| Show r washing inq t digest do q ID as it na national at on topics interpreted by WILLIA WILLIAM M BRUCKART T A two at C IV t washington developments that have taken place and are taking place in the fight sees seea new precipitated by alignment president roose belts plan to reform the supreme court of the united states show some phases not hitherto evident in political fights one of these I 1 believe portends important changes in the political alignment in this country I 1 have reported to you in these columns many times evidences of a growing trend toward a new political alignment and ican say now that nothing which has taken place since mr roosevelt took his new deal dea I 1 into the white house has given such imp impetus effis to this corning coming realignment as his proposal that congress pass a law giving him authority to name six six more justices for the highest court the information coming into washington these days shows very plainly that the roosevelt court packing proposal is calling forth opposition from both of the major political parties in other words the opposition to the presidents move is probably nonpartisan to a greater extent than any issue before the american people in the last 50 years it will be remembered that the late president wilsons Wil sons proposal that the united states enter the league of nations falls within that period of time and while there was both democratic and republican opposition to mr wilsons Wil sons program it can not be said to have extended among the rank and file of the democratic party then in power to the extent that mr Roosevel ts court packing project has permeated the lists of democratic voters I 1 have endeavored to gain the views of many individuals respecting the prospects of a new political alignment but few of the men whose judgment is best politically are willing to make a guess A considerable number of them say frankly that they are unable to guess on the other hand however there was general agreement that mr roosevelt by suddenly tossing his court program into the lap of congress has given momentum to a movement that for some months appears to have been simply marking time there are certain facts on this phase of the court battle that appear obvious they are influential I 1 and important as well take for example the fact that mr roosevelt does not have the backing of the so called solid south for his proposition now the democratic party for three quarters of a century has maintained the south as a stronghold of its party indeed in every presidential and congressional election republican politicians began calculating what the democratic strength could be at the maximum by conceding 13 states to the democrats how different is the situation now one can go through the lists of representatives in congress from the south and find different them rather even story ly 13 divided one will find amon among mr Roosevel ts opponents in thill this ls battle numerous senators and re representatives P who have supported him on every other item of le legislation 0 isla that he has recommended to congress now however the stor story y is different another interesting phase of the legislative situation is that the bulk of the true and constant liberals in the senate and the house have taken a stand against the proposition of increasing the supreme court from nine to fifteen members these two points do not represent all of the factors opposing the presidents plan by any means mean but I 1 think it can be definitely said that if mr roosevelt is defeated in h his S demand at this time the two factors that I 1 have named will have been the deciding influences having influences like those just mentioned expanding in their scope portends as I 1 suggested above a considerable shake up in party af fi lation of a lasting kind I 1 do not mean to say that all of the liberals who are opposing the plan and all of the democrats who are opposing the court packing will refrain from supporting mr roosevelt on other issues in in the future I 1 do mean to emphasize however that some of them will not return to the ranks of roosevelt stalwarts stal warts thus it becomes rather obvious I 1 think that the conservative ranks in in congress will be increased to the extent that some of the defections caused by mr Roosevel ts court proposal result in permanent adherence to other philosophies so it seems to me that the future holds the probability of a sharp line of demarcation between radicals and conservatives how they will be identified and what labels they may wear is immaterial we are due to have a conservative party and a radical party in this country and its shape and character is being molded under the driving fire of the controversy precipitated by mr Roosevel ts demands for six more supreme eme court justices in a previous article I 1 discussed the bitterness that has permeated the supreme court growing tirs controversy this bitterness bitterness is growing and no one can tell how terrific it is going to be yet while the political leaders make charges and countercharges counter charges it seems to me to be almost pathetic that the nine judges of the supreme court must sit quietly by and say nothing they can not defend themselves against the criticisms leveled at them by president roosevelt and his associates I 1 have searched the records as far as I 1 have been able and I 1 have yet to find where any justice of the supreme court of the united states ever has expressed himself on any occasion when the court was assailed it is a rule that is strictly adhered to by the nine justices whom mr roosevelt has described as the nine old men therefore we see them as the center ot of one of the greatest political battles in history wholly unwilling to besmirch their dignity or their records by answering back the recent fireside chat by mr roosevelt Boo sevelt was replete with innuendoes and inferences that the members of the court are quite incapable of doing their job that they are living in an age that is dead and consequently unable to see things as the rest of the country sees them today mr Roosevel ts speech at the victory dinner of the democrats was purely politics and his fireside chat in explanation of his court program was 90 per cent po politics 1 but the supreme court is not in politics it strikes me as being almost a tragedy that these nine old men can not defend their honor and their record after a lifetime of service to the american people I 1 do not take much stock in the many tirades that have filled the air and columns upon columns of newspaper space that the present justices are incapable of doing their job there is so much untruth so many unwarranted conclusions in those tirades that it amounts to a gigantic campaign that will mislead the people of the nation assuming that some of the justices are too old to do their job and assuming further that some of them may be too conservative to deal with present day problems it yet seems to me to be an indisputable fact that there is nothing in life that can take the place of experience and the lessons thus learned while mr roosevelt was taking a vacation avocation in the warm sunshine of georgia the case able in behalf of the spokesmen c court 0 u r it packing proposition was ably presented to the senate committee on the judiciary his spokesmen were attorney general cummings and assistant attorney general robert jackson they did their job well they met some of the most vicious questions from committee members that I 1 have ever heard and they met them with a smile true opponents of the program among those senators were not satisfied at all with the explanations advanced by the presidents spokesmen that tact fact however 1 does not take away from the two witnesses the credit that is due them and thus for the first time we have what must be regarded as official arguments I 1 mean these arguments are to be distinguished from fireside chats and political speeches concerning the merits of the presidents plan likewise for the first time we have a frank admission that mr Roosevel ts purpose P ose in asking congress to give him authority for appointing six additional judges is to give him men on that court who will see present day problems rs tho the president sees them in view of mr jacksons statements to the committee we can look back upon some of the speeches made by new deal spokesmen some months ago and can realize from them and pre present senit developments that mr roosevelt had the general purpose of packing the court in mind for some months this circumstance seems to explain also why the president and his advisors refused to accept the recommendation men dation of prof raymond moley in 1934 at that time professor moley a member if not the number one man of the brain trust urgently pressed for the new dealers to go to the country with two constitutional amendments he wanted the people of the country to understand that these amendments would permit enactment of certain types of laws he thought that the congressional elections of 1934 was the time to present the questions to the voters it must be said that professor doleys proposition was one of the fairest and soundest to be made it is a method prescribed by the constitution itself itsel 0 western News papa union |
