugh. 1t may never
have occurred to you; but
our Federal Government has
done sillier things than to
rule that where there are
variations in distances be-
tween classrooms and toilets,
the lower grades must be as
signed to the closest rooms!
Robert A. RenfrO.
y 4 4 4
Nish Showers refers to
Article /. Section / of the
Constitution. He, and other
amateur constitutional pun
dts who have taken up the
latest sport of multiplying"
Supreme Court decisions
don't realize the hornets nest
they are stirring up.
The section cited is: "All
legislative powers herein
granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United
States. :" Now, the Con-
stitution gives "the execu-
tive power" to the President
and the "the judicial power"
to the Supreme Court and
inferior courts, but Congress
gets no "scepter" at all, but
only "all legislative powers
herein granted" The fact that
Congress can "ordain and
establish" inferior courts and
can legally hamstring the
court in many ways only adds
to the confusion.
Nowhere in the Constitu-
ton is there a definition of
what constitutes legislative,
executive or judicial power.
Those who consider the Con-
stitution a clear document
are deluding themselves. AS a
matter of fact, the whole
thing is so vague and merely
schematic that If we did not