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Show "A dozen boards and bureaus can be mentioned to which Congress Con-gress has granted the high, the middle and the low justice with respect re-spect to wide'areas of activity and important industries. "Citizens and business enterprises can be ruined by various of these boards and bureaus without ever having a day in court. As for ancient right of privacy, there is nothing left. Our telephones are tapped, our desks are rifled, our books searched on orders from our departmental inquisitors. Few human beings are fit to be trusted trust-ed with the power which Congress so gaily delegates to the burea-cracy. burea-cracy. "Our form of government has changed under our eyes. v"e are governed not by statutes, but by rulings of this department and that commissioner whose orders have the force of laws. Our rights are determined for us not by courts and juries, who hear our cases in public, but by inspectors and investigators and bureaus who collect col-lect evidence where they find it and announce decision in true Turkish Turk-ish fashion. That, of course, is not democracy. It is not even efficient effi-cient but if it were, free government should not besacrificed to efficiency. effi-ciency. "Only a Congress that will display some courage and statesmanship, statesman-ship, and a little devotion to the constitution of the United States will rid us of this pest of bureaucracy and restore the American ideal of popular government." The Bulletin editorial is a strong statement of the case, but it will take strong leaders among our publishers and our public officials to save intact to the American people, the liberties which were granted grant-ed them in the formation of our government. COURAGE AND STATESMANSHIP NEEDED The San Fra ncisco Bulletin has been running some excellent editorials on the necessity of getting back to first principles in our regard foT, and honor of the constitution of the United States and the fundamenttal principles which were recognized in establishing our democratic form cf government. In commenting on the recent action, or lack of action in Congress Con-gress and its fe.ilure to exert itself along business rather than political lines, the Bulletin in double column, black-face editorial, after citing numerous instances of the shortcomings of our national law-making body, says:. "At the bottom, responsibility for the present disgraceful situation situ-ation at Washington lies with Congress, whose hypocrisy, shirking and mora', cowardice brought about conditions that made corruption corrup-tion inevitable." It then cites nuinerous instances of radical, silly or freak legislation legisla-tion which Congress has passed to satisfy hysterical demands or dodge responsibility. |