Evening star. [volume], February 24, 1937, Image 11

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Court-Packing
Theory Hit
by Wilson
War President Foresaw
Possible Use of Ad
ministrative Device.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
POSSIBILITY of a proposal to
Increase the size of the Su
preme Court was foreseen 30
years ago by Woodrow Wilson
and was severely condemned by him.
The following quotation from Mr.
Wilson's writings on constitutional
government, given In formal lectures
at Columbia Uni
versity, bears di
rectly on the pres
ent controversy:
“The Constitu
tion provides that
all Judges of the
United States
6hall hold their
offices during
good behavior, but
Congress could
readily overcome
a hostile major
ity in any court
or in any set of
courts, even in tne _ ...
_ __ . David Lawrence.
Supreme Court
itself, by a sufficient increase in the
number of judges and an adroit ma
nipulation of jurisdictions, and could
with the assistance of the President
make them up to suit his own pur
poses.
"These two co-ordinate branches of
the Government, to which the courts
speak in such authoritative fashion
with regard to the powers they may
and may not exercise under the Con
stitution—namely, Congress and the
Executive—may, in fact, if they
choose, manipulate the courts to their
own ends without formal violation of
any provision of the fundamental law
of the land.
Saw Some Uneasiness.
“There has never been any serious
fear that they would do anything of
the kind, though an occasional ap
pointment to the Supreme Court has
made the country suspicious and un
easy. But it is well to keep the mat
ter clearly before us, if only that we
may remind ourselves of the only ab
solute safeguards of a constitutional
system. They lie In the character,
the independence, the resolution, the
right purpose of the men who vote
and who choose the public servants
ef whom the Government is to consist.
“Any government can be corrupted;
any government may fall into disre
pair. It consists of men, and the men
of whom it consists will be no better
than the men who choose them. The
courts are the people's forum; they
are also the index of the Government's
and of the Nation's character.”
It is not surprising, therefore, that
men like Senator Carter Glass of Vir
ginia, who represent the Woodrow
Wilson tradition in Congress, are ve
hemently opposed to the pending bill
to increase the size of the Supreme
Court to 15 because the justices are
not deciding cases in conformity with
the political or economic views pi the
Roosevelt administration.
Roosevelt'* Surprise Reported.
Incidentally, the amount of opposi
tion to the proposal Is somewhat dis
concerting to the administration, not
withstanding an external appearance
of calm and confidence at the White
House. Members of Congress are au
thority for the statement that the
President was much surprised when
he received his first private poll, not
only of the Senate but of the House
of Representatives. The newspapers
have been printing the probable line
up of the Senators, but no complete
poll of the House has been disclosed
as yet.
Reliable information is to the effect
that the President found he was be
tween 40 and 50 votes lacking of a
favorable majority in so far as those
who were willing to commit themselves
definitely for or against the proposi
tion were concerned. In other words,
the "noncommittal” group in the
House holds the same balance of pow
er as in the Senate. In that group
are the men who will finally decide
the issue.
Two-Thirds Vote Needed.
The data about the White House
poll of the House would tend to ex
plain the recent statements of House
leaders that they preferred to await
action by the Senate before consider
ing the President's proposals. Had
the administration possessed the votes,
as is so often the case in the House,
the measure would have been put
through promptly. It takes a two
thirds vote to suspend the rules and
take up a bill out of turn or to get it
out of a committee which delays a
report. It is well known that the
administration does not have a two
thirds vote to suspend the rules on
this question in the House. Whether
it will ultimately gain a majority for
the measure itself depends on how
effective Is Mr. Roosevelt's campaign
of personal persuasion which is going
on right now.
Mr. Roosevelt very properly can call
members of Congress to his office and
tell them his arguments for the pas
sage of a piece of legislation. Other
Presidents have done It. So long as
the activity of a President is confined
to argument and does not bring in
questions of patronage or bargaining,
It is considered a legitimate weapon.
Rumors of Patronage Weapon.
Nobody knows, of course, what goes
on behind closed doors In the execu
tive offices except the participants,
and there are the usual rumors that
Mr. Roosevelt uses the club of patron
age, or the withholding of P. W. A.
projects, or other grants of presidential
bounty from a political point of view.
In order to Influence votes. Such a
charge, however, has not been proved,
end In the absence of public proof Mr.
Roosevelt wlH be absolved from such
charges.
What has been often suggested is
that political lieutenants of the Presi
dent who are busy from time to time
on Capitol Hill lining up votes for
administration measures do not hesi
tate to dangle possible rewards, ex
tending from Federal judgeships to
favorable action on the recommenda
tions made by Congressmen for the
appointment of constituents to va
cancies. Woodrow Wilson, in com
menting on the proper and improper
uses of personal persuasion, had this
to say in his lectures on constitutional
government:
“There are illegitimate means by
which the President may influence
the action of Congress. He may bar
gain with members, not only with re
gard to appointments, but also with
regard to legislative measures. He
may use his local patronage to assist
members to get or retain their seats.
He may Interpose his powerful Influ
ence, In one covert way or another,
in contests for places In the Senate.
He may also overbear Congress by
arbitrary acts which Ignore the laws
and virtually override than. He may
News Behind the News
Religious Groups Oppose Court Program, Fearing
Tampering With Freedom of Worship.
BY PAUL MALLON.
PECULIAR crisscross currents of religious Interest In president
Roosevelt's court repacking program are noticeable deep within
Congress.
A Texas Representative who fought the Ku Klux Klan has
been receiving letters from constituents whom he recognizes as former Ku
Klux leaders advising him to oppose the program. They give no reasons,
and, he says, this means they have some fear of a rearrangement on con
stitutional guarantees. In addition, he has received many opposition
letters from leading Protestant ministers.
Editorials from the Catholic press are being circulated privately
among the legislators who will vote on the plan. These express
apprehension more directly. A typical example is that of the Catholic
Register of Lincoln. Nebr., which says: “Catholics had better study
well any proposed changes or 'reforms’ in the United States Supreme
Court. Catholics in this Nation owe a debt of gratitude to the
judiciary of the country. Do you remember the Oregon school bill?”
To make the circle complete, some Jewish members of Congress are
reminding their colleagues of what happened in Germany when the con
stitution was superseded by a central authority.
With Jews, Catholics, Prot
estants and Ku Klux expressing
doubts or open opposition, it will
probably be necessary for Mr.
Roosevelt to make some guaran
tees, not for himself, of course, but
for his successors in the presiden
tial office against any possible fu
ture short-cut alteration of the re
ligious guarantee section of the
Constitution, such as is now being
proposed for the Interstate com
merce and general welfare sections.
While such matters are rarely debated publicly in Congress, they have
an influence privately on the legislators.
* * * *
Despite all this flurry of activity recently, there will not be a vote
upon Mr. Roosevelt’s original plan next week or next month and possibly
not next year.
The technical situation is this:
The opposition now has 33 Senate votes. This is one vote more
than one-third of the Senate, which means no limitation of delMte
can be voted (a two-thirds majority is required for cloture). It
also means that 33 Senators, deeply embittered against the pro
posal, can prevent a vote by talking until doomsday. Obviously
Mr. R. will not let his plan go to that kind of a death.
It will be necessary, therefore, tor him to accomplish his objective In
some other related way, either by a simultaneous constitutional amend
ment, or concessions which will win more Senate votes.
As things stand now, Mr. Roosevelt should be able to get control of
the court within the coming year by one means or another. Thus there
seems to be a similarly strong probability of new N. R. A. legislation, new
A. A. A. legislation, etc. In other words, the controlled democracy still
seems to be around the next comer.
* * * *
Lack of enthusiasm for Mr. Roosevelt’s project among his own loyal
leaders in the House was illustrated again when they shoved the fight
upon the Senate.
Good excuses now are being
offered by Speaker Bankhead and
others, but the truth is they
wanted none of it. Many have
been grumbling for days that they
have been forced to carry the hod
for all Mr. R.'s hot legislative
bricks from the beginning. They
liked this one least of all.
Outsiders say they do not un
derstand why Senator Wheeler
struck out so strongly against the court project, wnue most or his liberal
friends were hemming and hawing. Those who know Wheeler were not
surprised.
Senator Wheeler’s liberalism is the truest kind, based on the
controlling principle of more power for the legislative representatives
of the people and less for the executive. It is not a policy with him,
but a principle. He voted against the N. R. A. on that basis.
Furthermore, Wheeler has less regard for political consequences than
most of his colleagues.
* * * *
Speaking of who is liberal and who is not, they tell a story in the
cloak room on Representative Maury Maverick. He is the likable San
Antonio Democrat who is the most vociferous and energetic and supposed
to be the most liberal liberal in the House.
They say Maverick was addressing a group of Communists, with a few
Socialists included, in New York. He made what he thought was a rip
roaring liberal speech, but he received no applause.
Afterward, he asked those who invited him why his speech was re
ceived so coldly. The answer was:
“You’re too radical.”
(Copyright, 1937.)
even substitute his own orders for acts
of Congress which he wants but can
not get.
Immoral, Said Wilson.
“Such things are not only deeply
immoral, but they are destructive of
the fundamental understandings of
constitutional Government and, there
fore, of constitutional Government it
self. They are sure, moreover, in a
country of free public opinion, to
bring their own punishment, to de
stroy both the fame and the power
of the man who dares to practice
them.
“No honorable man includes such
agencies in a sober exposition of the
Constitution, or allows himself to think
of them when he speaks of the influ
ences of ‘life’ which govern such
generation’s use and interpretation of
that great instrument, our sovereign
guide and the object of our deepest
reverence. Nothing in a system like
ours can be constitutional which is
immoral or which touches the good
faith of those who have sworn to
obey the fundamental law. The rep
robation of all good men will always
overwhelm such influences with shame
and failure.
“But the personal force of the Presi
dent is perfectly constitutional to any
extent to which he chooses to exercise
It, and it Is by the clear logic of our
constitutional practice that he has
become alike the leader of his party
and the leader of the Nation.”
Within the next few weeks President
Roosevelt wl]J have summoned to the
White House many members of his
own party. Concurrently members
of the presidential board of strategy
and staff will be contacting Senators
and Representatives on Capitol Hill
to line up votes for the bill to enlarge
the Supreme Court. It is a legitimate
or illegitimate lobby? Congress rarely
Investigates itself, so the public will
never know the answer to the question.
(Copyright. 1937.)
Labor-Saving Machinery.
Industrialists of France are consid
ering the installation of labor-saving
machinery to offset the labor changes
demanded by the government.
DATLYt $3.10 and $3
U Double, $3.50, $4, $3
Each of our 650 tunny, airy
charmingly homelike, outside
rooms has bath, radio and such
comfortable beds 1
An ideal location for your next
visit—right in the heart of every
thing—theatrical and shopping
centers, near all stations; nation*
al bus terminal in the building,
Delicious Southern Cooking
Brsakfatf, 15* track, 3* Dinner, $1
THE SAME QUALITY COFFEE IN
ANOTHER comm
WOULD COST YOU MUCH MORE
Our Dating and Rapid Delivery System allows us
to use a simple paper bag and save YOU money—
THAT’S just common sense.
If you bought absolutely
i fresh Dated Coffee in a fancy con
f tainer, you’d have to pay more
l for it. Because you’d have to pay
for the container.
Our famous Dating System
completely does away with the
need for costly containers.
A fleet of delivery trucks rushes
every bag of Dated Coffee fresh
from the nearest roasting plant
to the grocer. And every bag is
plainly marked with the delivery
Cwxltht, H>7,trlm4ud liudiln
date for your protection against
staleness.
The freshness of Dated Coffee is
guaranteed by this Dating and
Delivery System. It’s entirely safe
for us to pack it in a simple paper
bag. When you buy Dated Coffee,
you pay for fine, fresh coffee—not
at all for an expensive container.
Dftn’t miss this chance to have
wonderful-quality coffee at a very
low price. Order Chase & Sanborn
Dated Coffee in the money-saving
bag from your grocer tomorrow.
CTHB opinions of the writers on this page are their own, not
necessarily The Star’s. Such opinions are presented in
The Star’s effort to give all sides of questions of interest to its
readers, although such opinions may be contradictory among
themselves and directly opposed to The Star’s,
Neutrality Plan Seen Vain
Bill Called Contradiction of Secretary Hull and Likely
to Produce Trouble.
BY DOROTHY THOMPSON.
IT IS expected that some time
this week the Pittman resolution
will be favorably reported out of
the Foreign Affairs Committee of
the Senate. Under Its terms war
time commerce Is rigged In favor of
the great monopolies, International
industries and
In ter national
banking houses,
as against the
smaller manu
facturer, who
keeps his capital
and employs his
labor at home.
The bill also will
extend to the
P r e s i dent the
very great power
of deciding what,
anywhere in the
world, constitutes
a state of war. Dorothy xhomp,OB.
whether interna
tional or civil, thereupon giving him
enormous controls *over our entire
foreign trade. The bill, furthermore,
definitely favors, in war time, that
country or those countries which can
control the seas, extending to It or
to them special privileges which other
belligerents cannot enjoy. It also ex
tends special privileges to those na
tions, or their nationals who hold
credits in this country, or operate
industries or exploit natural re
sources here. The bill is called a
neutrality law and is designed to
keep us out of war.
The bill contains four major pro
visions: (1) In case the President de
cides that a state of war, international
or civil, exists anywhere, he may for
bid the shipment of arms or imple
ments of war from this country, and
prevent loans of money to either bel
ligerent. (2) He may extend the em
bargo to any other articles or materials
considered essential to the conduct of
war, such as cotton, steel, copper, or,
presumably, even food, except as they
are paid for in this country, and all
right and interest in them transferred
from American to other nationals.
This is the so-called '‘cash-and-carry’*
clause. (3) Anything which the Presi
dent may define as contraband can be
banned from American stfips during
war. And, finally, (4) American na
tionals cannot depend upon the pro
tection of the United States Govern
ment if they travel in danger zones.
Now, what does this bill actually
mean in practice? First of all, it
means that we are flagrantly reversing
the attitude expressed in the Kellogg
pact, which denounces aggression. We,
the greatest, strongest single nation
on earth, announce by Inference that
there is no such thing as ••right” or
“wrong” and no such thing as inter
national morality. In advance of all
possible hostilities we perform the
greatest Pontius Pilate act in history.
But then we qualify that stand of
dubious morality. We say that we will
sell goods to anybody who can come
and get them. That will mean in
practice that we will sell goods to
anybody who can control the high
seas. That means. In the field of
realistic politics, that as matters stand
today, we will sell goods to Great
Britain. Tomorrow, perhaps Ger
many and Russia will make a great
combination, build tremendous navies,
and set out to conquer the world;
anything at all Is possible.
The President may forbid American
nationals to engage In almost any
form of trade from this country, but
the bill exempts non-Americans do
ing business in this country. This
means that although we may em
bargo oil to any belligerent, British
companies who own oil fields here or
cotton plantations can sell oil or cot
ton to any one they choose. It will
also, in all probability, mean that
Germans, French, and others will set
about purchasing oil fields here, as
will as other sources of necessary raw
materials. The possible complications
arising from this baffle the imagina
tion. Great Britain can have here a
Rio Tinto as she has in Spain, or
Germany a Mannesmann works, as
she has in Morocca, and in time of
war both of them can be furnishing
their own countries from our soil.
And If we confiscate their holdings,
what then?
Under this bill the President can
prevent John Smith, who has a single
oil well in Texas, from selling oil to
Spain, or Russia, or Great Britain, or
any other country which happens to
be engaged at any moment in war,
but he cannot prevent the great
American oil companies, with fields
and refineries all over the world—in
Persia. Mexico. Venezuela, the Dutch
East Indies, or in Rumania—from
selling oil to any one they please, and
malting tremendous profits, with which
to come home from the wars and
force the little fellows, whom the war
has impoverished, into bankruptcy.
Under this bill International Nickel,
which is incorporated in Canada, but
has a huge majority of American
capital, can do all the business it likes.
So, for instance, can Anaconda Cop
per.
The bill is in direct contradiction
to the policy of Mr. Cordell Hull, who
is doing everything in his power to
foster normal international trade, and
is opposing the self-sufficiency pro
gram of Germany, on the ground that
economic self-sufficiency encourages
war!
We can tie up our hands all we
please, In an attempt to predicate the
neat war on the history of the last,
a history, incidentally, whjph recent
Interpretations have both clarified
and befuddled. But whatever we do
w'ill generate counter-policies in other
countries. They are not altogether
stupid; they are also motivated by
self-interest.
The bill is badly named. It should
be called: An act to encourage au
tarchy, declare our alliance with
whomever at the moment has the
biggest navy, and foster international
finance capitalism at the cost of the
small fellows at home.
(Coprricht, 1937.)
This Changing World
Poland Leans Toward Germany Despite Official
Alliance With France.
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.
OLAND finds herself In the same position today as Italy was in 1934.
Officially she Is Prance’s ally; you will find her described as such In
the political “Who Is Who’’ of Europe. Lately the French republic
has loaned her money for military purpose. In the hope of over
coming whatever hesitations she may have in the event of her being cal'ed
upon to help the French and their allies.
In fact, however, Poland will remain neutral In case of a Russian
German conflict and might go on Germany’s side If another World War
breaks out.
There are many kindred feqjings between the German and the Polish
people; the hat^d of the Jews Is one of the Important links between the
two nations.
Then, there ii an irredentist sentiment in Poland regarding
certain sections of Czechoslovakia, as. there was in Italy regarding
certain territories of the Hapsburgian empire.
The Poles feel that the Olmutx region, which the allies gave Czecho
OH.COMEOW
AND LET THAT
OLO MAN i
ALONE/ i
OUT I
. LIKKUiM
jm
Slovakia alter the war, should have
been alloted to Poland. And they
have never gotten over the feeling
that they have been treated un
justly by their makers.
Should the Germans decide to
attack Czechoslovakia the odds are
3 to 1 that Poland might sell her
friendly neutrality, as the ally of
Austria and Germany, as Italy did
in 1914 for a piece of Czechoslo
vakia.
For the time being Polish diplomats hunt with the hounds and run
with the hare; Col. Beck, the Polish foreign secretary, plays tennis with
Capt. Eden, and the President of Poland gives hunting parties for Gen.
Goering. Both men are assured that Poland is their friend. But the time
may >me in the near future when tennis and hunting parties will no
longer be sufficient for Great Britain and Germany; they will ask for
another expression of Poland’s loyalty.
* * * *
Spain is today the laboratory where the new arms of the large Euro
pean nations are being tested.
Military observers from France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain—
whether mere observers or actual fighters—look carefully at the action of
the new bombers, pursuit planes and tanks manufactured in different
countries, draw their observations and report their findings to their
respective governments.
The Spanish civil war is an Incomparably better experimental field
than the ordinary war games where no live shell can be used and thus
the efficiency of the modern weapons cannot be so well tested.
Whenever a plane crashes down in flames the aviators from the other
camp are eager to study its design and motors. Thus lately when a Russian
bomber was brought down by the Franco flyers the Italian aviators rushed
to examine It In detail.
So far, it has been ascertained that the Italian planes are
better than the German, but the German aviators are better than
the Italians.
The Russian heavy bombers, constructed after the American Douglas
model, are far better than any other heavy planes. The Germans call these
planes flying fortresses, because of their heavy armament and efficient
armored protection. *
The Russian tanks are speedy, but the armor ia deficient: the armor
can be pierced by the ordinary rifle bullet. The German tanks, which are
fighting on Franco’s side, are, according to these observers, Incomparably
better protected, although they are less speedy.
* * * *
Because of the rapid pace of rearmament In Great Britain there is
a move of industries in the United
Kingdom from north to south.
London is becoming overpopulated.
This migratory movement wor
ries the government because the
increased population, requiring a
large number of new homes in the
London area, makes the capital of
the empire an admirable target for
enemy airplanes.
In view of such a danger the
German government is endeavoring
to decentralize its most populated centers. Populations are now frequently
ordered to move west to east. But Germany lives under a dictatorial regime,
which permits the leaders to do whatever they want.
Protocol divisions of foreign offices don’t move with the times. They
follow a set and fast rule regardless as to what is happening in the world.
Thus the British government, which is busy at the present
moment preparing King George's coronation, has issued invitations
to attend the festivities to the Ethiopian government—that is to
say• to Haile Selassie—although Ethiopia has ceased to be an inde
pendent state except on paper.
An invitation has been issued to the Madrid government, too, despite
the fact that the British foreign office Is fully aware of the fact that
the chances are that by next Summer Franco will be the ruler erf Spain.
Headline Folk
and What
They Do
Andre Malraux, French
Novelist, Is Man of
Many Talents.
BY LEMUEL F. PARTON.
WRITING, flying, fighting and
exploring have filled Andre
Malraux’s first 35 years.
The French novelist, com
ing to New York to plead the cause
of Spain in America, has been flying
for the loyalists the last six months.
It was he who reported finding the
ancient city of Sheba on March 14,
1934, in the Great Arabian Desert,
flying from Djibouti, in French So
maliland. Bom in Paris, the son of a
French civil servant, he went to
French Indo-China when he was 20
as a professor in the Ecole Francaise
de l’Extreme Orient. A dark, dapper,
alert, adventurous young man with
ideas of his own, he broke with French
officialdom and took up with the
friendless Annamites, suffering hard
luck several cuts below that of an
American tenant farmer.
That made him an outcast with
the French ruling caste, but it started
him on his main career as an archc
ologist. The grateful Annamites tipped
him to ancient hidden terasure which
no certified French archeologist had
even been able to find, and later they
saved his life. He began delving,
searching, studying and translating
and turned up treasure troves of
Graeco-Buddhist art, on which he has
become an authority. But, mixing in
some free-for-all fighting. <yjmered by
the enemy, he was saved by the ragged
Annamita6 and escaped to China.
There he teamed up with Borodin ar.d
was one of seven men who virtually
ran China for a year and a half.
Then he jumped to Persia and flew
and fought along a thousand-mile bat
tle front in the big rebellion of 1929.
Prance was reluctant to let him re
turn, but that was arranged, and in
Paris he took to peaceful pursuits
again, batting out novels at top Speed.
‘ Man’s Fate” won the Goncourt prize,
"Days of Wrath,” published here, was
a choice of the Book of the Month
Club. His other novels Include “The
Conquerors” and "Royaume.” He is a
director of the Paris publishing house
of Gallimard.
In Spain he organized and fought
in the international air force known
as the Malraux Squadron.
^Copyright. 103?.)
■ •
PAINTING BY WARTHEN
VOTED MOST POPULAR
Visitors at Corcoran Gallery of
Art Exhibition Select “Scho
harie County Farm.-’
Visitors to the Forty-sixth Exhibition
of the Society of Washington Artists
at the Corcoran Gallery of Art selected
"Schoharie County Farm,” by Lee R.
Wimhen. as the most popular painting
on display, it was announced today.
The display rfpsed Monday.
•Votes cast'b?-thousands of visitors
were counted by a committee, includ
ing Charles Bittlnger, president of thj
society; C. Powell Minnigerode, Cor
coran director, Ind Clifford K. Berry
man, Evening Star cartoonist.