Our Living Constitution (1949) - excerpt

my own way of course Mr Owen story started and they well I took to the idea about as well as a chicken takes to water I'm not obliged to sell he sell by gum I'll stand on my constitutional rights you know just saying that made me think do I really know what my constitutional rights are do I really know what the Constitution is but the Constitution dates back surprised how our constitution old as it is fits in with your story the airport that's how I came to get a copy and put it up there where at Millie's painting used to hang I guess you know what the WR first there's the Preamble we the people and well you know then article one sets up a congress the legislative branch of our federal government sure in article two provides for the executive rch in article three for the judicial branch we've studied that those three articles Define our federal government now but remember the federal government was established by the states getting together and delegating certain powers to it other powers they reserved to themselves so we have article four which deals with the relation of the states so there we have a federal system with both Central and state governments and both of them are limited in their powers but from there on out the Constitution has done a lot of growing Article 5 which provides for amending the Constitution shows that the men who wrote it expected it to change take a look at the Amendments I know the first tener called The Bill of Rights that's where I get those constitutional rights I standing standing on according to the Fifth Amendment my property couldn't be taken away from me without due process of law not even for an airport see I told you this is part of your airport story but the Civic committee had their constitutional rights too under the First Amendment they staged a couple of mass meetings to stir up interest in their project for a County airport so the issue was put to a vote as a referendum question on the ballot for the next County election before the election there was a lot of campaigning especially by the women of the Civic committee time was in this country when only men could vote but when the people decided that women should vote too they up and change the Constitution to suit themselves that's one of the later amendments then again sometimes we the people change our minds in 1919 we wrote prohibition into the Constitution in 1933 we wrote it out which goes to show that when all is said and done the Constitution at any time is what the people want it to be at that time but about the airport referendum when the votes were counted a while ago you asked how a document written in 1787 could have anything to do with an airport well son you've got to stop thinking about the Constitution is just a written document Chang only by written amendments for instance you know that the written Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce yes sir well back in the early days of our Republic Commerce had to do with horsedrawn vehicles and boats but times have changed and so is the Constitution it's been changed through interpretation of the word commerce to include trains and trucks and buses and as I said airplanes it's changed enough so that under the Constitution Congress created a special agency to control Commerce of the air and you'll be interested to know it was this agency that the members of the Civic committee consulted about choosing the site for the airport and laying it out and getting federal aid in financing it anyhow that shows you how the Constitution changes to keep up with the times without anything new being written into it but take the Department of Agriculture for instance and some of its agencies they give us Farmers a lot of help but do you think the Department of Agriculture is provided for in the written Constitution no sir it was created by act of Congress that's right through interpretation of its Constitutional Powers Congress has created a flock of departments agencies bureaus and commissions and past hundreds of laws and when you come right down to it all these are additional parts of our Constitution and then the executive department of our government is also forever changing the Constitution and adding to it by interpreting the president itial powers and by issuing executive orders that have the force of Law and our Supreme Court and the lower courts decide hundreds of cases every day these decisions are especially important in interpreting and modifying the Constitution finally you come back to we the people we have the last say as to what our constitution will be but speaking of Courts Mr Owen didn't you end up in some sort of a court battle over taking your land to the airport not exactly but you're one step ahead of me I told you about the referendum question getting on the ballot well it stirred up quite a rumpus both major political parties made an issue of the airport there's an example of still another way the Constitution changes through custom and usage the written Constitution says nothing about political parties not even a mention but just the same political parties have come to be an essential part of the way our system of govern government operates and the same is true of the president's cabinet it grew out of custom and usage well I wasn't very pleased with the way the election was shaping up and I was a lot less pleased with the way it turned out the news came to me along with another visit from the Civic committee they asked whether now I was ready to sell my land my answer was still no they said this was too big a matter to be blocked by stubborn selfish interest stubborn they called it for a man to want to hold on to what was rightfully his then they told me mine was the only land the Civil Aeronautics Administration would approve if I wouldn't sell they'd have my property condemned for the public good that night I took advantage of my right of free speech I wrote wrote a letter to the editor of the star my good friend dick Bradford I appreciate your position John of course I'll print your letter in the next issue but in the same issue I'm going to run this letter it's addressed to the people of Green County from the president of federal Airlines our company has followed with Keen interest the progress you have made toward establishment of a County Airport for some time as you know we have planned to use the airport to provide passenger and cargo service for the people in the area the farmers in particular would profit through the opening up to them of new markets for their produce but now it appears that one of your Farmers is so liking in Vision that by his stubbornness he will delay the airport project indefinitely but it isn't stubbornness dick it's just I only reading this the loss to the people of Green County can easily amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year but that is not our concern now in as much as we have been approached by your neighbors in Montgomery County Montgomery County we plan to lend them our support in the establishment of an airport which Operator Operator uh Harriet uh get me the president of the U uh uh Federal Airlines well how do I know New York or Chicago or someplace you see it was for the good of the majority and I got a fair price for my land too I've still still got my house and enough land on this side of the highway to keep me busy come here Frank mhm there's one of the big birds a real thorough bread just think more than a 100 years ago my grandfather plowed that land with a team of ox that's progress and 100 years from now when that kind of airplane is old fashioned our country will still be thriving under our living Constitution [Music] la