From The Pomp of Power, 1922
. . . France is the one country in Europe which need have little fear of the inroads of Bolshevism. The primary effect of that political theory seems to have been the division of land amongst the peasants (it is said that more than 99 per cent. of it is now so held) while coupling with that division the theory of communism which deprives the holder of any personal property in the products. But in a country where nearly everyone is a proprietor there is little chance of success for a political doctrine which wishes to limit that already acquired ownership by the addition of communistic principles, which proprietors would regard only as a handicap.( page 211 )
New York : George H. Doran, 1922.
From Where Freedom Falters, 1927 (by the author of The Pomp of Power)
In drafting some resolutions relating to the Alien and Sedition Laws, Jefferson put the case for the States in the following words : �The several States composing the United States of America are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general Government, but by a compact under the style and title of a constitution for the United States and of amendments thereto. They constituted a general Government for special purposes — delegated to that Government certain definite powers, reserving each State to itself the residuary mass of right to their own self-government ; and whensoever the general Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force.�One of Hamilton�s objections to the Constitution was that it would always be simpler for the State Governments to infringe the rights [?] of the Federal Government than for the latter to impinge upon those of the State government. Indeed for half a century or more it did seem as if those who were opposed to a strong Federal Government had won. It is true that the Supreme Court, under the guidance of its famous Chief Justice John Marshall, was known to have strong Federalist leanings. Jefferson recognized the danger to his doctrines, and bitterly oppose the right [?] of that tribunal to interpret the Constitution, which, he contended, would thus become �a mere thing of wax in the hand of the Judiciary, which they may twist and shape into any form they please.� But Marshall settled once for all the attitude of the Supreme Court in respect to the Constitution ; and although this has been attacked both in his day and in our own time, few students of comparative political history will deny that alike in theory and in practice the advantages for outweigh any temporary disadvantages. Under this system the well-founded objection to written constitutions, on account of their rigidity, is removed. When the court declares any legislative enactment to be unconstitutional, the electorate may still enforce its wishes by means of an amendment to the Constitution ; and while that involves time, the American people should be duly thankful for any period of enforced reflection before adding to the incredible number of laws on their statute-books. Moreover, it can fairly be said that the Supreme Court seems always to bear in mind its fiduciary position in respect to the Constitution. Upon the whole it has rarely fallen much behind the onward march of sober public opinion.
But in the early days of the Republic no judicial decisions seemed likely to affect the fact that the Constitution gave all undefined powers to the separate States. In a country which was bound to increase rapidly, and in an age in which successive inventions radically changed the course of ever-day life, those undefined powers were certain to attain very considerable proportions. Moreover, for at least two generations the was a prevalent bias in favour of States� rights [prerogatives?] Calhoun even went so far as to preach the gospel that a State, by the vote of its own electorate, might annul and bar the operation within its territorial limits of any law enacted by the Federal Government. And although the North brought the South back to the Union by force of arms, it should not be forgotten that Northern States had previously asserted their rights to secede. As early as the days of Jefferson�s presidency a number of Federalists gave their support to a movement for a separation of some of the Northern States from the Union. There was also the famous Hartford Convention ; and, what was of less importance, in 1842 John Quincy Adams presented to the House of Representatives a memorial of some citizens of Massachusetts praying congress �to adopt measures for the peaceful dissolution of the union of these States.� But after the Civil War, and until two or three years ago, the marked tendency was to increase the authority of the Central Government at the expense of the States. This inclination approached its high-water mark in the adoption, in 1913, of the Sixteenth Amendment, authorizing the imposition of a general income tax throughout the country ; and reached it in 1920 when the Eighteenth (or Prohibition) Amendment became law — . . .
The first sign of the reaction was seen in 1924 in the overwhelming defeat of the proposed Child Labour Constitutional Amendment. However, it is possible that this amendment (giving the Federal Government power to regulate child labour throughout the country) would, in any event, have been rejected on its merits, even if not so decisively.
The Income Tax Amendment which I have mentioned allowed the Federal Government to impose the tax in each State irrespective of population. The result has been curious. In a recent year four States — New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Illinois — contributed between them more than 56 per cent of the total tax returns. The State of New York alone paid about 30 per cent. Yet these States have together only 8 Senators out of 96, and 122 members of the House of Representatives out of a total of 425.
( pages 20 � 24 )
. . . [After the war 1914-18] the commercial activity [in France] was such. . . that tens of thousands of Italians entered the frontier departments to buy or lease small holdings, or to work on the farms. In the Lot and Garonne and in the Gers alone there are today probably at least fifty thousand Italians. * * *
But despite this mirage, France has not been so undertaxed as her critics allege. Certainly the income tax has not been fully paid or collected, especially in the agricultural districts. In fact it has been said that in the Department of the Landes the return for one year was only in the neighbourhood of one thousand francs. But no one who knew France expected it to be otherwise. It is not sufficient to enact a law ; in order to be operative it must have the bulk of public opinion behind it. And French tradition is distinctly opposed to direct taxation. At the conclusion of a speech made in the United States in which I had stated these facts, one of the audience remarked that I had given away the whole French case by admitting that there was a law on the statue-book which was not duly enforced. Fortunately I was able to reply that I knew a still greater Republic where a law, which even formed part of its Constitution, was violated in the most flagrant manner on every side, despite the fact that millions of dollars were spent every year for the sole purpose of insuring its enforcement.
Taking direct and indirect taxation together, it appears according to the figures of the national Industrial Conference Board, published in 1925, that Great Britain pays in taxes about 23 per cent of the national income, France almost 21 per cent, Italy more than 19 [? word disfigured in the text] per cent, and the United States 11 � per cent ; although presumably the latter figure is now less consequent upon the reduction of the American income tax.
( pages 198-9 )
New York, London, C. Scribner's Sons, 1927.
The library catalogues seem to agree on that the name of this author (who usually published anonymously) was Laurance Lyon. One does not take any such information as entirely certain.)Lyon, Laurance, 1875-1932. Title The fruits of folly / by the author of "The pomp of power" [i.e. L. Lyon]. Publisher [London] : Hutchinson, [1929] Description v. 320 p. ; 24 cm. Note Includes index. Language English
Lyon, Laurance 1875-1932. Title Where freedom falters, by the author of The pomp of power. Publisher New York, London, C. Scribner's Sons, 1927. Description xxii p., 2 �., 3-391 p. 24 cm. Language English Contents The American Constitution and its makers.--The foreign policy of the United States.--The United States and Canada.--Presidents and politics.--Colonel House--and history.--The United States as creditor--and as debtor.--England to-day: Mr. Baldwin and Lord Beaverbrook.--The European situation: and the League of Nations.--American prosperity and American civilisation.--The scales of justice: prohibition and prohibiting.--The flight of freedom.
Lyon, Laurance. Title The fruits of folly / by the author of "The pomp of power." Publisher London : Hutchinson, [19--]. Description 320 p. ; 24 cm. Note Includes index. Language English
Lyon, Laurance, 1875-1932. Title The pomp of power / [By Laurance Lyon] Publisher London : Hutchinson, 1923. Description 360 p. ; 23 cm. Language English
Lyon, Laurance, 1875-1932. Title Le prestige du pouvoir. Publisher Paris : Payot, 1923. Description 331 p. Series Collection de me�moires, e�tudes, et documents pour servir a� l'histoire de la guerre mondiale. Language French
Lyon, Laurance 1875-1932. Title The path to peace, by the author of "The pomp of power". Publisher London, Hutchinson [1923] Description 416 p. 23cm. Language English Note American edition (George H. Doran company, New York) has title: When there is no peace.
Lyon, Laurance, 1875- Title When there is no peace, Publisher New York, George H. Doran company [c1923] Description 319 p. 23 cm. Language English Note London edition. (Hutchinson & co.) has title: The path for peace.
Lyon, Laurance 1875-1932. Title The pomp of power. Publisher London, Hutchinson, [1922] Description 3 p. l., [9]-360 p. 23 cm. Language English Contents The Entente.--Plan XVII.--The fall of Joffre.--The Nivelle offensive.--Unique command.--The Asquith debacle.--The French political world.--Caillaux.--Mr. Lloyd George and party politics.--Lord Northcliffe and his press.--The Frankfort incident and Mr. Krassin.--The treaty of Versailles.
* * *
Lyon, Laurance, 1875-1932. Title By the waters of Babylon / anonymous [i.e. L. Lyon]. Imprint London : Hutchinson, [1930?] Descript 287 p. ; 24 cm. Note Includes index.
[ New York Public Library ]