4 8o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



souls. But when the cause of human freedom became linked with the 

 preservation of the Union and was financed by the government, not 

 only the patriotic and those of high principle enlisted in the public ser- 

 vice, but an army of camp followers, cormorants of all kinds and the 

 unscrupulous took advantage of a public calamity to feather their own 

 nests. 



"I attribute much of whatever I have accomplished," said a well- 

 known social reformer, " to the fact that I have always been known as a 

 conservative." In like manner, so long as the spirit of progress keeps 

 within the bounds of moderation its future is assured, and neither the 

 opposition of reactionaries nor hostile court decisions can do more than 

 obstruct for a time its way. By the exercise of patience, two amend- 

 ments have been added to the constitution. If these amendments had 

 failed of adoption, practically the same ends could have been attained 

 in other ways. In the matter of an income tax, the Supreme Court 

 could have been given a chance to reverse itself, or a slightly different 

 law could have been passed which the court might have upheld. More 

 easily still, a substantial part of what was wanted could have been 

 obtained by an excise tax upon corporate and certain other incomes. 

 This device was actually used in passing the Corporation Tax. In re- 

 gard to the popular election of United States senators, the battle had 

 been largely won in other ways before the constitution was formally 

 amended. If a workingmen's compensation act is held unconstitutional 

 by the highest court of a state, it is possible to amend the state constitu- 

 tion or to pass a law after the fashion of some other state that may pass 

 muster in the courts. If rebuffed by such a decision as in the bake-shop 

 case, it is only necessary to wait and try again when death has recalled 

 enough justices of the Supreme Court to reconstitute its membership. 

 The right, nay more, the duty to criticize the decisions of the courts 

 should, however, never be forgotten. Without criticism it is well-nigh 

 useless to wait with patience. Neither should any one shrink from 

 proposing ideas which may frighten timid souls if reasonably sure of his 

 ground. Many a good suggestion has been rejected only to be accepted 

 later when it is understood. Besides, the saving grain of truth in many 

 an idea that appears crude can only be brought out by discussion, and 

 this can never come about if the idea is kept in a closet and never 

 advanced. The progressive spirit fails of one of its chief missions 

 when it ceases to be educative. 



It is sometimes argued that the power of judicial veto ought not to 

 exist in a democratic country. In regard to an absolute veto, the argu- 

 ment is conclusive. Any court decision that for all time stands in the 

 way of what the people want, or that needlessly hampers the popular will, 

 is inconsistent with self-government. But a suspensory veto that can be 

 overcome after due deliberation by amending the constitution is entirely 



