xt7wwp9t2q46_4 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), "The Tenth Commandment" by David Lawrence (Reprint from the United States News), September 29, 1934 text "The Tenth Commandment" by David Lawrence (Reprint from the United States News), September 29, 1934 2013 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61/59m61_5/Am_Lib_Lg_5_001/Am_Lib_Lg_5_001.pdf section false xt7wwp9t2q46_4 xt7wwp9t2q46  
branches. Where one man, or one bureau, is law- ` ‘ ‘
maker, prosecuting attorney, judge, jury, and *  
sheriff, there is no protection for the citizen. ` · __
There is no justification, under the traditional
American system of government, for permitting an I
executive bureau to issue orders having the force ·
of laws and subjecting citizens to criminal or civil 7
penalties; there is no justification for permitting an y •
executive official to take over the legislative pre-
rogative of levying taxes and specifying the pur-
poses and manner of disbursement of revenues. I
The need for ri id observance of constitutional · . .
restrictions is alwajgs greater in emergencies than in The AHIEYICHH Llberty A
more normal times because the emergencies pro-
duce constant pressure for disregard or evasion of League
limitations.
Such pressure is dangerous enough when exerted _
upon the Senate or the House, though in Congress By
the interests of one group or section may be counter-
balanced by the conflict with other groups or sec- —
tions and the net result is likely to be action in the J JOUETT SHOUSE
interest of the entire nation. However, a totally P de
different situation arises when Congress evades its Tm nt
constitutional responsibilities and delegates legisla-
tive powers to one man or one bureau. *
What the The American Liberty V
· ` League believes that Con-
Ltbéyty L€“g“e gress, having been elected to .
BClt€'U€.S represent the people, should
not shirk its task by delegat-
ing authority to bureaus to promulgate arbitrary
regulations having the force of laws. Likewise, the V * * _
League believes that Congress should not attempt A C
to delegate judicial power to executive bureaus.
The Courts of the nation and not government
bureaus should pass upon questions of civil justice. s
It is also the belief of the League that the right to
authorize the spending of public funds and to raise
revenue is solely the function of the legislative
branch of the government and that balanced bud-
gets and sound iiscal policies are possible only while
Congress retains its full responsibility for the nature ‘
and manner of spending public money.
In its efforts to promote its beliefs before the J
American people, the League will deal in facts and
not in visions. Its objective is to persuade the elec- .
tive officials of the government to follow the prin- j
ciples in which the League believes.
The methods whichthe League will utilize while
working for this objective will vary with the situa- AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
tions presented. However, they will be effective Nati0m,;Headq,,aYteYs
methods and they will be unremitting. NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
  WASHINGTON, D. c.
$9* _j~

  
Wh 7 evasion under the camouflage of giving new names
y • to unconstitutional proposals.
The American Liberty League A National _By the very nature of its
A * N¤r·P¤r#m Egfttisiip ‘2i2€“t2i§u§‘“r“§
Movement not a partisan organization.
FOR several thousand years some hundreds of . Neither is it an Organization
churches have been advocating respect for and devoted to the interests of any particular segment
observance of the Ten Commandments. So far, ` of the population, geographic, social, racial, or
_ complete success has not been attained. financial.
A For more than one hundred and fifty years the The League’s aims are very definite. They are
V American people generally have assumed that the as public as it has been possible to make them.
Federal Constitution was so firmly established that They are embodied in its articles of incorporation
. it needed no continuing advocacy for its protection. as follows:
Events of the past few years haveindicated that ((Th€ particular business and Objects Of the
thls was false Opumlsm Societ hall be to defend and u hold the C n-
V That explains why the American Liberty League t.t dy S f th Un} d St t P d t tg
came into existence and why its founders intend S I u on 0 . E . lc Fi es ee O ee er
that it shall remain in existence for as long as may and d‘sS€m‘“a“’i mformatmn that (D will
be necessary. teach the necessity of respect for the rights of
- persons and property as fundamental to every
. . . successful form of overnment and (2) will
The Ediot ef A .°ooSmuooo hos been teach the duty of government to encourage
the Anteyjcan deeenbed as n Yosnioint upon and protect individual and group initiative and
P 1, the Powers ef g<>ver¤me¤t- enterprise, to foster the right to work, earn,
BOP C Tnot ls oortamly imo os op' save and acquire property, and to preserve the
piled te o govornmont In ox' ownership and lawful use of property when
istence at the time the constitution is adopted. But acquircdyi
the American Constitution is more than that. It is
’ the actual charter of the Federal Government; it It will be noted that the statement of principles
called that government into existence; it specified links the "rights of persons and property." There
what the government may do and what it may not is a very good reason for that conjunction. In the
do; it is the edict of the people of the United States. view of those who comprise the membership of the
The Constitution of the United States amounts League the superficially drawn distinction between
to a contract between the people and the officers "human rights" and "property rights" is a catch-
of government; executive, legislative, and judicial. phrase and nothing more. The two so-called cate-
That contract delegates to officials the power to do gories of rights are inseparable in any society short
certain things and it forbids them to do certain of Utopia or (absolute conillmunism. Tohprotictl a
other things. man’s so-calle human rig ts and strip im o is
Contracts may be modified or cancelled, but only P1‘0Pe1‘tY rights Wfiuid be to i55ii€ him 3 iishiiig
by mutual consent Or by methgdg specified in the llCeI1Se and then pI‘Ohibl|L him fI'OIT1 baiting his hook.
contracts. The F ederallConstitution contains ade-
quate provisions for its own modification through Buyaaucyqey Furthermore there is eiie
the orderly processes of amendment. If the Ameri- _ M very clear lesson to be learned
can people wish to change the form of their govern- enaoes from histery-namely, that
ment from a federal republic with limited powers to All Rights governmental disregard for
an absolute dictatorship or to state socialism, they property rights soon leads to
can do so by appropriate amendments to the Con- disregard for other rights. A bureaucracy or des-
stitution. However, so far, they have done nothing potism that robs citizens of their property does not
of the kind, and the existing contract is still bind- likg te be haunted by ite vj(;tim5_
ing, whether it is ohSe1‘Ved or not- The prevention of governmental encroachments
One hélsie DUYPOSB of the American Liberty _ upon the rights of citizens was one of the principal
League is to see to it that this contract is complied reasons for the division of the Federal Govern-
with-—-faithfully, honestly,.completely, and without ment inte the Legislative, Judicial and Exeeiitive