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The Commoner
FEBRUARY, 1920
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M. V
A PEOPL
TITUTION
Address Delivered by William Jennings Bryan Before the Contitutional Convention
ui iNeorasKa at Lincoln, January 12, 1920
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TRESIDEXT WEAVER'S INTRODUCTION
Introductory address of Hon. A. J. Weaver,
President o the Nebraska Constitutional Conven
tion.) As Nehraskans wo take a just pride in our
J? in its wonderful agricultural resources, in
! ercat industries, and its varied business; in
he growth and prosperity of its cities, its vil
lages and rural communities; and above all in
the intelligence and high character of its citizen-
8 For above the wealth of fertile lands, of fac
tories and of industries stands the character of
the people in the final anaylsis of the quality of
the state. And today as representative of the
fine citizenship of thfs state, by reason of his
high character, his beautiful home' life, his hon- -esty
of purpose, his superb courage, and his
great ability, we are honored by the presence of
a man who has made Nebraska known, the world
over as "The home of Bryan." We avo proud
to have it so. He has represented this state in
the National Congress. He has three times been
the candidate of his party for the most exalted
office in the gift of the whole people. He has
Bat in the President's cabinet. And yet, during
all the years, whether in or out of office, he has
always worked among the people in the vine
yard of governmental problems, going here and
there in his democratic simplicity and has
earned the title of "The Great Commoner."
And today to this distinguished guest, in be
half of this Constitutional Convention, I am
pleased to say "We are glad that you are here,
Mr. Bryan. We feel honored by your presence.
We know that we shall be benefited in having
your advice and counsel on the important con
stitutional Questions which will be considered by
this Convention, and we invite your suggestions,
as well as suggestions from other citizens, as
to what should bo placed in this constitution."
Our ambition as representatives of the peo
ple of Nebraska is to so administer the import
ant trust confided to us that Nebraska's new con
stitution, in whatever form it is submitted, may
be a real charter for a great modern state and
that it will not only safeguard the personal
rights of every citizen and of his property, but
that it will also conform to the progressive ideals
of organized government. And when this work is
completed we hope that the people of this state
can adopt it, not as a makeshift, nor as a matter
of expediency, but because it Is fundamentally
right as to principles of government and be
cause it stands for the general welfare.
I would express the further hope that when
his constitution is submitted to the people for
their consideration that we may have your ap
proval, Mr. Bryan, as to the quality of our work.
U is my great pleasure now, to -present to this
invention our distingushed fellow Nebraskan,
whom we all respect, the Honorable William
Jennings Bryan.
MR. BRYAN'S ADDRESS
Mr. President, Members of the Constitutional
invention, State Officials, and Ladies and
Gentlemen:
for f? grateful to your distinguished president
uWiegracious and very generous words em
2 in Presenting me to you. I appreciate,
do n, 1 lansuage can express, the honor you
DrlvH invitinS me to address you and the
Java you acrd me in listening to me. I
YentJif11 exalted opinion of a constitutional con
memff and its memoership. My father was a
IllimSf ,of the constitutional convention of
that i (in 1870 that wrote the constitution
for fi?tlS remained the organic law of that state
est W year8, x look back to. that as the greatr
higMv over inferred upon him. I think so
circuLf a constitutional convention that, if
esteemorf063 had Permitted, I would have
eation Jtl? gTeat Privilege to serve in this con
a reqZeV you; x would even have submitted
eervJJ , l to. tne people that they permit me to
I nr: -". 1U mis capacity.
toemSi d somothing of the character of the
""JQlp of a rnnnHfuHnnal pnnvnntlon.
of a constitutional convention. Iauu
Bancroft, the great historian, has paid the high
est tribute (in prose) to the common poople, and
in that tributo he explains that it is not proper to
say that "tho voice of the people is the voice
of God," but that it is rather proper to say that
tho universal conscience is the nearest approach
on earth to the voice of God. So I regard tho
intelligence, the wisdom, and tho patriotism
represented in a constitutional convention as tho
highest expression of the capacity of the people
for popular government.
You who gather here to frame this new consti
tution occupy a position superior to that of any
officer in this state. The people look up to tho
chief executive, the state officials and the mem
bers of the Supreme Court, but THE MEMBERS
OP THIS CONVENTION DEFINE THE AU
THORITY, PRESCRIBE THE QUALIFICA
TIONS, AND FIX THE REQUIREMENTS OF
ALL THESE OFFICIALS. I share with you the
pride that you feel in the task that you havo
been called to perform and in the state for
which you speak. I yield to none of you in my
love for tho great commonwealth of Nebraska.
(Applause) And I put none above you in that
love, for the fact that you are here is proof con
clusive that there aTe no others who have the
confidence of the people to a greater extent, or
who, in the judgment of tho voters, can be bet
ter trusted with this important, work.
T feel more at home speaking to you than I
would if I were speaking to a court, for while
the law is my profession, I havo not had much
time to practise because of my Interest in what
I regard as more Important work. If I were
practising before a court, I would be engaged
in helping the court to determine what the law
IS, but I come before youo holu you, if I can,
to determine what the law SHOULD BE. What
OUGHT TO BE is more important than WHAT
IS, for what ought to be is that which overturns
that which is. That which WAS good is changed
to that which IS better.
A MODEL CONSTITUTION
I am here, my friends, because I desire this
constitution to be THE BEST CONSTITUTION
IN THE UNITED STATES; more than that, I de
sire it to be THE BEST CONSTITUTION IN
THE WORLD. And why should it not be THE
BEST CONSTITUTION IN THE WORLD? You
have all the past to guide you, and surely none
have higher purposes to inspire them.
There never was a time when good example
could have a larger influence than today. I was
told that, when they were writing the constitu
tions of the states of China, they asked an
American for an American constitution that
they might take as a model. The. con
stitution of .Oklahoma had recently been
written, and the American to whom the
request was made recommended the Okla
homa constitution, and, I am informed, the con
stitution of Oklahoma became the model upon
which the states of China wrote their constitu-
ti0This constitution ought to be written with the
desire that it shall bo made so nearly perfect
anfbee brought so completely up tc .date jthat na
tions everywhere may find in it the highest ex
rHSOrOH COKSTRUCTIVB
STATESMAN
T venture to submit some observations in line
Jefferson, wdoww w n p kn0wn-i
structive statesman the worm iw na
I put him in afC L expression of
one to association with him rat t
things fundamental in wuwr orIdjef ferson
growing goyernmen of the won
was a moulder of public thought, 1
aspiration of e peopie w j-- fl H
be easily Sot&ment Some
simplified the problems of sorer understand
think them nPl ?Je ,thDin plain. He had
but Jefferson tried .V "The art of govern
faith in the people. He said,
ment is the art of bolng honest," and added that
"tho principles of right and wrong are so easily
discerned that thoy require not tho aid of many
counselors." My purpose la to plainly state thofto
principles of government, tho principles that
you may havo occasion to apply, so that
you may understand how easy It is for
honest men to agreo when their purpose In tho
same and no selfish interest keeps thorn apart.
In addrossing this constitutional .convention
I address it in tho belief that every member
so appreciates tho honor conferred upon him
and the responsibility of his position that h.e
will work with an oyo single to his state's wel
fare and his country's good.
GOVERNMENT COERCIVE AND COOPERA
TIVE Government may r-c divided into two parts',
coorcivo and cooperative. Tho theoretical an
archist arguos that a time will finally como in
tho progross of tho human race whon men will
nocd no government because each one will be a
law unto himsolf. As civilization improves, as
moral standards are lifted up, the COERCIVE
part of government will decrease; as people raoro
and more do right, because of tho light that
comes from within, thoy will loss and less need
tho "thou shalt nots" of tho criminal law, but
I am persuaded that tho COOPERATIVE part
of government will grow as tho coorcivo part of
government diminishes.
THE PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO RULE
The fundamental principle of popular governs
ment, whether coercive or cooperative, is that)
tho people have a right to have what thoy want
in government. If I can burn into your minds
and hearts no other thought today I would rather
leavo this thought than any other, viz, that tho
people havo a right to havo what thoy want; that
tho people are the source of power. There is no
other source to bo trusted. Not that tho people
will make no mistakes, but that THE PEOPLE
HAVE A RIGHT TO MAKE THEIR OWN MIS
TAKES, and that few people have a God-glveu
right to make mistakos for tho rest of the poo
ple. Mistakes will occur no matter what form
of government wo havo. In -a monarchy the king
makes mistakes for all the people, and history
shows that the kings of tho world have lived
fully up to their opportunities In this respect.
In an aristocracy tho few make mistakes for the
rest of tho people, and sometimda they find it
so profitable that they refuso to correct them,
even when they are pointed out. Many of. the
wars of Ihe world have been waged for the pur
pose of correcting mistakes that the FEW found
it profitable to make.
' Let us consider some of , the advantages of this
theory. In tho first place, it never pays tho
people to make mistakes, and therefore they
are not as likely to make them as those arc who
find it profitable. , .
In the second place, if tho people make their
own mistakes, they accept tho results and. bear
the punishment more patiently than they do if
'somebody else makes the mistakes; that is an
element not to bo overlooked in government
"You did it; now submit to tho penalty until
you can correct it," Is a difllult argument to
answer.
In the third place, because they suffer when
they make mistakes and are sorry that they made
them, they will correct them as soon as they
find them out. The first fundamental principle
that I leave with you and ask you to remember
(I shall return to it later) Is to trust the peo
ple. Have faith in them because that faith Is
the foundation of free government; and that
faith is spreading throughout the world.
COERCIVE GOVERNMENT
Let us first consider coercive government.
Punishments are for two purposes, viz., the pro
tection of society and the correction of the per
sons punished; but when you examine closely
you will find that it is really one purpose rather
than two, because the greatest protection that
society can have ia to be found in the correction
of the individual. Nothing is more sure than
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