THE COLUMBIAN, BLOOMSBURG, PA.
LIVE QUESTIONS.
A Series of Articles Contributed by
Auvaticed Thlukers.
CONSTITUTIONAL AND JUDICIAL OB
STACLES TO REFORM.
Were Jon linking t b h'lil togother by thn
lawyers?
Or by nn arn inirnt on a paporf
Tr by nrmc?
Nny. Nor tin- world nor any living thing will
so cihfrt'.
-Walt Whitman.
Story, iu thpprofaeotohiH "Common
ti rifs, ' ' ftpivika if the constitution as "in
Uio highest rpii the pnllndinm of
Ajnerioiui liln-rty. " Ilumiltnii showed a
rlearer conception of its booth. Iu Tho
FHlc,ralit lit' stated Hint ita udoption
would RHord additional wrurity to "tho
preservation of republican government,
to liberty rind to property." Popular
opinion tip to tho present day jtnfrtaina
Jnde Story, and it is as bulwarks ol
lilmrty thai the constitution!! of tho na
tion and of the state are usually regard
ed. It is the object of this article to
point out briefly some reasons for revis
ing this opinion and for recognizing tho
f:u't that our constitutions have become
the bulwarks of property and of little
olso. To this end I will cite at random
throe leading cases which have been de
cided within a year or two.
First. The income tax case (Pollock
versus Fanners' Ioan and Trust Co., 15
Sup. Court Rep., 912) holds that con
gress 'cannot impose an income tax on
account of a provision in our constitu
tion ndoptd iu 1789, which declares
that representation and direct taxes
must bo apportioned among the several
states according to their population
( Const itutiou of theU. S., article 1, sec
tions 2 und 8). Tho dissrwiting opinion
of Mr. Justice Harlan shows clearly
that in deciding that an income tax is a
"direct tax" tho supreme court has run
counter to tho tendency of all the deci
sions of the last century. It is admitted
that this paragraph of the constitution
was Inserted as a part of the compro
mise between the north and south on the
subject of the representation of the slaves
iu congress. The reason for the provi
sion ceased with the amendments adopt
ed during the war, and yet our highest
court iu interpreting this clause, instead
of taking a broad riow of the question,
has appliml to tho caso a kind of petti
fogging legio which might not, perhaps,
bo out of place in an action ou a prom-
ERXE8T H. CltOSBr.
issory note. To do this they have been
obliged to turn their backs on a series of
decisions looking in the other direction,
and the result is that they have denied
ns the right of levying a tax of the most
democratic description, although it has
long been collected without question in
England and Germany.
Second. The second i the Hyattsville
case, decided in January, 1898, by the
supreme court of Maryland (Wells ver
sus Hyattsville, 77 Md., 125). In tins
case tho town of Hyattsville had under
taken under an act of the legislature to
raise its taxes exclusively from land aft
er deducting the worth of improve
ments. It was, in fact, an experiment
in the direction of the single tax. Hero
article 15 of the declaration of rights iu
tho Maryland constitution, first adopted
over a century ago, was found to stand
in the way, that article requiring taxes
to be levied on both real and personal
property. The court declares that under
this article all exemptions of personal
property must bo null and void (page
142). As the drift of tax reform is decid
edly in this direction, the state of Mary
land is to a great extent closed to any
improvement iu her tax system. The
court's opinion of the single tax is not
fluttering. It is "a scheme which if
suffered to obtain a foothold will inevi
tably lead to ruinous consequences"
(page 138).
Third. The third case is that of
Kitchio versus the people, decided in
March, 1895, by the supremo court of
Illinois (N. E. Reporter, volume 40, page
454). An act had been passed by the leg
islature (act of Juue 17, 1893) provid
ing thnt "no female shall be employed
in any factory or workshop more than
eight hours in any one day or 48 hours
in any one week. " Tho court declares
this section to be unconstitutional under
tho article of tho constitution of Illinois
(articles 2 and 20) which says that "no
person Bhall be deprived of life, liberty
or property w i thout due process of law. "
As the provision is common to almost
all, if not all, of our constitutions, the
decision is of interest throughout tho
country. Judge Magruder in giving the
opinion of the court spoaks as follows:
"Labor is property, and the laborer
ln.3 tho sanio right to sell his labor and
to ooutract without reference thereto as
any other property owner. In this coun
try tho legislature has no power to pro
vent persona who are sui juris from
muking their contracts, nor can it inter
fere with the freedom of contract be
tween the workman and the employed.
This enactment is a purely arbitrary
restriction upon the fundamental right
of tho citiisou to control his or her own
time or faculties. " It will ro uoticed
that this opinion, while it decides the
ciuio against the employees and in favor
of tho employer, is so drawn as to lead
one to suppose that it is really tho wom
en and children who havo won tho
lawsuit, mid that it is their interest and
ambition to bo allowed to work 24 hours
a day.
Now, what chws of the community
has been protected by thoso three deci
sions? In tho income tax case it is tho
class whose incomes are over 14,000 a
year. This includes persons who rccoivo
large salaries und also tho more impor
tant class of those who havo largo In
vented estates. It was tho latter class
that attacked tho act, us is shown by
tho character of tho parties in the two
caws viz, the Farmers' Loan and Trust
company und the Continental Trust com
pany. Iu tho Ilyattsvillo caso protection is
afforded to landlords.
In the Illinois eight hour cose it is
the factory owner who is protected
against tho women and children in his
employ. In connection with this deci
sion it is worth while to note a recent
newspaper item, which sets forth that
"in Canton, Ills., a city of about 0,000,
there is a plow factory and numerous
cigar factories where children work for
if l.oO and 2.60 a week of 10 and 12
hours a day. "
Are there any lwnt constitutional
decisions profovting lifo and liberty to
set off against theso threo protwting
property? If there aro any, I should bo
glad to cite them, but I do not know of
one not by any means that no occasion
for such a decision has preset i ted itself.
In tho caso of Debs (15 Supreme Court
Reporter, page 900) the right of a singlo
judge to imprison a defendant for con
tempt of cot'.rt, although his alleged acts
constituted crimes and misdemeanors, is
upheld, which decision certainly does
away with "due process of law" in tho
case of "lifo and liberty" and throws
jury trials to tho winds. It is unneces
sary here to dilate on the opinion of tho
court below, which, whilo admitting
that Debs counseled moderation, calmly
holds that ho did not mean what he
said. It is stamped with prejudice from
beginning to end.
Thero are two reasons for this failure
of our constitution to protect lifo and
liberty whilo thoy go much too far in
protecting property. In tho first place,
our judges ore prejudicial; in the sec
ond place, our constitutions aro in some
respects antiquated.
First As to tho judges, I nm far
from believing thut they havo any in
tention to render unjust decisions, but
all their prepossessions run in ouo direc
tion. Corporations pay tho best fees,
henco every young lawyer hopes to be
come a corporation lawyer. Practically
every successful lawyer is a corporation
lawyer. From this class our judges ore
selected. It is therefore perfectly natural
that they should look upon invested
wealth as tho one important thing in
tho world They naturally regard all
movements in favor of ' 'life and liber
ty" at tho expeuRO of "property" as un
holy combinations, to suppress which
as in tho case of dynamiters or armed
brigands a court is justified in exorcis
ing all its ingenuity. It is this kind of
ingenuity which our courts have made
nse of in tho income tux and Dcba cases.
Another example occurred recently in
Brooklyn. An act of tho legislature for
bade tho trolley companies to "exact
more than ten hours' work a day" from
their employees. The men were forced
to continue to work over 12 hours a day.
Tho county court decided that this did
not conflict with the statute because the
companies did not "exact" 12 hours'
work, for the employees could, if they
liked, leayo their employ. This deci
sion, of course, absolutely nullified tho
legislative enactment Still another ex
ample of legal prejudice is afforded by
tho antitrust act This act has never
been enforced against trunts, but it has
been distorted into an act against strik
ers, and against strikers its provisions
havo been carried out This piece of
legerdemain was the work of a court of
equity, save tho mark!
Second. Bat our constitutions, too,
are a trifle outworn. As wo saw in tho
Hyattwillo caso, they sometimes block
tho way to progress even when fairly
interpreted. Our national constitution
was at best a triple compromise between
large states and small states, between
slavery and free labor and between dem
ocrats and aristocrats. It was adopted
by a population of 6,000,000 straggling
along 1,000 miles of seacoast It now
governs over 60,000,000 people, and the
industrial condition of the world has
changed more sinco 1 789 than it had in
2,000 years before that time. That the
constitution was a masterpiece no ono
can deny, but are wo not expecting a lit
tle too much from it under our vastly
altered circumstances? Does not tho
dead luuid rest somewhat too heavily on
our institutions, and does not the earth
belong to the living?
The remedy for such shortcomings, us
I have pointed out, lies principally in
tho spread of true ideas, for the world
is rr.lt d by ideas. Wo must build up a
correct publio opinion. The blind wor
ship of the constitution should bo rele
gated to tho limbo of ancestor worship
and the fetish danco. We must insist
upon a liberal const ruction and urgo the
prefereuee of tho rights of lifo and lib
erty to thoso of property. Tho courts
would soon reflect a healthy publio
opinion on these bubjects. There uro
bound to bo great changes in tho civiliz
ed world in the next, century. We should
not labor under disadvantages from
which all other nations are free. We
must not bo hampered at every step by
tho fetters of the dead. John Burns said
that the two tilings which struck him
moKt in America were unconstitutional
ity and "KwpOff the Grass." It is high
time for us to m till a such stigmas im
possible, Khnekt IL Ckosby.
New York city.
Equity utters dictates to which we
have not yet listened, and men may
then leurn that to deprive others of
their rights to tho uso of the curth is to
commit a crime inferior only in wicked
ness to tho crime of taking away their
lives and iiersoual liberties. Herbert
Sponcer, "Social Statics. "
THE CYCLONE'S FURY.
Two cyclonic iloi ins of awful vio
lence swept over portions of south
eastern Pennsylvania last Thursday
spreading rum in their track. At
least five persons were killed, and
several score were injured.
The centres of the two hurricanes
were at Columbia, Lancaster County,
and near Ambler, Montgomery County
At the former place a big rolling mill
was demolished by the tremendous
wind, and a score of men were buried
in the ruins. Buildings were torn to
pieces, streets were Hooded and
orchards laid waste all through that
region.
At Jarrettown two men perished
under a building that was raised lo
the ground. A boy was also caught
in the ruins and severely injured.
All over Northern Bucks County
the storm caused fearful havoc. A
path several hundred yards wide was
swept clean for miles, and scarcely a
bajn was left standing. The damage
to farmers will reach many thousand
dollars. At Langhorne a man was
killed. Easlon, Bethlehem, Reading,
Hanover and other places felt the
shock of the cyclone as it tore over
the State with appalling swiftness.
SEVEN AT A BIRTH.
An Ohio Woman Breaks tho Record In 'ho
Matter of Babies.
Trustworthy information from Fish
er's Corners, on the Ottawa Lake,
about 30 miles from Toledo, Ohio,
reports that Mrs. Charles Comstock
of that place gave birth to seven chil
dren, one of which died when but a
day old, while the others are living
and healthy. The children are all
well formed, althongh quite small and
are doing nicely. The mother is also
getting along as well as could be ex
pected. There were four girls and
three boys, one of the former dying.
The place is besieged with curious
people, but few have been admitted,
as the children are so young, and
every effort is being made to raise all
six of them.
A Literary Sensation.
On Thursday, May 28th "The
Philadelphia Press'' will begin the
publication of a new prize story en
titled "Under Three Flags." It is
vouched for as one of the most attrac
tive serials to come to light during
recent years., and it is predicted that
its appearance will be one of the lit
erary sensations of the year. Interest
is added by the offer of "The Tress"
to distribute $1,000 in prizes to
women who will guess the mystery
which will be disclosed in the final
chapters. Everybody will want to
read the story, and all should do so,
but only women may guess.
Constipation
Causes fully halt the sickness in tho world. It
retains tho digested food too long In the bowels
and produces biliousness, torpid liver, hull-
KloocK
gestlon, bad taste, coated Mffih b
tongue, sick headache, iu- jLp II
somnia, cto. Hood's Tills M HID 4
cure constipation and all its
results, easily and thoroughly. 25c. AH druggists,
rreparcd ly C. I. Hood & Co., Lowell, Mass.
Tho outy Pills to take with Hood's Sursaparilla.
5 t t- 9
2 wo uun is r irea
in battle ou tho flag of tho Bed
Cross Society. All over the world
it means mercy and help. So, iu a
lesser degree, does the lied Cross on
Johnson's Belladonna Fluster. And
it also meaua thnt this planter
used and endorsed by the fticioty
I 1 il . 1 1 rrt -1
AS DUl(-llur Mi Ull UlULJH. X i f lb A)
for every ailment in which plasters 5
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jonNsor jonivsov, 9
9 Manufacturing CticuiiaUj, fiew York. 9
IS
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saved by
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Feoffee and ma:
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It Ht-lif-fm.a l, n tM
Je 01 tins admixture, ft
4
IS
lilRKCTIOSS.
Apiily a particle of tin
latin (tirtrllii into the
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breath Utruuah thv
CATARRF
none. I'm three Uhiks
a (Sun. ufleY tiieulH uiv.
SerrM, and tieore re-
KIY'B
CREAM BAIM
Opens unci pleanscR
tlie Nasul Pusttie'cs,
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HitmuiaUoM, lleiils the
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Membrane from Colds,
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ot Taste and Nmell. Tlio Hniui is quickly uu
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ui nrueifiRiR or uy mull.
KLY BhOTllEUB, W Warren Street, Now York
a runaway train
Sometimes, through accident or neglect, control of a
train is lost and it speeds down the grade. It is so easy to
go down hill ; but the journey back is slow and hard. Have
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have you been going the other way, losing ground?
dOUsCtlUU
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50 eta. and Ji a bottle. SCOTT ft HOWKR, Chemists, New York.
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ffiieji L;ow ad Gcpod Worlc.
For the finest and best stoves, tinware, roofinjr, spouting
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THE MARKKT5.
liLOOMSBURG MARKETS.
COHKKCTED WEKKLT. KHfiil rH CXj.
Butter per lb $ ,39
Eggs per dozen .12
Lard per lb , .10
Hani per pound ,12
Pork, whole, per pound ,06
Beef, quarter, per pound , . , , .07
Wheat per bushel ,So
Oat3 " " 23
Rye. " " .50
Wheat flour per bbl , . 4.00
Hay per ton u to $11
Potatoes per bushel, .20
Turnips " " ,5
Onions " " ,43
Sweet potatoes per peck 25 to .30
1 allow per id ,4i
Shoulder " " i0
Side meat " " ,cj
Vinegar, per qt ,07
Dried rpples per lb .05
Dried cherries, pitted .10
Raspberries ,12
Cow Hides per lb l
Steer " " " .05
CalfSkin.,, 80
Sheep pelts , ,ie
Shelled com per bus , .50
Lorn meal, cwt. 2.00
Bran, " ,,0O
Chor " 1. 00
Middlings " i.oo
Chickens per lb new... .12
" "old 12
Turkeys " " 1 jt
Geese " " ,10
Ducks
.08
COAL.
No. 6, delivered ; . . , 3.40
" 4 and s 3.50
" 6 at yard a.s
" 4 and 5 at yard 3.35
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1-22-iy.
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W. A. Hart el, Prop. I'eter F. Hetty, Manager
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CTT.a
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BLOOMSBURG, PA.
Large and convenient samnle rooms. Bath
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r oV 1