OCR Text |
Show '1'TA PereUteni' Menace PROPOSALS to undermine the strength of J the people by curtailing the powers of S the United States supreme court do not merit J the consideration which has been given them, i They originate with men who have been de-j de-j feated In. private or class endeavors and are to be regarded only as Insidious efforts to curb I the popular, will. ! The most difficult thing ,to . understand concerning the agitation Is its persistence. From the time of its Inception It has been 1 regarded as v joke among Tight . thinking f Americans. In view of this fact It ca?not be dignified as an Issue. The proposition. Ms closed when the constitution was written and I should remain so. In spite of all this, we find the question occupying a prominent place in the discus-, j sions of the American Bar association, Presl-i Presl-i dent John W. Davis devoting the major por- tioii of. his address to this , subject. It Is pleasing to note that the proposals receive no consideration from him, and his v'ewi, no doubt, will be accepted by ths member-f member-f 'ship 'of. the association as their own. ; I We do not see how It could be otherwise. And yet the fact that the question Is dignified f .by discussion in the ranks of the leading jurists"' of the United Stitel would seem to -indicate that the movement Is not idle.. Its 'persistence makes It a menace to the Amer- Iican people, whose rights, as guaranteed by th constitution, are in the custody of the high court. i ': . , '. ' : If there Is any agency In American gov-. gov-. eminent which should be left free of political and other Influence it Is the supreme court The fight against the court can be regarded in no other light than an assault against the ! -public Restrictions on this institution cannot fail to react against the people as a whole. |