xt7wwp9t2q46_59 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. 62 "Today's Lessons for Tomorrow" Speech of Captain William H. Stayton, July 13, 1935 text No. 62 "Today's Lessons for Tomorrow" Speech of Captain William H. Stayton, July 13, 1935 2013 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61/59m61_62/Am_Lib_Leag_62_001/Am_Lib_Leag_62_001.pdf section false xt7wwp9t2q46_59 xt7wwp9t2q46 Pamphlets Available * *
*
Copies of the following pamphlets and 9
other League literature may be obtained   S  
upon application to the League’s national y
headquarters:    
, Statement of Principles and Purposes
American Liberty League—Its Platform `
An Analysis of the President’s Budget Message
Economic Security
{lation
Tnhe Thirty Hour Week y * * *
The Pending Banking Bill `
The Holding Company Bill y
Price Control
Tge Iéabor Relati(o:ns1BI§lI1
T e ituminous oa i
giterpsion of tl}; NRAB H Speech of
r ’ i
Th; T§';A°j;,m§$;nts CAPTAIN WILLIAM H. STAYTON
The New Deal, Its Unsound Theories and Ir- _ ,
reconcilable Po1icie¤—Spee¢h by Ralph M. Secretary of the American Liberty League
Sh w . . .
Egfr. Mw .1... 1..u..sp..a by mmm E. m Round Table D1S¢¤SS1<>¤ of "Th¢
orah ° ’ "
¥hc gupmmfc Cong; ang thcthN8g De?10 d Constitution and the New Deal
h h ' —— . . .
gzeegiy I;. gewegilgcytigy. 8 Om r cr. Institute of Public Affairs
;1b3p;—:,;1erI`;t;atterl;oAthe l;res1dent——By Dr. Neil University of Virginia
he R vi AA men m t '
Thgez Rcetiiiin to Democracy31S;eech by Iouett July I3,  
o
The I%`;ident’s Tax Program
The American Bar·-—The Trustee of American
Institutions——Speech by Albert C. Ritchie
TwolAmazing Yea1·s—Speech by Nicholas Roose-
ve t
Fabian Socialism in the New Deal-—·Speech by
Demarest Lloyd
Thge l;Leople’s Money--Speech by Dr. Walter E. `,,€ ic_q4’
pa r Y  
The Principles of Constitutional Democracy and  
the New Deal-Speech by R. E. Desvernine E   MJ
Which Road to Take?—Speech by ]. Howard  "%“¤ii·i*`e 
Pew *?;·Y gv
The Blessings of Stability-Speech by James W. \’
Wadsworth
Legislation——By _Coercion or Constitution-
Speech by Iouett Shouse
Recovery by Statute—Speech by Dr. Neil L
Carothers
Expanding Bureaucracy
The Imperilment of Democracy—Speech by
Fitzgerald Hall
The Test of Citizenship—Speech by Dean Carl AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
W. Ackerman · I H ad A
* Natrona e quarters
NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
WASH NGTON, D C * *
I . .
4 Document No. 62

 » Today’s Lessons for Tomorrow
*
I REGRET to have to tell you that Judge Daw-
· son, who was to have spoken to you this morn-
ing, is kept away by serious illness in his family,
_ and that at the last minute I am detailed as
. pinch hitter.
I did not have sufficient notice to enable me
to prepare even notes from which to talk, but
perhaps that is just as well, for the speaker who
has preceded me has not spoken on what I
thought was to be the subject for the day.
I had supposed that there would he a calm
discussion of what the New Dealers expected
to accomplish and of why the Liberty League
opposes the New Deal policies.
It has been a disappointment to me to find
our time taken up in abuse of the Liberty
League. It was a surprise to me also to hear in
these halls that Jefferson is out of date and that
it would be a stupidity to quote from him. We
have just been told that Jefferson lived in an
agricultural age and that this is an era of ma-
chines and industry and that Jefferson should
be forgotten.
. I HAVE not felt that Truth is ephemeral. The
` Ten Commandments were handed down in a
l pastoral age, and yet we of the Liberty League
believe that their truths endure today as they
» have through the centuries. And so we think,
' where Jefferson uttered truths, they endure.
On a subject that seems to me pertinent to
~ American conditions of today, Jefferson said:
“It would be a dangerous delusion were
a confidence in the men of our choice to
silence our fears for the safety of our rights.
Confidence is everywhere the parent of des-
I potism; free government is founded in jeal-
ousy; not in confidence. It is jealousy and
_ not confidence, which prescribes limited
constitutions, to bind down those whom we
are obliged to trust with power. Our Con-
. stitution has, accordingly, fixed the limits
3

 to which, and no further, our confidence if adopted, unconstitutional acts would be
may go. In questions of power, then, let deeiered veid by the eeurte
E? more be heard of coilfidimcc m mam but Then Hamilton wrote his articles for the Fed-
1nd h1m down from mischief by the cha1ns _ _ _
ef the Cenerirurienjv eral1st 1n order to secure the adoption of- the
That fundamental verity is just as true today proposed new Condtitutiom and hc dcfimtcly
_ ' laid down the doctrine that the Supreme Court
as It was when uttered. . . .
_ _ would have to pass on the const1tut1onal1ty of
Uuheppllre many of us now m the League laws It is a mistake therefore to sa that this
forgot Jeiferson’s warning and gave our conii- _ ' . . ’ ° Y
dence to Mr. Roosevelt. Soon we learned that doctrmc was mYBmcd,by Marshau .
h _ _H d J if , f d th t r One of Washmgton s early ttcts as Pres1dent—-—
C Jusu e C ersen S care an e OPC? cu years before the Marshall dec1s1on—was to veto
trusted with author1ty he seized almost limitless an act because or its uuconstitutiouaiityr
power; and he Selzcd It uncfmsutuuonauw for Indeed if one will consider constitutional pro-
the Supreme Court has 80 Saud' visions he must, I think, be brought to the con-
clusion that the doctrine is essential to the exist-
I AM told that two days ago in this room my ence of our form of government. For example:
friend, Mr. Sisson, said that the Supreme Court let me suppose that a Congress should pass an
had no right to declare an act unconstitutional; act providing that the President might be im-
that that doctrine was a somewhat devilish in- peached by say the Ways and Means Committee
vention of John Marshall to subvert the Govern- of the House and that he might be tried before
ment. I hope Mr. Sisson did not say that sort a Committee of the Senate and that one-half of
of thing, for I admire him greatly and do not that committee would be enough to convict. Is
think that as a lawyer he made so reckless and it possible that the President would have to
misleading a statement. stand such an outrage as that? Is it not clear
The facts are that as, prior to the settlement that some court must protect him in his constitu-
of America, England had no written constitu- tional rights and declare such a law unconstitu-
tion the English courts could not declare legis- · tional?
lative acts unconstitutional. But the colonies
eperared under Pharrere which were in erreer BUT let me return now to the matter of Jef-
written constitutions, and the colonists were not irereenve warning te the eifeer that history Shows
Permitted te Pass laws euterde er the eharter ` that men entrusted with power are likely to seek
limits. When they attempted such action the mere ef in
laws were deelared Veid· The story of Franklin D. Roosevelt shockingly
Sv, ent fefefathefs became acquainted with ' illustrates the truth of ]eiferson’s conclusion.
the deetftne of judicial t'ePndtatfen ef nneen‘ Let us divide Mr. Roosevelt’s recent career
Stitutivnal legislative enaetfnents· into three periods; first, his service as Governor
While the Constitutional Convention was sit- of New York; Seeendi as e Presidential eendi_
ting in Philadelphia in 1787 the Rhode Island date; and, third’ as president
courts declared a state law unconstitutional and During thc Hirst period Mr. Reeeeveir eeuebr
the North Carolina courts did the same thing. to enhance his Own newer by edveeering the
These cases were both discussed in the Phila- cnrteilnient of iedere] entneriti, end the eer_
dclphia papers while the C<>¤v¢¤ti<>¤ was i¤ responding augmentation of State functions.
session and Madison himself brought up the During the period of his candidacy he re-
Rhode Island case in the CenVentf0n· He peatedly promised to reduce federal activities
pointed out that under the new C011Stituti0I1, and expenditure; and, in many speeches, showed
4 s

 how fully aware he was of the danger of expan- NIRA and conferring the other powers which he
sion of the federal bureaus and the enlargement and the Administration generally usurped in
of the federal budget, disregard of their oaths of office and in violation
Since taking the Presidency, however, Mr. H of their promises.
Roosevelt has steadily sought to increase his _ ,
Pewer and ih ee dates haa leat aight et the Now let me cite other eeeee. rarer; there was
Constitution and of his oath of office. He Seems the “l—lot ()il" law, It was an effort to put into
to have reached the state of mind in which he is the hands oi Mn Roosevelt, individually, nowei.
convinced that his intentions are the purest ever ovei. even inttastate oonnneiee in oil_ It was
held bY mem mah ahd his ahihtY ShP€t`i0t` te unconstitutional and great damage was done by
that et all Prier ralere He ia therefere» the illegal enforcement of this vicious measure.
obsessed with the firm and honest belief that he Seeond, We have the Humtphrcy ease Where
Should ehhahce his Pctsohal Power fer the an unconstitutional effort was made to oust a
hehcht ef hhmahitY· man from office merely because his mind did not
go along with that of Mr. Roosevelt. He, it
I SHOULD not make use of these generalities would 566m, did net want iY1d6P6¤d6¤t judgment
without citing some of the specific incidents on of m6ml€>61`5 ef 60mml55i0¤5· He W¤¤t6d te
whieh l base them, exercise the power himself or through rubber
Take the NIRA for example, It was tm. stamps. He did just what Jefferson said such a
constitutional, yet by Mr. Roosevelt’s orders it mail 85 M1`- R0056V€lt W0l1ld d0-
was pushed through the House of Representa- Tl1611 W6 h3V6 the 6656 ef the NIRA Wl1i6l1 I
tives under the gag rule. The Chairman of the have already mentioned. Again a feverish
Rules Committee, a prominent Democrat, specif- grasping fOr arbitrary P0W6r·
ioally said (aa ie shown by the Congressional Then you know there are several cases where
. Record) that that Aet when passed would make the federal courts have declared acts unconsti-
Mr. Roosevelt “a dictator over industry” but he tutienal· Judge Daween ee declared in a Ken-
added that it was to be e “benign dictator- tueky eaee when he was then a Federal judge,
ship? and were he here today he would, I believe,
Now a “dictator”——whether "benign” or not-- repeat to you what he said in that case, namely:
istone who seeks personal power. The American wrhe eitizene of this oonntry have the
Liberty League beheves that Mr. Roosevelt is   right to eohduet their husioess without uh.
seeking personal power and is thereby endanger- constitutional interference or regulation by
ing the institutions of this country and our very _, g0V€1`hm6hta1 *’·hth0t`h?Y ···· tt that h1t€t"
form of government, especially as he is seeking L tereaee telfee the term at eraettaa Peymeet
the power uncoustitutionaiiyt oflgvages 1n excess of what the oitizen 1S
_ _ W1 1ng to pay, to the extent of the mcreased
We do not Say   1].].8 IHOLIVCS BIC evil—we Wages   citizen has been i_D_j·u1•cd_”
constantly seek to avoid statements or even _ _ _
thonohte ee to motives, for no men een know Again, you will recall that the Pres1dent asked
the heett ot- enothet,___hnt We do eondemn his for and obtained a grant of nearly five billions
methods. lf he wants to do things that are for- et dehara te he wraaa from e aatteriaa are ever`
hidden hy ont, nteeent oonetitntiont then the burdened pteople in time of financial distress
toed hy amendment ie on en to him. And when and depression. Antd he refused to share author-
the State Legislatures were in session he could uy for the exhemhture et that Sum with any
probably within six months have secured an bedyieud had It Pliectieeuy taraea ever te him A
amendment to the Constitution authorizing the ae that his haaaaat power mlght he greater
6 7

 than ever before exercised by even a “benign trate my meaning. When Mr. Roosevelt was a
dictator.” candidate he said at Sioux City in September,
You will remember, too, his petulance when 1932:
the Supreme Court, performing its sworn duty, 1,,WC am not getting an adequate return
said that the Congress had exceeded 1tS author- I for thc money we are Spending in We8hiog_
ity 111 g1'3I1l.Z1I1g POWCIS to   UDICSS 118 had " tgp; gy to put it angthgr way, wg are Spend.
wanted power, excessive power, he would not ing altogether too much money for goyern-
have been petulant with the Court under such g;_;¤;t§;;1i$;· -1;;,6 u{£n&d?£;;?0;; 13;; xg
cu`cumStanccS° if need a sifhplgfication of, what the Federal
Government is giving the people.”
AND althaush there are mm athar <===·¤·=¤ I Now that ttttttmtttt wat ttt tttitttowittagttttttt
might mchthm I will mhhhc mysch t° °h° of some of the declarations of the Democratic
which seems to me to illustrate an insatiable Platform to which ML Roosevelt had asserted
that Such P°w°r d°°S h°t hchmg t° him and of the platform and in spite of his own state-
even though he knows also that he took an oath ment just quoted, he, in an effort to get greater
that he would not violate the Constitution but Power, has already increased the number of civil
w°u1d d°f°“d ahd_ Preserve hi; _ officials he appoints by 148,000 and he has raised
The case to which I refer is h1s· recent letter the ordinary annual housekeeping expenses of
urgmg thc Passagh °f an fmt _m ahhh °f rcaShh' the Government—please notice that I am not
able doubts as to its constitutionality. That has Speaking at eu about relief but just ordinary
not been the course of the Presidents heretofore. houSekeeping_ooe and oneouertel, billions of
WaSh1hgt°h* as _1 have Sah`], V°t°°d hmasurfis dollars; and during his brief period in office he
Whfzh hh cutcrtalued daubts as t° thm °°hBh' has created 31 new bureaus and filled them with
tutmhahtyj _ his own political appointees. These facts must
L as ¤ hf¤1<>¤s D·=m¤·=m» hav? ¤¤¤¤¤{1Y {ah tt my jtttttsttttttt tot ttytttg Ott behalf of tht
that Gmvcr Clcvclhhd khhw hm C°hButuh°h League that we believe that Mr. Roosevelt is
and knew Democratic doctrine. I well remem- craving Power and using it dangerously and in
ber that he vetoed laws on the ground that they defiance of the rights of the people, and in
were unconstitutional. Yet here we have a violation of his promises and his oath.
Democratic President urging and even securing “
the passage of laws which he must know to be
unconstitutional—for he is a lawyer and has F OR seven hundred years the Anglo-Saxons
thousands of advisers paid from public funds for ' have carried on their struggle for the rights of
knowing the Constitution. the people against wrongs done by rulers. In
There was a time when Mr. Roosevelt actually that period they have on 17 occasions (or more
felt that the accumulation of mighty powers in than twice per century) resorted to the tactics
the hands of a President was a dangerous thing; of bloodshed—either by arms or the execu-
but I believe that when in office he craved power tioner.
and brought himself exactly within ]efferson’s We Americans have resorted to governmental
assertion concerning men who are willing to bloodshed only twice—first when the colonies
sacrifice their old principles and the rights of revolted and second when the Southern States
the people in `order to rule arbitrarily over other fought for what they believed to be their rights.
men. On various other occasions, when officials have
Again let me cite a specific instance to illus- wronged the people, we have resorted to im-
8 9

 I
peachmallt, and S0, thanks to OUT Written Cen? evil intentions, lead a people toward despotism
stitution, have been saved from the shedding of and its inevitable poverty end niiseiy_
blood. In all of these cases there have been The Subject assigned {ei. this morningts tlis_
courtiers and sycophants adhering to the ofiicials enssien was ¤¤•l·etley¤s Lessons ini. ·l~einei.i.eW_vg
against tha great body of the PeeP1e• I have reviewed as I see them some of the
T0deY¤ me¤Y PeePle believe theY ere eP' `t' happenings and facts of today’s situation. I
Pt`eeeed_httt theY ete net tthehttheue Cem" believe that the best lesson we can draw from
tiers and tories still exist. But the resentful ones them fel. teinertew is si stein realization that
are sufficiently numerous to cause me to rejoice   many men, when entrusted with greet newer,
thet We etth have the Pewet et tthpeeehmehh » change their very natures. That against such
we must ever be on guard. And that liberty
will be safe in this country only if we take
I     th.C].°C HIC people WIYIO   Say Seriously to heart Jgffgrsonts Words:
that Mr. Roosevelt has merely changed his mmld qt would be e deneeeeue deiueien were e
w1th the change of c1rcumstances and that it 1S confidence in the men of our choice to
not OHIY a menie Tight but his duty te change silence our fears for the safety of our rights.
his mind when a situation has been altered. Confidence is everywhere the parent of
That, however, is not quite true. If you hire a eeePetiSm5 free gvvemmcnt is foupded in
man to .1.. a pmicuia piece of mk for you J·=¤1¤¤SY· M m ¤¤¤¤¤¥¢¤¤€· It.1¤J€?1·2¤S>*
. . . and not confidence,wh1ch prescribes limited
and he *6118 You how he IS gomg t0 do 1* md constitutions, to bind down ams whom we
promises to do it in that fashion, he has no right at-C 0};,]jg€d to trust with POWCL Qui- Con.
to subsequently change his mind and do it in a stitution has, accordingly, fixed the limits
different fashion without your permission, and to which. and D0 _fui'th€1’» 0¤1’ e€0I1fld€1106
then take pay as though he had carried out his may g°‘ In questions of p°Wc}" them let
no more be heard of confidence 1n man, but
agreement' bind him down from mischief by the chains
Generally speaking, of course no man has a of the Constitution?
right to change his mind if other people have
relied on his prior promise and if they are
injured by his change of attitude. A change of
mind is one thing, but the breach of a promise
is quite different. a
Now Mr. Roosevelt made promises when he
was a candidate, and he has not kept them; and
the failure to keep them has robbed me and ~
mine of individual rights, yet Mr. Roosevelt con-
tinues to draw a salary-and to tax me and mine
to help pay him.
To ME, it is an unhappy state of affairs when
Americans have come to believe that good inten-
tions justify the violation of an oath. I regret ‘
to see the people bestowing their precious adula-
tion so unthinkingly. I wish we might all
realize that even the best of men may, without
I0
Il