xt7wwp9t2q46_117 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/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. 120 "Shall We Have Constitutional Liberty Or Dictatorship?" Speech of Hon. James A. Reed, Member of the National Lawyers Committee of the American Liberty League before the Lawyers' Association of Kansas City, April 14, 1936 text No. 120 "Shall We Have Constitutional Liberty Or Dictatorship?" Speech of Hon. James A. Reed, Member of the National Lawyers Committee of the American Liberty League before the Lawyers' Association of Kansas City, April 14, 1936 2013 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61/59m61_120/Am_Lib_Leag_120_001/Am_Lib_Leag_120_001.pdf section false xt7wwp9t2q46_117 xt7wwp9t2q46 TIIE AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE * *
*
The American Liberty League is organized to defend E
and uphold the Constitution of the United States and to ` E
gather and disseminate information that (1) will teach E
the necessity of respect for the rights of persons and i
property as fundamental to every successful form of gov- Q
ernment and (2) will teach the duty of governIne'nt·to g ?
encourage and protect 1nd1v1dual and group 1nIt1at1ve g
and enterprise, to foster the right to work, earn, save, E
and acquire property, and to preserve the ownership and g
lawful use of property when acquired. g
The League believes in the doctrine expressed by §
George Washington in his Farewell Address that while g * * * ’
the people may amend the Constitution to meet condi- g
tions arising in a changing world, there must "be no §
change by usurpation; for this * * * is the customary §
weapon by which free governments are destroyed.” § ‘
Since the League is wholly dependent upon the con- S Spggch of
tributions of its members for financial support it hopes §
g that you will become a contributing member. However, 5 HON' JAMES A' REED
‘ 'b ’ 'll 1 E
If you cannot contri ute It wi we come your support as E Member of the National Lawyers com-
a non-contnbutmg member. ;
j mittee of the American Liberty League
'‘*“”‘'”***-*”-*“-*“*'* ' before the
Enr ent ank g Lawyers’ Association of Kansas City
2 April 14, 1936
AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
WASHINGTON, D. C.
cO|lIlIIOIIlIII| g
S JE IC4
I desire to be enrolled as a member of the E ii'
American Liberty League. I; I.,
Q Q? P0
Signature .......................................... E r Y La
Name ............. . . . . .......................... E
E Street ............................................ I
6*3
L3 .......................................... AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
gd Town .. _
- g National Headquarters
County .......................... State ........... I NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
E · I WASHINGTON, D. C.
Enclosed find my contribution of $ .......... * *
to help support the activities of the League.
(120) I Document No. 120 -
We Have Corretrtutioual stretched a night of a thousand years. The last
Liberty or Dictatorship? r vestiges of liberty were obliterated, Everywhere
A tyrants ruled with merciless cruelty. These
* r monsters pretended that they were appointed
TONIGHT, Ladies and Gentlemen, my appeal by Almighty God to rule over the masses of
is made to the men and Women of America, who men. They proclaimed the infamous doctrine
consider their duty to Flag and country as more ther the peetlle were S9 eehaeed as ts Poesess
sacred than allegiance to any political party. eelther the rlght ner eblhty ret Order their own
Ours is the only country in which the liber- hVee’_ene were Se lgnerem as ts be rheePehte
ties and rights of all citizens are declared safe- ¤f_*rmk1¤s nightly en any Sub-leet Secular sr
guarded and Preserved against the (mCmach_ rel1g1ous,.and hence should not.be permitted to
ments of power and the oppressions of rulers. t utter then theughtw te meet Ht Peaeeehre as'
That is done by the Constitution. Destroy the i ;im3i¤s¤» te Yerihlti ged eeeerdrhg te die faith
Constitution and liberty is dead. _ mr eee e’ e e ew avoeattons e t etr
When liberty is imperiled he who counts his f ehe1ee’ eee that then Pr°PertY¤ Such as they
personal loss or gain, does not deserve the name r were Permlttee ts h°ld° Sheuld be Subject to
of patriot. If the men of ’76 had been of such the WIH sf their everlerde
miserable mettle, there would have been neither ‘ t’
Lexington, nor Bunker Hill, nor Concord, nor THAT WAS THE AGE of Patcrnalism at its
Y¤rkt¤W¤· eAhd wee their deseehdehtsv would best, and at its worst. For, in all its varied
still be \111tt» ttvth tht eupreme Fthtt red gerrrrerrre er Be1drerrerrr, cerrrrrerderr, se. s
are attacks upon the tr1bunal which has shielded cialism and Fascism
and protected the people under their supreme l
l nd ed them f the und ` ' _
aw ‘“‘ P""S°”' . rem “”““’“g EXAMINE THE RECORD: The Demeererre
or overthrow of the liberties they consecrated _ ,
. . . Convent1on adopted a platform fully 1n accord
and consol1dated 1n the greatest 1nstrument ever t _ _ _ _ _
devised b man w1th American trad1t1ons, and 1n every respect
Y ' - consistent with the Constitution. The candidate
f P 'd t`th s efthat tC -
FO-R ALMOST one hundred and fifty years we Or . mel en m C pre enc 0 erea on
, vention declared that he endorsed the platform
have l1V€d under tl1e form of government thus
_ _ _ 100 per cent. Upon that platform and pledge
established. ln that per1od of t1me we have .
_ , _ he and every Democratic Congressman was
builded the greatest nation that has ever ex1sted
th Th f th 1 h elected. They all solemnly swore they would
upon ear ' C masses 0 C peep C ave support the Constitution and defend it against
been more happy and more contented than any . . .
_ all enemies, fore1gn and domestic.
other people who have ever l1ved. They have t . . . .
_ , We had 1nher1ted some grave d1Hicult1es
had more of the comforts, necess1t1es and lux- . . . . . . 1
_ _ _ _ which had the1r or1g1n dur1ng the previous ad- r
uries of life than were enjoyed by the aristoc- . . . . . . r
, m1n1strat1on. Almost immediately we were 1n- ;
racy of two centur1es ago. They have swept ee . re 5
, , _ formed that there was a great necesszty for
from the Atlantic to the PECIHC. Churches of re- . . . r
. . ,. . . the immediate passage of laws, wh1ch we were ~
l1g1on, semmaries of learning, schools and elee- .
. . . .. . solemnly told would be merely temporary 1n
mosynary 1nst1tut1ons are established 1n every
7 T
6 2
their character, and that they would be repealed more than ten thousand pages of pronounce-
the moment the necessity passed. That bait was ments intended to have the force and effect of
generally swallowed by the people. We are law; that in one year of time they issued regula-
now told that these policies are to be made per- tions and alleged laws exceeding the volumes of
manent, despite their unconstitutionality. all the Federal Statutes passed during the life
It would have been well had we listened to I of the Republic.”
the warning of the great William Pitt, uttered Because of the drastic provisions of these so-
more than 150 years ago: I called laws and the threat of prosecution and
..NcccSSity is the plea for every infringement of imprisonment, tens of thousands of industries
human freedenn It is the argument et tyrente It and hundreds of thousands of citizens submitted
is the creed of s1aves.” to the imperious dictates imposed upon them
by the agents of our paternalistic and kindly
UNDER THE PLEA of necessity a law, con- .g government, who were sent out to spy upon
cocted by brain-trusters, some of whom were every industry and every place of business and
better known in Russia than in the United X H to threaten, to coerce and prosecute
States, was rushed through practically without Nothing done by Stalin, by Mussolini, by Hit-
debate. ler, was more drastic, more brutal and more
That singular and unprecedented law directed destructive of liberty. “
the representatives of all the various industries This N.R.A. law was in every line and para-
of the United States, manufacturing, wholesale graph violative of the Constitution, as were also
and retail, to, in their respective crafts and call- the squirming brood of legislative serpents to `
ings, meet and by a majority of those present which it speedily gave birth. I have stated all
adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of this was doneq under the claim of necessity.
the various businesses with which they were as- There was no such necessity.
. sociated. So broad was the sweep of the law as
to practically embrace all production and dis- THE NEW DEALERS 1`ecenuY nad a Jackson
tribution. It affected, as either producers ey Day banquet. They lauded "Old Hickory" as
consumers, every citizen of the United States. the patrvn saint of Liberty- m¤d¢¤t1r assumed
It exempted the groups from the Anti.T1·uet credit for his virtues, and tore from his grave
laws—permitted them to fix prices, hours of his sacred snroud and wraPPed it around the
labor and we es, deformed carcass of the New Deal.
It gave, to §he agreements made in Secret by LiStGI1 to his l3St II1€SS3gC to tl”1C .An1C1'iC£1n
these individuals who had never been elected to PeoP1ei
any office, the force of law, and Pygvided that “The legitimate authority of the Constitution is
any citizen violating such regulations should be abundanuyt s:1‘m°ie“;lf°' all uic p“"n°S‘EsHf°:_ which
• • • . e . Y 0 `I] I I I
s“11‘Ys°f E mms and Pumshss EY a Em and/0* Li.Y§`.i.§"Z..'§,.i....g b.f.Ed°E1E..§. "E3.$, .`ET..Z'§. Y.
1mpr1S0nmcnt' exercise power beyond these limits should be
promptly and firmly opposed, . . . and if . . . sup-
r m or r ircumst c ll
HUNDREDS os THESE GROUPS mst and i¤ » 'Z$Z$dbZd¥,Z'IZZ?§Zd° .J°j..E’.s§7 LZ ....m§`,ES§ Z}?.
secret sessions concocted a set of regulations and [ p newer not given by the Constitution, the gene,-e]
rules which under thc law h€CaII16 binding upon `H government will before long absorb all the powers
all p€1‘SOI1S Cllgagod in that particular line of of legislation, . . . every friend of our free institu-
business with 01. Without their consent. tions should be always prepared to maintain unim-
Thcy were an exceedingly busy lot Of gentle- paired and in full vigor the rights and sovereignty 7
_ of the states and to confine the action of the general
men' The Amcrlcan Bar Association has Ye' govemment strictly to the sphere of its appropriate
ported that "the N.R.A. agency alone issued duties? E
8 9 ‘
AT THAT DINNER Mr. Roosevelt rather inti- That is a flat admission that the present ad-
mated that the mantle of Elijah had fallen upon ministration has assumed a power by the exer-
the shoulders of Elisha, and that he was Elisha. cise of which shackles can be placed upon the
Compare Old Hickory’s statement with the liberties of the people.
declaration of Franklin D. Roosevelt that the How many cruelties, outrages and wrongs
Constitution belongs to the “horse and buggy were perpetrated under this and kindred laws,
age," that is to say, it is an obsolete and dead the world will never know.
thing. How many there were who submitted without
lf so, when he took the oath of oflice, he swore protest, will never be recorded.
to sustain a corpse. Attend to a few of the most glaring that
Compare J ackson’s statement with the advice have come to light.
given by the President to Congress-in sub- _
stance this: “Pass these bills, and a no atten- _ _ _
tion to the Constitution.” That wiasythe mean- HQNEST MAN W_aS thrown m Jail for
ing of what he Said. I having hired mentat a pr1ce satisfactory to them
* to assist 1n repa1r1ng automob1le batteries.
N A poor woman, earning her bread by in her
(JQMPARE THE PROVISIQNS Of the N_R_A_ own house decorating tin cans to be used as
bill, which was the creation of the brain-trust- flower pots, was threatened with fine and im-
S ers, with Mr. Roosevelt’s statement on March 2, p1`iS0n1nent, and wnlpelled to desist.
1930, when Governor of New York, in which he A Citizen W¤S 31`1'eSted, fined or imprisoned
denounced “the doctrine of regulation and leg- f01` Shipping his 0Wn Oil-
islatinn by master nnndS" and declared that A poor tailor was arrested and imprisoned for
men undertaking to ]egia]ata for the People must pressing a vest for five cents less than the price
be "almost godlike in their ability,” and further, riX€*i by 3 gmnp of 0ri1€1` p1‘eSSe1’S·
“to bring about a government by oligarohy A man W8S {ined 01‘ imprisoned for selling
masquerading as democracy, it is fundamentally milk tri Starring babies i0r 3 pI‘i0€ less than
i essential that all authority and control be in a that iixed by ii group Or miik d€8i€1°S·
centralized national government .... The sov- A citizen was arrested. fined 0i` i1np1`iS0ned
crcignty et the States must be deStreved _ _ _ for selling chickens in violation of a price fixed j
We are safe from such dangers just so long as by other ciiickmi *i€ai€rS·
tlie individual home rule of the StateS is pre_ The obligation of contracts was annulled and
Served and fought for _ _ _¤¤ the creditor denied the right to recover the
Evidently Mr. Rooseveltnow conceives he has m°n€Y he had ioaiicii to rim *i€i*r0r·
found these men of “godlike ability” in the per-
xii/.;ilai:;•TugWc1l° Mordecai E”°k‘°i’ Ickcs and THE N.R.A. worked out a diabolical scheme
which compelled retailers to boycott manufac-
turers or wholesalers who had not placed over
COMPARE THAT STATEMENT with M1,. ¤1_ their doors the insignia of the blue buzzard
Roosevelt’s latest message: ramPaiii· •
"In thirty-four months we have built up new in- A Swarm of Spies, sneaks find informing were
Strumcms of public power- In the hands of a pcm _ turned loose upon the N&t10H and authorized
r ple·S government this power is wholesome and to thrust themselves into the business of private
proper. But in the hands of political puppets of an COIICBYIIS and command obedience to a c0l11me1‘·
economic autocracy such power would provide cial dictator llpcll pain of fine and imp1‘ison·· 1
shackles for the hberties of the peopIe.” ment.
10 11 2
These acts occurred in thousands of instances. “ tho mg ciuh wciuid here been cracked dawn
The smirs business and Commercial world upon the heads and fortunes of the Amer1can
stood trembling beneath the club of a master pooPi°° -
threatening to "crack down"` on them, if they
dared disobey. WHO COULD HAVE IMAGINED that we
Government agents have recently ransacked should in this country have adopted the theory
the private papers and records of the citizen, of taking the money and property from those
seized tens of thousands of private papers and who own it, and redistributing it through the
telegrams in open defiance of the express pro- process of taxation?
visions of the Constitution. Who could have imagined that our national
I debt would be piled mountain high`? That in
t the prosecution of these wild schemes we would
WHAT SANE MAN three Yoaih ago weeld be imposing a burden of taxation upon the
have dreamed that a Secretary of Agriculture PBOPIC amounting to tnots than is gpgnt for all
Woimi Seek re mako moat Piohiy fer tho hiihgiy , the food consumed by our 130-million popula-
by slaughtering and throwing into soap vats or tion, oi. that Ws Would not only mattgaga tha
rivers the bodies of five million suckling pigs, gonomtion living, but tho shadowy hosts who
and undertake the difficult task of establishing will hotoottot Pass this Bank Of Tnns?
birth control among all the sows who grunt, Who ooniti novo imagined that tha Unitatl
and gambol and grow in the millions of Ameri- States Would ropudiatc its Own Ohligationa
oah hog iota? specifically payable in gold, or that the Govern-
I Oi`, that Wo Woimi edepr tho idiotic Siogahi ment would by threat of imprisonment compel
“W*re¤ Yee ere breke» eperrd yeereeif irrre pres- every citizen to yield up his money end teke in
Poi`iiY”? return a piece of paper worth iifty·nine cents
Or, that Congress would pass a law to send a on tho dollar? °
mah re jaii fer raising Poiaiooa in his owh Who could have believed that a member of
Paiohe ami re hho ami impriaoh a Womah fer the Cabinet would dare to charge that the
hhyihg Perereee hot aiampoii aha ooihhoa bY Supreme Court had “perpetrated the greatest
the Seerererv ef Asrieelrere? steal in history” because the Court said to that
A mah who eerrld havo haiiovoa that would Cabinet oflicial, "You cannot rob one class of
have been taken before a commission of lunacy. ont. people {ot the hsnsnt gf anathay class?
All of these acts, and there are thousands
T“°i"’ “""`° ‘° i’° ‘m*’°S°‘i by i°”°""‘i‘° W‘“’i" IN ILLUSTRATION er the feet that paternal-
mgmn locusts were busy` ism is akin to slavery and produces innumerable
outra es, I have taken your time to catalog a
AT THE TIME the Supreme Court decided mere hraction of what has occurred. But that
the Schechter case, more than 379 cases had demonstration was made wholly unnecessary by
been instituted which were then dismissed. the speech we heard last night over the radio.
At that time there were pending 1,897 suits to it For a time I thought it was good old Dr. Town- -
enjoin the collection of an unjust processing send intoning his two hundred dollar a month
tax. How many suits the Government had in pension scheme. A little later I learned it was
contemplation probably will never be disclosed T the President.
to the public, but, if the Supreme Court had The central thought of his address was that
not defended the Constitution and the rights of no human being should be permitted to work n
the people thereunder, literally tens of thou- until eighteen years of age, or after the age of ‘
sands of actions would have been brought and sixty-five.
12 13 ]
That is the power he seeks and desires. He srv to tymmlm h_aS beer} gore mpld than
would take from the fathers and mothers of the . élmllar revolutions m RuSS1a’ m Germany and
land the control of their children until eighteen m Italy _ _ _
years of age, and take that control into his own Between that cnmson Hood gud the hbcrucs
or his satellites’ hands. That is Russian Bol- of the Amcmcan PC0p1c’ Standmgpil guard as
Shevism at its Worst. g did Horatius, Lartius and Herminius at the
HC would deny to man Sixtyjve years of age bridge, are the nine venerable Justices ofthe
the right to work for a living and, unless inde- Svvmmc Court of the Umwd §t£}tcS' HOW loflg
pendent, would make them paupers and charges y wlll Natura Spafic th€m’ and lf It _dO?S happlly
upon the Public so keep them w1th·u.s, how long Wlll 1t be unt1l
HC asked: 66What would 1_€Su1t?o·» the present AClII11I11St1’3I;10I1, 1f COIlt1Ill1Cd lll
I answer: Tens of millions of American citi- r{¤W<=1‘»_Wi” Pack the Supreme Court wgh addll
zens would be denied the God-given right to umm] -lu$1g?S’ all of thcui New Dealers' Than
Work. Many thousands Of families being d€_ I assert, 1S IH contemplauon; that, I assert, has
prived of their assistance would be impov- l' been thmat°n€d’
erished—the country would be deprived of an A
immense portion of its productive capacity. I CALL UPON AMERICAN CITIZENS to
Millions of boys would be transformed into awaken to the dangers of this hour and to em-
loafers and become the habitues of pool halls, ploy the Constitutional weapons placed in their
race tracks and other places where the indolent hands——the ballots of freemen.
congregate. In such a crisis political alignments sink into
A widowed mother permitting her son or insigniiicance. Only friends of constitutional
daughter to assist her with her labor could be liberty should be placed on guard.
sent to jail.
A farmer could be fined and imprisoned for
allowing his big seventeen-year-old boy, who
under the law had been compelled to loaf all
day, to unharness the mules or milk a cow.
CANNOT YOU NOW UNDERSTAND that .
Roosevelt desires to pass laws utterly destruc-
tive of liberty, and do you not know from past
experience that these laws will be enforced by y
atrocious penalties? —
Louis XIV never went so far. Neither Musso- ,
lini nor Hitler, nor Stalin of Russia, have gone
_ so far.
I refuse to qualify for the lunatic asylum by
approving a suggestion which might well have
originated in a mind diseased. “If the blind —
lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch.” p
I’m going to look after the eyesight of my
leader. f
Our march away from Constitutional Govern-
ment and toward the swamps and morasses of I
Communism, Bolshevism and Fascism, from lib- i _
14 15