An institution or a law is a means, not an end, a means to be used for the public good, to be modified for the public good, and to be interpreted for the public good.

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.