xt7wwp9t2q46_85 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61.dao.xml American Liberty League 37 linear feet archival material English University of Kentucky This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed.  Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically.  Physical rights are retained by the owning repository.  Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws.  For information about permissions to reproduce or publish, contact the Special Collections Research Center. Jouett Shouse Collection (American Liberty League Pamphlets), No. 88 "Americanism At the Crossroads" Speech of Raoul E. Desvernine, Chairman, National Lawyers Committee of the American Liberty League before the Republican Round Table Luncheon at the Hamilton Republican Club, Chicago, Illinois, January 15, 1936 text No. 88 "Americanism At the Crossroads" Speech of Raoul E. Desvernine, Chairman, National Lawyers Committee of the American Liberty League before the Republican Round Table Luncheon at the Hamilton Republican Club, Chicago, Illinois, January 15, 1936 2013 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61/59m61_88/Am_Lib_Leag_88_001/Am_Lib_Leag_88_001.pdf section false xt7wwp9t2q46_85 xt7wwp9t2q46 Pamphlets Available * *
it .
Copies of the following pamphlets and · · · •
other League literature may be obtained  
S upon application to the League°s national
headquarters: "
Statement of Principles and Purposes      
; American Liberty League——~Its Platform
The Bonus
Inflation
The Thgtgy Hcéur Week 
The Ho ing ompany i
Price Control * * *
The Labor Relations Bill
The Farmers’ Home Bill
The TVA Amendments ‘
The Supreme Court and the New Deal
The Revised AAA Amendments Spgggh of
The P5esid¢%1t’s Tax Program _
Expan ing ureaucracy >
Lawmaking hy Executive Order RAOUL E' DESVERNINE
New Deal Laws in Federal Courts
Consumers gud the AAA Chairman, National Lawyers Com-
Dan erous xperimentation · •
Ecorlomic Planning—Mistaken But Not New mltt€€_ of the Amerlcan
Work Relief Liberty League
The AAA and Our Form of Government
Alternatives to the American Form of Govern- c before the
ment
A Pro ram for Con ress
The 1§37 Budget g Republican Round Table Luncheon
The National Labor Relations Act——Summary at the Hamilton Republican Club
of Conclusions from report of the National ‘ _ _ _
Lawyers Committee Chicago, Illinois
Straws Which Tell
How to Meet the Issue——Speech by W. E. Borah ·  January 15, 1936
The American Bar——The Trustee of American
Institutions—Speech by Albert C. Ritchie
The Test of Citizenship—Speech by Dean Carl
W. Ackerman
"Breathing Spells”—Speech by Iouett Shouse
The Duty of the Lawyer in the Present Crisis——
Speech by Iames M. Beck ERM.
The Constitution and the Supreme Court»-— YW"   4.1,
Speech by Borden Burr  
The Economic Necessity in the Southern States ,-     M
for a Return to the Constitution—Speech by     :;•
P Forney Johnston <‘°‘,?"°= P P0
The National Lawyers Committee of the Ameri- r » ]°Y LP
can Liberty League—Speech by Ethan A. H. » _
Shepley
Our Growing National Debt and Inflation— *
Speech by Dr. E. W. Kemmerer
Inflation is Bad Business——Speech by Dr. Neil
_ T Carothers s U
he Real Significance of the Constitutional Is-
sue~—Speech by R. E. Desvernine i AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
Arplpsing Class Prejudices—Speech by Jouett National Ilgadquarters
ouse
Th;] Fal§1cieshagdDDa1E;’ers of the Townsend A ’ — NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
an— peec y r. . E. Spahr _ _
What of l936?—Speech by James P. Warburg WASHINGTON, D C
* * 1-
AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
WASHINGTON, D. C. · ’ in · r · ~
· ..._.__..._..m___. Document No. 88

 Americanism at the Crossroads
*
LET me emulate a recent illustrious example
· in reverse action by taking this political occasion
to give you “information of the State of the
_ Union.” The present “State of the Union” can
be aptly summarized by the chosen title of this
address, “Americanism at the Crossroads.” This _
topic was suggested to me by the President’s
recent statement that “within democratic na-
_ tions the chief concern of the people is to pre-
n vent the continuance or the rise of autocratic
f institutions.”
i -_ Many have undoubtedly addressed you more
competently on many specific problems and ‘
therefore to discuss any particular subject, or,
any particular piece of legislation, would be
  _[]EN yen have finished with this only cumulative. We are too prone to confine
hl l .t p t S 8 ourselves to specific problems which are at a
pamp et P ease pass I on 0 Om given moment giving us special concern and
friend or acquaintance wnc might be thereby we are diverted from the more im-
interested, culling his attention to the portant question of considering the cumulative
V membership blank on page 23. i effects 'of all current political act1v1t1es and s
1eg1slat1ve enactments taken collect1vely.
Too many assume that the New Deal is a
haphazard attempt to provide specific remedies
for each situation as it arises and that each of ‘
s these remedies are independent of and not re-
lated to each other; that they are dictated solely
by expediency, not principle; and therefore are
not parts of a coordinated plan. I originally
! shared this view but as time went on and as I
i examined one after another of the New Deal
proposals, I soon discovered that they all fit to-
` gether perfectly and collectively expressed a
` definite and more or less unified plan or phi-
· [ losophy of government. As the President so cor-
; rectly observes: “Now, after thirty-four months
{ of work, we contemplate a fairly rounded
·   whole.” Unless we clearly realize this, we are
h missing the real significance of the issue before
O 3
2

 i I
tht? 00l111U`Y today- W6 31`6 fiddling whilo   ment against specific acts of tyrannical oppres-
l-{01116 burns- Q sion, but a proclamation of the minimum rights
I firmly hohovo, and am hopoful that l aah of man in a free eelf-gcvecning state. The im-
damonatrato, that you aro today oonfrontod wlth portance of thc Declaration of Independence to
a ChO1C€ between two 1HCOIHp3t1blC th€Or1€S of ~ One   to understand the fundamentals Of
{,’0V61‘¤mo¤t· lf Wo woro only tryms to aolyo ~ our political tradition cannot be over-estimated.
€m61`g6¥1oY scollomlc and social comlltlo¤s¤ lt Wc 5 It has been truly characterized as “the thought
Wctc only oasaaod lll a oruaado to alsollsh almscs   and the spirit" of our Constitution. Therefore,
and P€1‘f€€t lilsalsi our task would ho compat"   let us consider a moment its essential doctrine.
atlVclY casY and l’cYoml t'cPt`oacll· i It enunciates the doctrine that governments
I shall not express any opinion as to the eco- i derive their ' f h { h
just powers rom t e consent o t e
nomic o1` social sotmllncss of €lcs11’al?ll1tY of any governed. This is the institution of self-goverm
of the proposals but only point out their po- ment This ticctrine im ]· · · ] .
, . p 1es two pr1nc1p es.
lltlcal lmpllcatloos aml slgmllcatlcc· l Wlll tt`Y   First, that the people are the ultimate repository
to got at tho Polltlcal Pl`mclPlc at tllc root of out [ and source of sovereign power; and second, that,
Ptolllcm and to Ptcscttt lt as clcal`lY aa l can J therefore, government derives its powers from
without indulging in economic or social theor- s the 1 ti ] h ]
1 peop e, an , consequent y, can ave on y
].Z].I1g, O]? pa]'.°t].S3I] p13t]tudCS and 3H1II].OS1t1BS, of   Such power as is expressly granted_ Hence, the
which tllorc ia all`caclY too much- l will tllcn   State is the creature of man, not man the crea-
attsmpt to taltc Stock of tltc Work of thc last t ture of the State; and the State cannot exceed
tllll?tY·tom` months and comPal`c lt Wltlt out   its granted powers without thereby committing I
political tradition and leave lt to you to de- = an act ci tyranny, for tyranny is cniy nsni-ning
C].(-IC lf AIHCYICRHISIH 1S at   CI`OSSI`0adS. powers against the consent Of the governed.
The first step is to define the struggle—to
d 1; d th ° -— 1; f 1 .
ml; BrS;;kinC1SSll€ no gc On an Orgy 0 mem THE Declaration of Independence also states
rase- . I . . . .
p g that man 1S endowed by his Creator with certain
W r l O O “ · · ,,9 y inalienable rights. That is to say—man by his
HAP ls tllls tllmg callcll Amortoamam · I very nature has certain inherent natural rights.
la lt Just a llatlotlal atlaptatloll of `totclgtl These are his birthright by divine endowment.
Polltlcal ldcats or ls lt 3 tllstmct and totallY   Therefore, man is not possessed of these rights
dlsaroat political philosophy and thaory of soy- 2 by grant, franchise or license from me State
ctllmcnt? la lt Just a tcvlscll coPY of somc   and such rights are free from and beyond inter- _
parent-civilization or a newly conceived and j ference by the State
characteristically distinctive political concept?   New, theee rights are nct metaphysical ccn.
A few historical references will easily and com-   cents but ree], tangible things, expressly em;.
Plctcly atlswct tllcsc clucstlotts 1 merated in the Constitution, particularly in the
Two basic ltlstlttltlolls Wctc Ptalscll by almost I first Ten Amendments and no matter how anti-
7
cVcl`Y lcallct of tllc ltcVolutlonal`Y Pctlolli fa) y social it may seem in this generation, the right
mtllvltlual llllct`tY aclllcvctl tlltougll tho_ cUJoY‘ , to private property is included amongst the re-
mont-) froo from govcrnmcntal oPPl’sss10¤» of   cital of these human, rights. As a matter of fact,
ccttaltl Pctsotlal llllmatl tlgllts and of Pt`lVatc   property is one of the realities oft freedom.
Pl`oPcl`tY$ and (lo) sclf‘goVcl`tlmc¤t· Tlicss haaio i Their selection for specific enumeration was
1HSt1tut1OHB WCYC P].°OC].3.1lI].Cd in thB D€C13I°a.tiOI] l ynade because bitter experience had    
ot ladapoadooooi which was not only an m€l1ct· i these ri hts were essential to individual free-
5
4 n 5
{
1

 dom and were those which tyrannical govern- —·-the executive, the legislative, and the judicial i
ments customarily denied. —to each of which were assigned separate and f
Now, these basic institutions of self-govern- independent powers; each a check upon the »
ment and individual liberty, as proclaimed in other. t
the Declaration of Independence, were incor- I
porated in our Constitution. The Constitution is ALL of this Soattoting of govotumont functions i
a solemn e0InPaet between tne Penlne and the with these counter-balances and checks can have A
g0Ve1`nment» guaranteeing tnese rights tn the U but one purpose—the prevention of concen-
enizen and Setting UP a maentnet`Y ter Sett'€°V' I trated power in any one political unit. That is
ernment. The Constitution, therefore, is the ; Amotioansimt ot. I know not what it is and I
means through which the sovereign people con- { ohallongo anyono to dogno it diHot.ontIy_ ~
stituted and defined the government to which   Considered from this Point of View, the St1,uc_ ~
they consented. It is the supreme expression of 6 tum of om, government takes on a Vital and  
the sovereign will. It is because of its suprem-   fundamental moaning. I Wonder if those who so  
any tnat nut government nas nnnn S0 °°tt°°ttY   fiippantly advocate reforming our Constitution i
characterized as a government of laws, not of   I ot, those who are trying to moum it to Ht their S
men. This principle is the corner-stone of our designs under the pretext of modcrnizing it, of
. nntnn Pnnttcttt Pnn°S°PnY‘ I making it adequate to meet present conditions, I
really understand these basic institutions on
BUT our Founding Fathers were not satisfied which our Constitution was erected. Certainly,
with even this contractual guarantee of these a government, so conceived and devised, cannot s
two basic institutions. They fully realized that be autocratic. ‘ .
without a plan of government to preserve and These institutions were established for the
protect these institutions, their mere pro- benefit of the people of the United States, not
nouncement would be futile. Therefore, they exclusively for the partisans of certain groups.
set about to devise a form of government, a That means all the people, regardless of race,
constitutional machinery, which would pro- l color, or creed; irrespective of social class, finan- I
tect individual freedom from governmental cial means, or propertied interests~—~the factory
oppression. worker, the farmer, the industrialist, the finan-
This, they skillfully worked out by avoiding cier——all who are part and parcel of the social,
the deposit of unlimited sovereign power in any economic and political unity of the nation. All
one political unit. They first distributed sov- have equality of right under the Constitution
ereign prerogatives between the Federal govern- and before the law. Even the criminal is en-
ment and the several States. Then, they limited titled to his day in court and to due process of
the powers of the Federal government to those I I law. This sacred principle of democratic gov-
expressly conferred and those necessary and ernment is denied by anyone who uses the power
proper to carry these express powers into effect. of his office to stir up class conflict, to oppose
The State governments could, in addition, more class against class,tto make it appear that the
readily consult local interest and interests T economic or social interests of one group are
peculiar to different localities must be con-   gppgggd to Others, and that all cannot live and
sidered if freedom is to prevail.   work together toward a common national des-
Even the limited powers reposed in the Fed- t tiny. To thus stir up domestic internal strife
eral government were further broken down and is no less vicious than to rattle the saber in
distributed between different political divisions international relations.
6 t . 7

 LET us briefly look at the underlying phi_ passed the sign-posts on the road you have j
losophy of those forms of government which do recently tmV°1°d°  
not accept these basic institutions. Y
Nazism, Fascism, Communism and the total- NOW¤ ter the sign'Pests_teiieW them with me  
itarian State in all its modern adaptations are with the eeihPass cf etir institntiens and perhaps 1
the denial of these principles. They assert the We Wiii ece the direetien We have been headed i
contrary doctrine. Under them, the State is ih·  
Omnipotent and Supreme. Man is the creature The President seYs> ‘°Yc¤» the rnenihers cf the i
of the State. The State is the source of all iegisiatire hraneh¤ end L the Executive, e0¤· t
human rights and the dictator of all human h tended for and established a new relationship
activities. Consequently, man’s rights are mere between gtwernihent and PeePie·” I em afraid I
franchises or grants from the State to be enjoyed   that this ie chiy tee trite-
only during the pleasure of the State. The   The National Industrial Recovery Act was .
individual has no guarantee of the right to life, cchdemhed hY the SnPrerne Cenrt in the I
liberty and property. In tart, he has rpt even t Schechter and Panama Rehhihs Ccmpehy cases.
the right to the I-ight_ He has no contract ”‘· because that Act asserted a jurisdiction and
guaranteeing him any rights whatsoever. This attemlited tc set uP a terrn cf eentrei cvcr all
is government by the arbitrary will of men, not industry which Was heYend the PeWer cf the
a govcrnulgnt uf ]awa_ Federal Government. The Supreme Court em-
phatically said that that Act violated hoth the
principle of dual sovereignty and the principle
FREEDOM dees net mean the mere pessessjen of separation of powers within the Federal Gov-
of some abstract political rights. It literally ernment. It not only attempted an unconstitu- I
means independence, Americanism, as I have tional concentration of power in the Federal
tried te define it, is, thgrgforg, ahselutely in. Government but it also attempted to lodge that t
compatible with these theories of government. eeneentrated pewer in the EXe011tiVe· The .
I apologize for taking your time with a re. Supreme Court specincally condemned this at- t
capitulation of these self-evident truths, but to tempt by Congress to delegate its law-making I
clearly define the issue we must have these functions to the President and said that, “The
underlying principles in mind se as to test the question is not of the intrinsic importance of
I New Deal by them, We can best understand the the particular statute before us, but of the con-
new chapters in our political history by reading stitutional processes of legislation which are an
them in the light of the eld ehapters_ I essential part of our system of g0vernmen.t!” I
We are 31; the crossroads in the journey to- The   38 S0 much of ICCCIII legislation,
wards eur natienal destiny; ene read is the eld t is justified on the ground that it is for the public
American “horsg and huggy" read of demeeraey good and necessary to meet national emer-
with the Constitution as its foundation; the gelleiee, hut the Supreme Court met this argu-
other the foreign slave trail of arbitrary gov- h ment with the Statement that» rtt ie not the
ernment huilt upen the will of man, Whieh of ` province of the Court to consider the economic
these two roads we should take depends entirely q 3dV311t8geS or disadvantages of such a central-
upon where we want to go. Let’s stop, look and I ized system. It is sufficient to say that the Fed-
listen! eral Constitution does not provide for it.” In
You probably think this all just theorizing! other W01‘dS, times and cenditions may have
lf so, in your haste to get anywhere, you have changed, but we still have the Constitution.
8 9

 TO GIVE thc Executive a free hand in the terpreting that instrument, andthe writings of great
exams 0* Such ¤¤¤¤<=¤*m¢¤* Pom the Fmt §ZZ3§ZZ“f£§2i§.L”§Z1§.$.f§ZL°'1§‘ZZ’{..`§Z;".$’§.3".i3.iT.ii
, dent asserted, but the Supreme Court emphat- aloe (the taxation clause), or elsewhere in the U
ieaiiY i°ePudiated» in the Humphrey case, the Constitution, the authority whereby every provision
claim that Fado;-al gmcialg could bg gugtgd bo. and every fair implication from that instrument may o
cause their Views were not Sympathetic to the be subverted, the independence of the individual U
Presidents Consider the implications of this States obliterated, and the UH1tCdsSI3I€S converted
_ _ _ lI1[0 8 C8I1lZ1‘3l. g0V61'l1II1€I1t CXC1‘C1S1I1g 'I.1I]C01'1tI`0l.l.Cd
cla1m• DOGS this not savor of autocracy lu the police power in every State of the Union, supersed- _
C0mm011 meaning 0f that word? ing all local control or regulation of the affairs or i
In the Gold Clause case the Supreme Court, concerns of the States."
although recognizing that the Government had The Cotton Control Aets the Tolaeeeo Control
com lete jurisdiction over the monetar s stem
and pcould, therefore render ineifectivey piiivate xi Alt, ilu? th; Potato (iomml Act assert the Same
_ _ pr1nc1p es o econom1c control by the same con- -
contracts Falling for Payment m a type of em" stitutional pretexts. They are all the logical
mucy which the Goifcrnmcm mum midcr with' consequence of the A.A.A. because once you
drawn from c1rculat1on, nevertheless held that ft apply the Prinelplee of e m eu ee e d eeeuemy in
the Government could nots arbitrarily srepudiate on e ll el ds you meets el- H e e eeeltys expend it lute
1tS own obl1gat1ons. Even in the exercise of con- ell flelde ee all e eenemle eetlvltlee ere lme_
stitutional powers, a democratic government ereteds int erd ep en d e nt end related. We will
must bs had *0 ·=<·}¤m¤¤ ¤*a¤·i¤¤¥¤ sf ;i<=·=·=¤<=Y Sm receive ssa word if new laws st inte the
and mat be Permitted to mpudlate its Owu frame-work of our constitutional principles.
;b1{gau°m‘ The _abuS° _°f deemed imwers can Other instances of similar laws condemned
e just as destructive of 1nd1v1dual rights as the by the Suprem e Court for th e e e m e reeeene
usurpation of Powers' could be cited if time permitted.
THE A.A.A.—now of sacred memory—was, in
its essential features, a complete counterpart of DURING the last iliii`iY'i0iii' m0n'¤h$, nmé
thc N_R_A_ These two Acts wsrs comphmsm. Federal laws signed by President Roosevelt have
ary expressions of the same theory of the nature, been declared invalid- This Tate of mortality
scope and function of the Federal Government. is Wiilieui Parallel in Oui liiaiei`Y· During the
Both together were not merely forms of indus- iiiei aeVeniY‘iiVe Years but W-*0 national laws
trial and farm relief, but actually the charter were held unconstiwtivnal bY the SdPi'eine
and mechanism of at wholly new conception of Court, and, up until the Roosevelt Administra-
our economy And has us not forget that tion the number did not exceed sixty. Cer-
although the A.A.A. was initially proposed as l iainly the eeiinii`Y was undsrsvius many innda' I
temporary emergency relief, the President later mental changes in its economic 811d S0Ci¤l
proolaimed it as a Permanent p0hcy_ development during the period of our country°s Y
Could a more Sweeping dommclatiou of the l greatest expansion. Certainly the country ex-
Preteueiooe of these Acta he made than the t periencedspohtical crises during that period.
following Words of the Supreme Court: The Const1tut1on was, nevertheless, found to be l
e _ _ ·_ adequate even in civil and foreign wars. Presi- =
Until recently no suggesuon of the existence of dent Roosevelt in less than three h h d 1
any such power 1n the Federal Government has ’ Years, as a
been advanced. The expressions of the framers of more of tile laws he Signed de€i&1‘€d UI100I1Stitl1- s
the Constitution, the decisions of this court in- ti0118l than did Messrs. Harding, Coolidge and
10 11 v

 T Hoover in all the twelve years they were in refusing to submit to their views and to reward
office. And the record is still incomplete. Presi- those who Submit by rebates. This is certainly
dent Roosevelt will easily attain the record of 3 “f¤i1’iy 1‘01111ipi;—i¤