Central Catholic High School - Echo Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

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THE ECHO 29 tive or legislative, but only that, the power of the people is superior to both. Thus summarizing the Constitution, we find Congress may not execute, for its busi- ness is the making of the law, the President does all the executing: the supreme court may not execute, may not legislate, for its business is to act as an umpire and declare what laws passed by congress are constitu- tional or whether any deed done by the Presi- dent is in accordance with the law. To Maintain the Government. 'fIn 1861 President Lincoln said: 'That of the three great points in regard to our government the American people had demon- strated but two, one was their ability to establish it, and the other their ability to administer it: the third then to be considered was, whether they could maintain it.' We have maintained our'government through 150 years of storm and stress, we have sailed the good ship of state upon the turbulent waters of dissension and still we retain our Constitution with its old principles of liberty, equality and justice under law to serve as a beacon of light to the rest of the world. The strength, the greatness, and the duration of a nation lie in the strength and unity of its people. A full knowledge and respect for the Constitution guarantees this unity. So let us then honor and respect this charter under which human rights have advanced further in a single century than they did in all the preceeding vastness of time. Let us love and revere this document of the people. by the people and for the people-a repres- entative democracy. Let us remember it does not mean government under the domin- ion of wealth, of the priviledged classes. Nor does it mean government of the ignorant masses, of the ungoverned rabble or the capricious multitude. It does not mean government of anarchy, bolshevism. or so- cialism. But it does mean systematized, or- cialism. But it does mean a systemized, or- ganized government under a written Consti- tution which in America has been and IS the first and greatest friend the people ever had. ..-OHL Voice in phone- Robert won't be in school to-day, he's sick. Ab. Officer- Very well, who's call- ing? Voice- My father. .io-.- lst spectator- VVhat makes those baseball players at bat so cool?i' Znd spectator- Well, you s e e, theyve frequently been fanned. .-..O-.L Bud- Cfee, isn't that pitcher cool? Mac- Wliy not, look at all the fans around the diamond. Debating After lengthy preparation the de- bating coach, Brother Daniel, C. S. C., selected two representative teams composed of the following Seniors: Frank Parrot. Donald INI u l h a u p t, james Roy with Robert Iiggeman as alternate, the juniors pride consisting of jack M. McYey, Giles Pierre, Frank E. Corbett with Bernard E. Broeker as alternate. The two teams engaged in a debating orgy on April 7. the subject in controversy being Resolved that the United States Should Enact Legisla- tion for the Compulsory judicial Set- tlement of all Disputes Arising in the Railway and Coal Mining Industriesf' Books were torn apart. clothing dis- sected, uncomplimentary epithets hurl- ed and when the din and dust of the battle had passed away the brave judges: i. e., Edward Henslee, Edward Myers and Frank Hogan repaired from the scene of the fray and announced that the juniors had won. Un April 13th at the local K. of C. Hall the juniors defeated unanimously the crack team from Indianapolis. The local Seniors journeyed to Indianapolis but were defeated by one point. At the present time arrangements are under way to schedule debates with Cathedral of Indianapolis and other large Catholic high schools in the middle west. The subject of this debate will be Capital Punishment. Francis E. Corbett, '26. lol Blosser- Do you like hot dogs? Martin- I sure do. Blosser-- You'll find two in that newly burnt house over there. ,LOL-1 Lacy- VVhich act did you like best at the vaudeville PM Lassus- The one that made nie laugh mostf,

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ZS THE ECHO cal heresy which says, that liberty is a privi- lege and man nothing more than a social animal, inferior to the government, but estab- lished firmly upon the rock of truth that de- fines liberty and equality as the basic birth- right of each and every individual. It is pro- foundly true that man's unquenchable desire for liberty was never satisfied until liberty and equality were written into the Constitu- tion of the United States of America. Un- doubtedly the writing of our Constitution was the greatest and most deciding political event since the creation of the world, for in that immortal document was created a system of national government, containing a legislative, an executive and a judicial branch, that is, a congress, a President and a supreme court, thereby making it perfectly clear that this is a government of limited power and responsibility. The idea of the Constitution was to form a strong national government and at the same time to pre- serve and to guard carefully the rights of every state and every individual, in other words to harmonize liberty with union. Of Separate Powers. To accomplish this end a government of separate powers was instituted. It was the first time in the history of the world that such a separation had been made in order to safeguard the rights of human beings. The authors of our bill of rights did not propose to place the power of ruling in the hands of a national congress, for they knew only too well a legislature could tyrannize as well as an executive. The people of England have the authority of a government vested in a single legislative body called parliment. To spare our country from such a fate the mak- ers of our Constitution provided for, not one agency of the peopleis wish, but three, and created them as independent bodies. This is a republic and not a democracy. A democracy is a form of government in which all the people decide what shall be done, a republic, a rule, in which all the people are represented. Thus the legislative branch is the most important, for by that means the people express their will and de- cide what measures they wish accepted. The legislative branch is the central organ of government. In the National congress every man of the United States is represented and accordingly has a hand in the management of the nationys affairs. In the establishment of our permanent form of government some advocated representation of the colonies as states, others proposed representation of all the people. The constitutional convention, being very careful to curb or bridle any power which they created, accepted both pro- posals creating a senate and a house of re- presentatives, each to act as a check upon the other. The division therefore of the legisla- tive branch into two separate branches con- stitutes one of the most important features of our nation. The one is composed of men who by frequent elections are always fresh from the body of the people and readily re- spond to every pressure of public opinion. The senators are elected by a larger con- stituency, represent more varied interests and are further removed from the passions and follies of the hour: are always expected to fulfill their office with courage and inde- pendence, to yield a corrective influence upon the laws born of party prejudice or inspired by some utopian dream. One leans toward impulsive action and the other to deliberation and out of this clash comes legislation having not only the wish of the people but also re- specting the rights of the minority a quality which is inseparable from wise and just legis- lation. A Movement For a Change. At the present time in America there is a definite and determined movement to change our representative republic into a direct democracy. lf this proposal ever materializes. ladies and gentlemen, the in- stitutions that we boast of as Americans, the institutions that we love and revere because we are Americans, will be swept away be- cause when a nation disregards the funda- mental law upon which it was founded, that marks the beginning of the peoples decay. Unless this political heresy is checked, the hosts of socialism, reinforced by selfish and time serving politicians and recruited from all the elements of discontent will soon direct their attack against the federal government and gradually sap and undermine the funda- mentals of our free institutions. ln our nation we must have a strong exe- cutive: for a feeble executive implies a feeble execution of government and such govern- ment no matter how sterling it may be in theory must be in practice a bad government. To the chief magistrate of the nation is as- signed the protection of the community a- gainst foreign attack, the steady administra- tion of law, the protection of property a- gainst those irregular combinations which sometimes interrupt the course of justice, the safeguarding of liberty against the as- sults of ambition, of anarchy and of faction. Does the executive office perform these du- ties in a republican sense? The President is elected but once in four years by persons selected for that purpose, he is liable at all times to impeachment or subsequent prose- cution, if he should abuse the high trust the legislative branch would deprive him of all honor, power and glory. NYhat more could be desired of an executive? To Rescue Sovereignty. The supreme court, Hamilton points out, is the weakest branch of the government ,for it holds neither the purse, as does the legis- lature, nor the sword, as does the executive. However, the supreme court is not the weak- est branch of our government, for it is the ultimate safeguard of the individual's rights against the government, rescuing sovereign- ty itself from the possible interference, the possible tyranny of a national congress. It would be exceptionally easy for a govermnent of the people to become the worst kind of a despotism unless there is also a government of law and order. The ignorant people, who are always more numerous than the wise, could enact unjust laws but for two things, one is our written Constitution, the other our third department of government, the judi- ciary. However, that does not mean that the judicial branch is superior to the execu-

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30 THE ECHO Religious in Church Law By Hector Papi, S. hi. 1. In the mind of the faithful a religious vocation is a special call from God to the religious state. It is a call from God. inasmuch as, it implies a manifestation of God's XYill that one should enter the religious state. 2. This divine call, however. is not of the nature of a command: rather it has a character of an invitation. Consequently a refusal to answer this call is not, in itself. a mortal sin. On the other hand, those who do not an- swer it act very imprudently. inasmuch as they swerve from the path which. with a love of preference, God traced for them, and renounced that special crown of glory which would have been in store for them had they heeded the divine call. In fact there are not want- ing writers who hold that those who knowingly decline this invitation en- danger their eternal salvation in a cer- tain way. 3. The most practical question in this matter is: How does God call a soul? How does He manifest to a soul His Holy XYill in this regard? There are, of course, several possible ways in which this may happen. God may manifest His XYill to a soul by a private revelation. This would ltappen if God favored a soul with such a clear illumination of the mind that, without the need of any reasoning or examination, it would be certain that this interior voice was from God. This is not the ordinary way in which God manifests His holy NYill, and no one should expect to be favored by Him in tliis manner. 4. God may, moreover, call a soul by gently drawing its will towards the religious state. This happens when God instills in a soul a strong liking for the religious life, together with a corresponding dislike for a life in the Aworld. This is the way in which God manifests His XYill to many souls. 5. Finally, a manifestation of God's NYill may consist in a series of graces, under the intiuence of which, by prayer and reflection. a Christian comes to the conclusion that it is pleas- ing to God that he should embrace the religious state. This third manner differs from the second chiefly in this: that it leads a Christian by assisting his mental faculties in deliberating what is more pleasing tu God. rather than by acting on his will by means of sensible inclinations. Uften these two ways are employed by liod to- gether, inasmuch as He rouses in a soul a strong liking for the religious life, and favors it with the graces wliich are necessary for making a well reasoned choice. The former way, however, is not absolutely necessary, in the absence of a special impulse of the will one may determine the divinity of a call otherwise. lint then the ques- tion arises: How can one find out God's XYill according to the third way, which has just been mentioned? XYhat are the signs by which, without ex- pecting a revelation and without ex- periencing any special attraction to- wards the religious state, one may Come to know that he is called by God? 6. These signs can be reduced to the two following: The absence of ob- stacles which make it impossible for one to embrace the religious state and fitness for the fulfillment of the duties which this state implies. 7. The chief obstacles arise from those personal circumstances which in law are called impediments, whether such circumstances prevent a person from embracing the religious state by virtue of the natural lawg for instance, the obligation of assisting parents who are in great need, or by virtue of the