One of the great
reasons why President Roosevelt's administration was of such enormous
value to the plain American was that he understood what St. Paul meant
when he said: "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." To
follow blindly the letter of the law, or the form of an institution,
without intelligent regard both for its spirit and for the public
welfare, is very nearly as dangerous as to disregard the law altogether.
What we need is the use of the law for the public good, and the
construction of it for the public welfare.
It goes without saying that the law is supreme and must be obeyed.
Civilization rests on obedience to law. But the law is not absolute. It
requires to be construed. Rigid construction of the law works, and must
work, in the vast majority of cases, for the benefit of the men who can
hire the best lawyers and who have the sources of influence in lawmaking
at their command. Strict construction necessarily favors the great
interests as against the people, and in the long run can not do
otherwise. Wise execution of the law must consider what the law ought
to accomplish for the general good. The great oppressive trusts exist
because of subservient lawmakers and adroit legal constructions.
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