OCR Text |
Show GOVERNMENT MD TAXES Our federal government where does it stop? This question came to mind in scanning over a copy of "Spotlight," a publication of the Committee for Constitutional Con-stitutional Government, Inc., received this week. "Spotlight" featured remarks made by Senator Sam J. .Ervin, Jr., of North Carolina, and in our opinion he hit several nails squarely on the head In a discussion of the Constitution of the United States Government and intergovernmental inter-governmental relations. Senator Ervln comments that "The finest system of government ever devised by man is the American system of government, and I think that Is true because the Constitution Con-stitution is correctly described in a nutshell in the statement state-ment of Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase in 'Texas vs. White.' He said in that case: " "The Constitution, In all of its provisions, looks to an iindestructable union composed of Indestructible states.' " The point of the entire message by Senator Ervln re-volves re-volves around that question of indestructible states as he points out iru-oads by the Federal government on the rights of states and the problems that can, and have arisen. ' These problems Include the singularity of the federal gov- eminent opposed to the multiplicity of the 50 states; the relaxing of and even discrimination against responsibility .c a local level, and lastly the monopolization of taxation. "The States are In jeopardy at this time, I think, for .several reasons," the Senator writes. Because of the importance im-portance of his text, in our own opinion, it is Included in ran appeal to readers individual citizens who have, as yet, definite responsibilities toward both their local, state land federal governments to read, to analyze and consider. con-sider. "The first reason is that those who seek to impose their will upon others in governmental matters would prefer pre-fer to deal with one government only, namely, the Federal Feder-al Government i 1 ' U. n "They do not like to deal with 50 State governments and the Federal Government, in addition. "They realize that if they can immobilize State government gov-ernment and control the Federal Government, they can control all of the government. "Now, this would have a very bad effect, if it were to be accomplished. One of the great values of our system of government, which separates the powers of government . .between the National Government and state government, lies in the fact that it affords us 50 laboratories in the States for governmental experiments. "A State can experiment with an innovation in government gov-ernment or economics and if it turns out bad it doesn't effect us governmentally speaking or economically speaking speak-ing except in one limited area. "If it turns out good then it can be adopted in the other oth-er States. "But if the Federal Government indulges in an experiment ex-periment which has tragic consequences, it affects us tragically tra-gically at all levels. . "Then there is another thing of a detrimental character charac-ter in shifting all responsibility of government from a State level to a National level, and that is that such action ac-tion relieves the people of a sense of responsibility at the local level. One of the things about our system of government govern-ment which is essential If it is to endure is a sense of responsibility re-sponsibility in individuals at local levels. "Someone has said that the saddest epitaph that can be written on the loss of any right is that those who had the saving power failed to stretch forth a saving hand while there was yet time. One of the finest things that can be done is to take steps which win preserve tne eaerai system of government with its division of powers between National and State levels. "This thing goes far beyond merely governmental things. It goes to the personality of the people of the United Unit-ed States. "A member of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Brandeis, is said by Judge Learned Hand to have made this statement: " 'The States are the only break-water against the ever-pounding surf which threatens to submerge the individual, indi-vidual, and destroy the only society in which personality can exist.' "There is more than a modicum of truth in that statement. state-ment. Whenever you shift all responsibility of government govern-ment from the States to the National level you destroy the only society in which personaly really can exist. You are certainly impressed by the truth of this observation when you try to deal with some of these overgrown Federal Fed-eral agencies. "I recognize there is a great deal of difficulty in local self-government and particularly in the cities owing to the fact that the Federal Government monopolizes the sources of taxation which yield the taxes most easily collected. col-lected. "Aesop said that a lion invited another animal to visit him in his cave. The animal said, 'I am not coming because I notice that all tracks lead into your cave and none lead out.' "Now that is certainly a parable about the system of taxation which prevails in this country. "This is a field in which something drastic has to be done in order to give the States and the local communities communi-ties more sources of taxation than they now enjoy. "The alternative is to have them continue to do what they have been doing with increasing frequency; and that is, to come to Uncle Sam to beg for a little more of the patrimony pa-trimony which he has taken from them. "A fedtral system of government must be preserved. The Constitution was designated to create an indestructible indestructi-ble union composed of indestructible States." |