Government is the realization by the people of New York city, New York State and the nation, that the City of New York, in a business way, is really the great port of the western world, and it must be up to date in its facilities for handling the great interstate and foreign commerce, not only in its own interest, but still more in the interest of the United States; hence Congress has the right to invoke its unlimited and absolute power, should it be forced to exercise such power because of local inefficiency. Means have been devised whereby the Government of the United States has become accustomed to grant subsidies and largess to the states upon condition that various matters be and become subject to Federal regulation, as instance road building, the militia, education and the like. In recent legislation enacted and progressing toward enactment, those means whereby the National Government becomes dominant through the purse are proposed to be employed to far greater extent. Bearing in mind that Federal and State taxes are borne by all, we can but notice that the central authority is engaged in taking by taxation money which it may not constitutionally expend for purposes had in view and which accordingly it is donating to various states upon condition in each instance that the dominant power of the United States be recognized in enterprises toward which a Federal contribution has been authorized. The system so inaugurated carries a possibility of unlimited taxation and cognate extension of the Federal control over activities retained to the states. The alternative presented to each State is a dilemma. Shall it be taxed and the funds taken from its citizens thereupon expended wholly within other states or shall it bow to Federal supervision, control and domination, thereupon receiving back its own for use under the yoke. The system as inaugurated admits of no limitation or definition. It may be extended to every activity of the State. The Federal imposts might be made to reach the limit of endurance, and every State actively carried on by means of funds flowing through the National Treasury and issuing thence wholly denatured as against their use under full sovereignty of any State. Concurrent authority, as must be noted, tends always to become conflicting, and when conflict arises the State must always yield to the Nation, for a majority of all concentrated at a Capital cannot fail to override the will of every one in turn, unorganized and far-flung over the land. A crowd will laugh as each is hazed in turn. When we look to the future, the single number of Legislative Bulletin No. 30 of the Chamber of Commerce for the United States for November 28th, 1921, shows legislation enacted or pending and advanced, to control packers and stockyards, to help take care of cotton, to control importation of dyes and chemicals, to tax and regulate grain exchanges and control the entire grain trade, to protect maternity and infancy, to provide for the construction of rural post roads, to stabilize the coal industry, to establish standard weights and measures, to provide for Workmen's Compensation, and to do many other things of such importance to the citizens of the whole country, that one wonders how long our citizens will know that they have any state governments left. To be sure, our National Constitution provides that "full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records and judicial proceedings of every other state.” To be sure, it further provides that"The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states." It also provides The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a Republican form of Government." And it is further provided by the Tenth Amendment-"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." And so it was, after the Civil War, that the United States Supreme Court decided that—"The Constitution, in all its provisions, looks to an indestructible Union, composed of indestructible states." (Texas v. White, 7 Wall. 700, 725.) And yet, while this is true, in theory, in the inevitable conflict of laws between the enactments of forty-eight different states and the enactments of Congress, with interstate and foreign commerce constituting such an immense part of the business of the country, a business over which the power of Congress is absolute and unlimited, it is not difficult to see that some years ago Mr. Root expressed the sober truth when he said. in substance, that the states must vigorously maintain their rights to exercise the powers reserved to them in the government of their own citizens or else the Federal Government would go steadily forward absorbing one governmental function after another, until the state governments would really be too feeble to exercise their powers, or protect their own citizens, except in a somewhat nominal way. Every lawyer engaged in the practice of the law owes a supreme duty to his state, and every citizen in it, to battle stoutly for the rights of the states and their citizens, as against the overwhelming power of the National Government, for so only can their necessary rights be preserved as against the constant encroachments of the national power. Respectfully submitted, Waldo G. Morse, of New York: ADELBERT MOOT, J. PARKER KIRLIN, I would move you, Mr. President, that this report be received and filed, and that when printed a copy of the same be placed in the hands of each member of the legislature, and in the hands of the head of each state department of the State of New York and in the hands of every judge of a court of record within the State, and I will say, in connection with this motion, that the Attorney General to whom we have listened has gone down in his attempt to protect what he deemed to be the rights of the State of New York as against the Federal power, and I couple with the motion a recommendation that the Committee be continued. The President: You have heard the motion that the report be received and be printed and distributed as set forth in the motion. This motion having been duly seconded, it is now in order to vote upon it. The motion was duly carried. The President: The next business is the report of the Committee on Suggestions for the Elimination of Certain Unnecessary Administrative Duties of the Governor. Mr. Wickersham is Chairman of that special Committee. The report is submitted. The Committee have held a number of meetings to draft a bill which would have relieved the Governor of part of his administrative duties by authorizing his Secretary or Counsel to sign in his name Commissions in the National Guard and Naval Militia; to perform the duties or any duty imposed upon him by the Buildings Law as a trustee of public buildings, or of any other buildings or property of the State; to perform the duties or any duty imposed upon him by section 17 of the Insanity Law or by section 49 of the State Charities Law. The Committee also prepared and forwarded to the Governor's Counsel a proposed concurrent resolution to amend section 9 of article IV of the Constitution, by extending the time within which the Governor must approve a private or local bill or a special city bill to forty days after the adjournment of the Legislature, instead of thirty days. I suggest that the report be received and filed and it will be printed in our records. REPORT OF COMMITTEE TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN UNNE- To the New York State Bar Association: The undersigned Committee appointed by the President of the New York State Bar Association to deal (1) with the subject of the alleged unnecessary administrative duties imposed upon the Governor of the State by various statutes to the detriment of important and urgent matters, and (2) with the subject of the accumulation of what is known as the thirty days bills at the end of the sessions of the Legislature under Section 9 of Article IV of the Constitution, hereby report: That the Committee held several meetings, the first, on February 3rd, 1921, at which it organized by choosing Mr. WickerIsham as Chairman. The Committee addressed itself in the first instance to an effort to secure a statement of the administrative duties of the Governor, which might properly be regarded as unnecessarily imposed upon him by various statutes to the detriment of important urgent matters. It had the benefit of suggestions by former Governor Alfred E. Smith, and by Mr. Franklin B. Lord and Mr. Fuller, former legal advisers to Governors, as well as of Counsel to the present Governor and others, including the New York State Association, which was engaged in the consideration of the same subject. The Committee prepared and forwarded to the Governor's Counsel a bill to amend the Executive Law by permitting the Governor from time to time to authorize his Secretary or his Counsel (a) to sign in his name commissions in the National Guard or Naval Militia; (b) to perform the duties or any duty imposed upon him by the Buildings Law as a trustee of public buildings, or of any other buildings or property of the State; (c) to perform the duties or any duty imposed upon him by Section 17 of the Insanity Law or by Section 49 of the State Charities Law. The Committee also prepared and forwarded to the Governor's Counsel a proposed concurrent resolution to amend Section 9 of Article IV of the Constitution, by extending the time within which the Governor must approve a private or local bill or a special city bill to forty days after the adjournment of the Legislature, instead of thirty days. It appeared to the Committee that these two measures should relieve the Governor of a number of unnecessary administrative details. The Governor's Counsel considered these bills with the Speaker of the Assembly and Mr. Adler, the Majority Leader, and after consulting with them advised the Committee that neither of those officials was in favor of the proposed bill to amend the Executive Law. This bill, therefore, was not introduced. The proposed concurrent resolution extending the |