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0I' THE
S NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING WASHINGTON. D. C.
VOL. 1 JANUARY 15.1936 N6. 6
A GUILTY I ‘“
President Roosevelt during his theatrical appearance before Congress to deliver what
was ironically described as a Message on the State of the Nation, entered a plea of guilty
on one of the most important counts in the indictment against his administration by those
interested in maintaining constitutional government in the United States. He said!
" ......... .we have built up new instruments of public power. In the
hands of a people's government this power is wholesome and proper."
Stated in another way, Mr. Roosevelt announced that under his administration the Federal
Government has seized, or attempted to seize, powers which would be unsafe in hands other than »
his. That is precisely the criticism which has been leveled against him and his administra-
tion by many intelligent persons and organizations of citizens, including prominently the
American Liberty League. Leaving aside for the moment the question of the safety with which
such powers may be entrusted to Mr. Roosevelt and the collateral question of his infallibili-
ty, concerning which there may be some room for legitimate dispute, the President has stated
bluntly the underlying principle of the New Deal, which is perhaps the most objectionable and
_ dangerous of all. . y
hr "A pécpiéls government" is a term that has been used consistently by modern dictators.
It is a disguise that attempts to lull into a feeling of security the apprehensions of the ` ;
masses. The theory behind it is the age-long theory that monarchs rule by Divine Right and
that the King can do no wrong. ‘ ‘
To proclaim to the American people that their government is unsafe in the hands of any
save those who have been willing to destroy many of its basic tenets and to ignore the Con-
stitution upon which it is founded is an insult to the Nation and a desecration of its sacred
principles. The campaign speech of Mr. Roosevelt, delivered from the rostrum of the House of
Representatives, went forth on the night of Friday, January 3d. Three days later, January
6th, the Supreme Court by a sweeping decision outlawed one of those "new instruments of public
»power" to which Mr. Roosevelt referred. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration, commonly
known as the AAA, was sent down the road to oblivion on the heels of the late unlamented
National Recovery Administration or NRA. But the battle is not yet won. The same persons
who drafted these acts and induced their passage by a complaisant Congress still hold official
power. They are checked temporarily but the future must be watched and guarded with absolute
vigilance if the basic concept of the American Government is to be preserved. r