Show ANARCHY AND THE SUPREME COURT ONE anz of the principal criticisms of the goldbug democrats and mckinley republicans of the chicago platform is on that portion which denounces the supreme court of the united states for their decision in the income tax case the followers of bryan and the chicago platform are called anarchists rc socialists and revolutionists for the reason that they pronounced strongly against the majority opinion in that noted ease case it will be remembered that the supreme court of the united states consists of nine members and in the first hearing of the case a majority of the court held the income tax law was constitutional a few weeks later on a rehearing of the case the same court decided the law unconstitutional the judges standing five to four some one of the judges on the last his mind no one knows to this day which of the judges changed his hig opinion not even the clerk of the court and his name rests in obscurity tor for some unknown reason but as to the charge that the bryan adherents are bad men and unpatriotic on account of their pointed criticism of this unwise decision the broad A ax x would reply by publishing a few extracts from the dissenting opinions of the four distinguished judges who refused to yield to the clamor of the money power jut as against the liberties of the people justice harlan said in my judgment to say nothing of the former adjudications of this court and of the settled practice of the govern government me nt this decision may well excite the gravest apprehensions it strikes at the very foundations of national authority in closing his opinion the same judge remarks rem arks the practical effect of the decision today is to give to certain kinds of p property ra pe arty a position of favoritism and advantage inconsistent with the fundamental principles principle of our social tion v justice brown said As I 1 cannot escape the conviction that the decision of the court in this e great a teat ce is ia fraught with immeasurable danger to the future of the country and that it approaches the proportions tioff of a notional national calamity I 1 feel it a duty day to enter my protest against it mr justice jackson said considered aide rec in all its bearings this decision is in my judgment the most struck samek at the blow ever da disastrous astrow constitutional power of congress mr justice white also said ia iba dosing it j 1 I anut greatly gready to be deplored that ehst afat after more than hundred of a our national one hald yea yeara existence after the government had withstood the strain of foreign wars I 1 and the dread ordeal of civil strife and its people have become united and powerful this court should consider itself compelled to go back to a long repudiated and rejected theory of the constitution read the foregoing extracts carefully and then it becomes plain that the chicago platform does not deal with that decision as harshly barshov as did the dissenting members of that court themselves thema elvea elves if this be i anarchy then nearly one half of the judges of the supreme court are anarchists |