Page:Back to the Republic.djvu/60

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
56
Back to the Republic

upon the judiciary for their interpretation; so they have a check and balance upon each other.

The judiciary passes upon the justice and legality of the acts of the executive and the legislative body, and the executive and the legislative body have the appointive power and have the power to remove for lack of good behavior; so they have checks and balances upon each other.

Individual rights must be recognized by the executive and the legislative body and are dependent upon the executive and the legislative body for enforcement; so there are checks and balances between the individual rights and the executive and legislative branches.

Let me illustrate it in the diagram on the following page. Assume that the executive and the legislative body are the front wheels of a governmental vehicle, and the check and balance between them the axle that connects them; that the judiciary and individual rights are the hind wheels, and the check and balance is represented by the axle between them; and that the reach connecting the two axles represents the checks and balances between the four elements.

The diagram indicates clearly just what the Constitution is and all that it contains. That is the four-wheeled vehicle provided for by the Constitution. It was the first and only governmental