Government in the United States, National, State and Local. Garner James Wilford

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ states, on the one hand, and another sphere for the national government on the other, and each within its sphere is supreme. Upon the domain thus created for each the other may not encroach. Each is kept strictly within its own constitutional sphere by the federal Supreme Court, and the balance between the union and its members is harmoniously preserved.

      The states were already in existence with organized governments in operation when the national government was created. The founders of the national government conferred upon it only such powers as experience and reason demonstrated could be more effectively regulated by a common government than by a number of separate governments; they left the states largely as they were, and limited their powers only so far as was necessary to establish a more effective union than the one then existing. Experience had taught them, for example, that commerce with foreign countries and among the states themselves should be regulated by a single authority acting for the entire country: only in this way could uniformity be secured, and uniformity in such matters was indispensable to the peace and perpetuity of the union. Accordingly, the national government was vested with power over this and other matters which clearly required uniformity of regulation, and the remaining powers of government were left with the states, where they had always been. Thus it came about that the national government was made an authority of enumerated or delegated powers, while the states have reserved powers.

      Prohibitions.– It was thought wise, however, to prohibit both the national government and those of the states from doing certain things, and thus we find provisions in the Federal Constitution forbidding both governments from granting titles of nobility, from passing ex post facto laws, bills of attainder, etc. Likewise the states were prohibited from entering into treaties with foreign countries, from coining money, from impairing the obligation of contracts, and from passing laws on certain other subjects which it was clearly unwise to leave to state regulation.

      Powers of the States.– The powers left to the states, unlike those conferred upon the national government, cannot be enumerated. They are so varied in character, and so extensive, that an attempt to enumerate them would involve cataloguing all the multitudinous business and social relationships of life. The powers of the national government seem much greater by comparison than those of the states, partly because they are set forth in the Constitution and partly because of their application throughout the entire country, but in reality they are not only far less numerous but affect less vitally the great mass of the people. The powers of the states include such matters as the regulation of the ownership, use, and disposition of property; the conduct of business and industry; the making and enforcing of contracts; the conduct of religious worship; education; marriage, divorce, and the domestic relations generally; suffrage and elections; and the making and enforcement of the criminal law. In the division of governmental powers between the nation and the state, says Bryce, the state gets the most and the nation the highest, and so the balance between the two is preserved.

      "An American," says Mr. Bryce, "may, through a long life, never be reminded of the federal government except when he votes at presidential and congressional elections, buys a package of tobacco bearing the government stamp, lodges a complaint against the post office, and opens his trunks for a customhouse officer on the pier at New York when he returns from a tour in Europe. His direct taxes are paid to officials acting under state laws. The state or local authority constituted by state statutes registers his birth, appoints his guardian, pays for his schooling, gives him a share in the estate of his father deceased, licenses him when he enters a trade (if it be one needing a license), marries him, divorces him, entertains civil actions against him, declares him a bankrupt, hangs him for murder; the police that guard his house, the local boards which look after the poor, control highways, impose water rates, manage schools – all these derive their legal powers from his state alone."

      Rights and Privileges of the States as Members of the Union.– The states have certain rights and privileges which are guaranteed them by the Federal Constitution, and of which they cannot be deprived by the national government without their consent.

      Republican Government.– Thus it is made the duty of the United States to guarantee to every state in the union a republican form of government, that is, a government by the chosen representatives of the people of the state. In a few cases rival governments have been set up in a state, each claiming to be the legitimate government and entitled to the obedience of the people; the one recognized by the federal authorities has always prevailed.

      Protection Against Invasion.– It is also made the duty of the national government to protect the states against invasion. This is right and proper, since the states are forbidden by the Constitution to keep ships of war or troops in times of peace.

      Protection Against Domestic Violence.– Again, it is made the duty of the national government to protect the people of the states against domestic violence arising from insurrection or riots, provided that application has been made by the proper state authorities. The purpose of this proviso is to remove the temptation to federal interference in state affairs for political or other reasons against the wishes of the people of the state. The ordinary procedure for the suppression of a local disturbance is for the sheriff of the county, or the mayor of the city, to make use of the local police, and if necessary he may call upon the citizens to come to his aid. If this is not effective, the governor may be called upon to order out the state militia for the suppression of the riot. If, however, the riot should spread and assume such proportions that the power of the state and local authorities is insufficient, it becomes the right and duty of the governor, or the legislature if it be in session, to call on the President of the United States for the assistance of national troops. If in the President's judgment the situation is one which warrants federal intervention, he sends a detachment of troops from a near-by military post to restore order. Many times in our history federal troops have been used to put down riots where the state authorities had shown themselves incapable of maintaining order; two recent examples being in connection with strikes among the miners of Nevada in 1907, and of Colorado in 1914.

      Ordinarily the President has no lawful right to interpose in the affairs of the state by the employment of troops until he has received an application from the governor or the legislature, but if the disturbance is one which interferes with the operations of the national government or with the movement of interstate commerce, the President may intervene whenever in his opinion the situation calls for federal action. Thus during the Chicago strike riots of 1894, President Cleveland ordered a detachment of federal troops to that city against the protests of the governor, upon being assured that the strikers were interfering with the movement of the mails and with the conduct of interstate commerce and were also disregarding the writs and processes of the United States courts. The interference of the President was criticized by some persons, but the great body of citizens approved his course, and the United States Supreme Court upheld the validity of his action.

      Other Rights of the States.– Among the other rights of the states under the Federal Constitution may be mentioned the right of equal representation in the senate, a right of which no state can be deprived without its consent, and the right of territorial integrity: no new state may be created within the jurisdiction of another state, nor may any state be formed by the junction of two or more states or parts of states, without the consent of the states concerned.

      Obligations and Duties of the States.– Rights and privileges usually imply obligations, and so we find that the states owe certain duties to one another and to the union of which they are a part, and the harmony and success of the federal system are dependent in a large measure upon the performance of these duties in good faith.

       Full Faith and Credit.– First of all, each state must give full faith and credit to the acts, judicial proceedings, and records of the other states. This means, for example, that a properly authenticated copy of a will or deed duly executed in one state will be taken notice of and rights depending on it will be enforced in other states as though the instrument were made therein. Likewise, a marriage legally celebrated in one state will usually be treated as valid in another СКАЧАТЬ