Frank LeRond McVey

“ It is not, however, from tyranny that we are likely to suffer, but rather from a breakdown in an organization too extended and too difficult of effective operation. There can be no question in the minds of students of political history that the future of the nation depends upon the cooperation of the governmental units rather than upon the exaggeration of one of them. Instead of attempting to magnify the federal government, there ought to be a marked movement toward the equalizing of the functions of both. ”

“ In the course of the discussion it will be necessary to examine some of the experiences and outcomes of federal legislation, and to present, if there be any other point of view, what can be done in the development of cooperation between the two branches of government rather than subordination of one as compared with the other.
Over and above every other problem of a national character, in its importance from the point of view of the public, stands, in all probability, that of interstate commerce. ”

“ They are not to be regarded as mere administrative units, subject to the direction and domination of a federal authority thousands of miles away, with no autonomy such as is found in the case of the departments in France; but they are rather constituent parts of the union, self-directive, and capable of maintaining their own autonomy and of carrying on their own functions within their own boundaries. To them we entrust our daily welfare, while to the federal government are turned over our collective interests. ”

“ Those who upheld the idea of state's rights feared in their hearts the rule of the people. They argued for state representation in the national congress while maintaining that federal authority should be reduced to a minimum. The federalists, on the other hand, insisted upon a broad interpretation of the powers of the national government, thereby creating a controversy which furnished the basis of modern party relations, until materially modified by the tendency, brought about by the civil war, to discuss the import of questions rather than functions of government. ”

“ While it can not be denied that the federal government should have the authority in time of need to levy a federal income tax, yet it is distinctly questionable as to the wisdom of such a tax in time of peace for federal purposes. The problems which confront the states at the present time are indeed serious. Upon them fall all of the burdens of maintaining local government, and these, with the growth of wider ideas regarding the development of society, constantly tend to increase rather than diminish. ”

“ But history proves that when a nation tries to cover too large a field and through its national legislative body to deal in detail with local questions, it fails to accomplish the result that was expected. In America we have a very fortunate division of functions, at some points weak, but on the whole a satisfactory division of authority. ”

“ In the early history of our nation many of the believers in state's rights took that position because of their feeling that the government would not then be in the hands of the people, but would be only representative, and to-day that same feeling exists in the demand that the federal authority be enlarged and the states reduced to minimum power in order that again the authority of the people may be hampered and limited. ”

“ If we turn to the national bank act, which has been referred to many times as one of the most beneficent laws that the federal government has put upon the statute books, it will be noted that it had its origin in the necessities of the civil war, that it was developed as a revenue measure in the hope of forcing the banks of the day to buy the bonds of the distressed government. ”

“ In one state is initiated some new phase of political organization, its propagation is carried on into another community, and little by little there moves constantly over the land an increasing uniformity of legislation. While it may be said that as a nation we are face to face with serious industrial problems over which we have no central authority, nevertheless the nation has made some progress under present constitutional provisions and the states are diligently seeking legislation from other sources that will meet the difficulty. ”

“ In nearly every instance the states began the legislation, and carried it forward to a point where it was necessary to look to congress for some wider interpretation in order that relief might be given. The work which congress has done, while commendable in many cases, shows clearly that it can not act intelligently in every instance because of its distance from the problem, and that while it does work out in general some specific lines of action, it can not by the very nature of things meet local needs. ”

“ The states are now called upon to develop extensive educational systems, to care for the insane, to punish criminals, to maintain courts, to preserve order, to build roads, and support the poor, besides erecting public buildings, and in the municipalities providing water, light, paving and the other necessary improvements of modern towns and villages. To have the federal government, therefore, step aside and reach out into the states for additional funds for federal support means interference with the states' fiscal systems and in the long run the weakening of their financial power. ”

“ Thus at the beginning of the twentieth century in America has arisen a new type of problem in the conflict of administrations, solvable only by a process of cooperation.
Writing to Duane, Hamilton declared "the fundamental defect is a want of power in congress. Three causes contribute to this misfortune. In the people a jealous excess of the spirit of liberty, in congress a diffidence of their own authority, and a want of sufficient means at their disposal." ”

“ It is declared that the conservation of resources is so important that state lines ought not to be taken into consideration in dealing with the problem, while interstate commerce and the questions that are associated with it make it impossible, if we are to be a great commercial nation, to recognize that state authority over commerce and trade exists within certain boundaries. ”

“ Since the civil war the different tariffs that have been enacted for the purpose of protecting manufacturers in the United States have steadily increased, and the percentage of the burden laid in the form of customs duty, regardless of the conflict of interests and the necessities of the consumer, has steadily augmented, until under the provisions of the McKinley bill it stood at a higher percentage than at any time in the history of the nation. ”

“ Passing in quick review the federal legislation relating to pure foods, it will be found that not until 1906 was any legislation secured which authorized the inspection and examination of foods by federal officers and placing upon adulteration an adequate penalty. For seventeen years the people of the nation had urged congress to pass a bill that would meet the many abuses that had arisen in the adulteration of food and dairy products. ”

“ Nevertheless, they are one and the same government, each a part of its frame, working together, but separately organized. To substitute one for the other is to violate the whole principle of the federal scheme. ”

“ The encroachments upon the financial strength of the states, in the form of added taxes, have come with the growing activity of the federal government, as might well have been expected. In the year 1909 the federal corporation tax was laid upon all corporations engaged in interstate business in the United States. It has been urged that a large revenue would be secured by this form of tax levy ”

“ Any limitations of the authority of a state like Wisconsin, where under the direction of an underlying public sentiment much progress has been made in working out a number of highly efficient methods of dealing with serious questions, would be unwise. ”

“ The law has now been in existence about two years, and it has been shown clearly that it lays a heavy burden upon corporations in the impossible demands of the accounting methods required, while the principle of self-assessment, now unchecked by government examination, leaves it practically with the corporations to determine what they shall pay. ”

“ There is no reason why congress should not pass an act setting forth the conditions under which any corporation may engage in interstate commerce. These conditions would have reference to capitalization, publicity of accounts, and responsibility for any statements set forth regarding their business. ”

“ A century and a quarter have passed since the creation of the republic in 1787; the indissoluble union so fervently hoped for by the father of his country is now an accomplished fact; though the regard for justice can hardly be referred to as high, nevertheless the nation is making progress steadily toward more efficient courts; our peace establishment meets the needs of the republic ”

“ The problem confronting the people of America in 1783 was the conversion of a voluntary league of states into a firm union. They needed to be first awakened to the necessity of organization and the adoption of a national policy ”

“ It is just here that the states come to play an increasingly important part. They are in fact laboratories in which industrial and political experiments can be worked out on such a scale as to determine the value of the experiment. ”

“ It means the relieving of the nation as a whole from many of the pangs necessary in the growth of democracy. It means the utilization of the best that comes from such experiments and the saving to the government of the loss of time and disappointment in carrying on large enterprises. ”

“ A second step could be taken, one that is already being carried on, through the medium of investigation. Thus the collection of data should be supplemented by specific investigations of various matters of interest to the public welfare. ”