THE CONSTITUTION—ITS VIOLATION.
By Editor
IN these days when the Constitution of the United States is regarded as belonging to a dead past, the following editorial from an Eastern paper will commend itself, as good sense:— "Why do we have a Constitution?" "The people can not daily and hourly superintend the doings of their public servants. Yet they must have public servants, and must intrust them with some power. So the people made a Constitution, which tells their public servants precisely what they may do and what they may not do. And this Constitution specifically provides that the public servants may not do anything which the Constitution does not expressly give them leave to do. It also provides that if contingencies arise which are not covered by the Constitution, the people must be asked to ratify an amendment covering the case." "Why is a violation of the Constitution dangerous?" "Because it is an act of usurpation—an encroachment upon the fundamental right of a free people. That right is the right to govern themselves, to say what shall or what shall not be done. An encroachment becomes a precedent. The precedent becomes a habit. The habit becomes a vice." "What does 'outside the Constitution' mean?" "It means outside of the law, beyond the pale of the law. It means an exercise of power that belongs only to the people, and has never been delegated by them to their public servants."