Sheldon Baker’s misinterpretations notwithstanding. (Letters, Journal, Sept. 2). He cites article 4, section 3, clause 2 but leaves out the part referring to “territory or other property.” This article was included specifically to govern the Northwest territories held over from the Articles of Confederation. Colorado has been neither since 1876. Also missing was any reference to article 1, section 8, clause 17b: “and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards and other needful buildings.’ And since the 10th Amendment states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people,” it should be clear that national parks, forests, etc., are not constitutional.
As an aside, the BLM is negotiating a purchase of private property adjacent to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. The manager stated emphatically and, it seemed, defiantly, that approval from the Colorado Legislature would not be sought. The Constitution and her oath of office must be meaningless. Chief Justice John Marshall is often lauded for his arrogation to the Supreme Court the meaning of the Constitution.
In 1828 he stated “there is no express provision whatever made in the Constitution for the acquisition or government of territories beyond those limits.” There are at least seven other similar cases where the court has ruled that the federal government is merely an “ordinary proprietor” and must “extinguish title: in accordance with the Western States’ enabling acts. The Colorado Enabling Act explicitly grants title to the United States, specifically for management and disposal of said public lands, the proceeds of which were to be used to pay off the national debt.
The Constitution, in its original wording, is sufficiently self-explanatory. Do not let the likes of Baker mislead you with altered meanings and partial or misleading non-quotes.
Bud Garner
Cortez
