NO OCCASION FOR DESPAIR.

In the closing days of the nineteenth century we find ourselves in a transition period. Old things are passing away and new things are coming upon us. Men are either conservatives or radicals. It matters little to which of these classes any one man may happen to belong, for in the economy of nature there seems to be about an equal division, so that a fair balance is struck and the world moves along as rapidly as is consistent with safety.

But there is another division of men -some are optimists and some are pessimists. The line of demarcation between the latter classes is not the same as between the former. We find radical pessimists and radical optimists, conservative optimists and conservative pessimists. But it does not seem to be in the economy of nature that there should be an equal division or anything like it between the optimists and the pessimists. Most men take and should take a cheerful and philosophical view of life and the perplexities that surround us. I do not hold with some that the decadence of the Republic is at hand; that because corruption and oppression sit enthroned in high places for the time, that all is not well. I rather indulge the hope that the dawn of the new century marks the beginning of a new day in American life; that the America of the twentieth century will be a better America than that of the nineteenth; that its increasing millions of people will be better fed, better clad, better housed, have more leisure, more education and more of everything that really makes life worth the living than ever before. Let us not content ourselves "to paint the future only in the colors of the past." The world is better to-day than it ever has been before. Is there any good reason to lose faith and to believe that the summit of civilization has been reached and that we are now going down on the other side? Do our colleges, schools and countless charities and philanthropies point that way?

There is a hopeful sign of the times. There is a class of men, already not infrequent in this country and steadily growing, who finding themselves by inheritence possessed of means sufficient for their independent support, after obtaining their education, turn to political life for a career. They do not consider money making the chief aim and end of life, but are inspired by the laudable am

bition to make a place for themselves among the men who in times gone by have honorably served their country and obtained a conspicious place in our country's history. These men are above the corrupting influence of monopoly-neither money nor position can buy them. By virtue of their independence, education and honesty they will become powerful factors for good in the political life of the new century. These men standing shoulder to shoulder with men less fortunate in the possession of independent fortunes and college training, but who through long years of toil have come up from the humbler walks of life to positions of trust and confidence and whose hearts still beat in sympathy with the great body of the common people will grapple with the trusts and these questions that now vex us will be solved and solved satisfactorily, and we shall pass on to the solution of other questions which are now hid within the veil of the future. That this question will be settled and settled as it should be no citizen of the Republic with a strong heart and sound digestion should for a moment permit himself to doubt.

DECENNIAL OF OUR STATE CONSTITUTION.

BY E. F. BLAINE, OF SEATTLE.

Ten years have paseed since the adoption of our state constitution, and if it could be said that all the good that has come to our people during this period of time was the result of that instrument, its framers would be entitled to the everlasting praise and grati tude of a happy, contented and prosperous populace. In mining, farming, fishing, trade, commerce, manufacturing and education our development has been wonderful, while our population has not correspondingly increased. This bespeaks much for our people and our laws, as the fact must not be over-looked that during nearly one half of these years a panic stagnated the speculative tendencies of our people, and drove the life blood of prosperity and commercial activity, money, into unusual places.

Looking back over these years we are pleased to find that no tumults worthy of mention have disturbed the peace and quiet of our commonwealth. To be sure, there have been incipient riots and labor troubles; there was Coxey's army and friction on our transcontinental railroads; but the seeds of these evils were of the east and took but slight root in Washington. This pleasing picture, not of fancy, but of fact, must be accounted for, and to our law great credit must be given.

Law sometimes directs the energy of a people, but more often it makes possible the fulfillment of man's hopes and ambitions, and today, chief among these is gain. The desire to gain is commendable; its true incentive is a maintenance and competence for the family. In fact, it is the basis of our civilization. The appropriation of property, its private ownership and right of disposition, all under the protection of law, makes the Caucasian the opposite of the Hottentot. Had civil government advanced no further than the protection of man in his person, the human race today would

be living in caves and huts and following with bow and arrow the beasts of the forest and plains.

Man, while the grandest, is the queerest of all God's creations; the functions of the human race have not been circumscribed so

that the same impulse is ever present. If it were so, nature would have been our only law.

Time, place, climate and environment largely modify and shape our desires and passions; thus the diversity in human laws and thus their constant change. The virtue of today oftimes becomes the vice of tomorrow.

Less than fifty years ago the people of the different states looked upon their legislatures as the embodiment of all governmental vir. tue. How changed are things! Read a modern state constitution read our own, and the thought will come into the mind, there to remain, that our Legislative Assembly is hedged about as some king or tyrant of old. The things our Legislature cannot do are quite as numerous as the things it can do. It would appear that the day is not far distant when it will be easier to enumerate the powers of a Legislative Assembly, excluding all others, than it will be to mention the subjects that shall not be legislated upon, or direct the manner of legislating upon them. Legislative bodies are becoming cunning and do not hesitate to evade constitutional provisions. A most remarkable example of this kind is to be found in the state of New York under a constitutional provision which prohibits the Legislature from passing any private or local act incorporating villages or providing for the building of bridges.

In 1885 an act was passed for the incorporation of villages with a general provision for building bridges. The following year an act was passed taking all the counties of the state out of the former act except Westchester. Under devices like these many of the constitutional provisions of our own state can be eluded. As the people mistrust one branch of government, they seem to place more reliance upon some other part or parts.

In the beginning governors and judges were looked upon askance, now their powers are constantly being augmented. ing our statehood no governor has been accused of corruption, neither has and judge of our supreme court; and scarcely has the finger of suspicion been pointed at any of the judges of our Supe

rior Courts.

a silver lining.

This is a magnificent showing, and it has more than It makes us feel proud of our profession, and justifies the observation of most writers, foreign and domestic, that free government in America is made possible and permanent by reason of the part acted by the legal profession.

But let us survey the acts and doings of the Legislature: There have been six sessions and scarcely any of them have escaped the taint of corruption, while two of them were so flagrantly bad that decent people became nauseated. Theodore Roosevelt, in the Century Magazine for April, 1895, in speaking of the Legislative Assembly of the state of New York, said that he thought the good members outnumbered the bad. That some of our United States Senators from this state have been chosen by the direct and almost open use of money will not be denied; that the American Tobacco Company used money freely in the passage of the cigarette bill is admitted. These are but examples. Is there no correction of these evils? Must we despair of representative government? In our bewilderment shall we follow the lead of the labor unions and swing into line for initiative and referendum? Referendum, in a modified form, is becoming quite common in America. No constitution is adopted these days without the direct vote of the people, and the frequency of change of constitution their average life being thirty years and constantly growing shorter - fills us with amazement when we stop to consider the number of amendments and the ease with which they are enacted. Legislators, knowing that they are distrusted, do not hesitate, but rather invite a reference to the people on what may be deemed moral questions or laws intended to check sin and vice, and oftimes those in relation to incurring indebtedness.

The evil of all this can scarcely be contemplated. Instead of our state constitutions containing organic or fundamental principles of government they are being crammed full of legislative matter, so that in a few years the chief task of a member of a State Legis. lature will be to determine whether a proposed measure does not conflict with some constitutional provision. The rapidity of growth of state constitutions is surprising. Virginia's first constitution contained only 3200 words, while ours contains not less than 24,000. This all increases the work of the judiciary, as every