Show Between h You and Me M J Judicial System a G Good d Racket While It If L Lasts the Lowdown on Franklin Frankiln By Raymond Clapper There Is no intention of reflectIng reflectIng reflecting reflect reflect- ing upon upon Earl F. F Reed of Pittsburgh Pitts burgh who Is an eminent and successful suc sue member of the thel legal professions pro pro- and whose ethics arc are fully up to the standard of those of his colleagues at the bare bar It might strike some persons as strange that he should have been selected chairman of the subcommittee subcommittee subcommittee of the American Liberty league lawyers who were to make an impartial objective factfinding factfinding find fact ing lug judgment upon the constitutionality of the tho new national labor relations act when he had been counsel for the Weirton Steel company company com corn pany in the most bitterly fought case against labor sections of the theold theold theold old N R A and was preparing to fight the new labor law in the courts But hardly any member of the legal profession would re regard regard re re- gard that as anything but natural It is customary in the legal profession profession pro pro- for an attorney to represent represent represent sent the thc interests of his client as wholly identified with the cause of justice right law order and the constitution That Is Is' part of th the game and Mr Reed plays play the game according to the rules in practice However Mr Reed Is being called as a witness no another angle of the matter Vl ilo explaining ex cx- the opinion of his committee com corn holding the national labor relations act unconstitutional Mr Reed was asked by newspaper reporters reporters re re- re porters who are laymen and know very little about such matters whether since he felt the law was unconstitutional he should advise advise advise ad ad- vise his client the toe Weirton Steel company to ignore the e law violate violate vio vio- vio- vio late it treat it as if it Mr Reed appeared to o be sincerely sincerely sin sin- surprised at such a n naive iver question Of course It was a lawyers lawyer's lawyers lawyer's law law- yer's duty to advise his client cHent to disregard the law If It it was an unconstitutional law Jaw then it was null and of no no force How else else- Mr Reed explained patiently could you get a test of the law except to refuse to observe it Laymen have been taught from childhood to respect ct and obey the law and if they felt the law was wrong to try to have it ch changed Wo We must have law and order But then we are layn laymen en When it was suggested h here re some som time back that there was something screwy about a judi judicial cial system which required a man manto manto manto to violate te a law in order to get it tested in the courts and that it ought to be possible for the combined com corn legal minds of ot the country to work out ut some method whereby whereby whereby where where- by the supreme court in advance co could ld rule upon the cons constitutionality constitutionality constitution constitution- of legislation before months of damage have been done while waiting for a test Some lawyer friends in the friendliest spirit pointed out how impossible that was Indeed Indeed a quite eminent jurist jurist jur jur- 1st realizing that the present method was not all that it should I be regarded it as the lesser evil and saw insuperable ble objections to any kind of advisory opinions These legal friends explained at ever such length the practical difficulties in the way You had to wait for an overt a act t wait until somebody smacked a federal officer officer of of- in the eye or some working workingman's workingman's mans man's head to be cracked or something something some some- thin thing before the court could have nave havea navea a specific case caso to pass upon Only when confronted with an overt act in violation of the law could the nine men on th the supreme court gather about them and permit the oracle to speak So this wr writer ter for one dropped the idea and went back to writing on subjects with which he ho was more more familiar you can imagine the feeling of relict at beholding the solemn pronouncement of the American Liberty leagues league's committee committee com corn of 58 lawyers selected it was explained solely because of the e recognized ability and professional professional professional pro pro- competency of the members members mem mern- bers of the committee to express an opinion upon questions of con con constitutional law v. This committee had before belore it the constitution and past opinions opinions' of the supreme c urL It had before before be be- fore it the text of the national labor relations act It had within itself the b best st legal tal talent nt that money can buy some of it no doubt equal to that of anyone on the sup supreme court Indeed some members of this committee probably probably ably would regard themselves as better lawyers than some who sit on the supreme court And this And this is the point this point this committee had no overt act before before be be- fore lore it It Jt just did what common commonsense common commonsense commonsense sense would suggest suggest suggest-It It took the constitution and the past opinions of the court and in the light of them went ent over the text of the new labor statute checking It line by line The committee of 58 8 eminent lawyers then joined In Instating instating stating that all regarded the law lawas lawas as as unconstitutional Now maybe it is just the kind of fool question a layman would ask but if these lawyers on the Liberty leagues league's unofficial supreme supreme su su- su- su preme court can pass on the constitutionality constitutionality con con- of an act before th ink is dry on it why cant can't it be bedone bedone bedone done by the lawyers on the real supreme court If the American Liberty leagues league's stunt isn't a perfect argument for abolishing this ridiculous wasteful waste ful heart-breaking heart ancient system tern tem of dawdling along for months imposing millions of dollars of taxes throwing people in jail harassing federal enforcement officers officers of of- at their duties spreading uncertainty and confusion all over the place and then after months and months finally being permitted permit permit- ted to find out whether it was all allan allan an an un unconstitutional mistake or not what would you call it The only reason thus far advanced advanced ad ad- against advisory opinions is that It would throw a lot of lawyers lawyers lawyers law law- out of Work There are are 1500 cases now in the courts each put in by one or r more lawyers to find out whether the A A A which was approved May 12 1933 is constitutional And nobody knows yet It is a good racket while it lasts From New York co comes es the story that Mrs James Roosevelt Sr mother of the president was talkIng talkIng talk talk- Ing about her son at luncheon with witha a group of friends You know she he is supposed to have said Franklin never was able to live within his income in his life Copyright 1935 1035 Washington P Post os t |