The Penn's Grove record., 1911-06-09
SUPREME COURT
! REVERSED TAFT
One of the Peculiar Features of
Standard Oil Decision.
WHITE HOUSE RACE GOSSIP
denomination of President by De-
fault Practically conceded-Hu-
NOR Found In the Congression-
al Record-Senate Poorer
but Younger.
BY WILLIS J. BLOT.

BY WILLIS '.
Washington. = The facility witt
which the Supreme court of the United
States can reverse itself has long beer
the subject Of merry Jest at bench
and bar. The most famous case was
that of the income tax, which has been
declared constitutional and %unconstitu.
tional by the same court, though with
different members sitting. The deci-
sion against it's constitutionality, by
the way, was reached because one OF
the justices changed his mind over
might. This seeming vacillation on
the part of the highest court in the
land, the most digniled tribunal In
the world" its idolators like to call 1t.
Is not without its co~mpensations. 1t
shows that the justices are but human,
after ALL &ot gods sitting on high
Olympus clothed In omniscience. They
are 80 human that close observers in
Washington think the present court
would declare the income tax constitu-
tionsl If 1t could be brought be-
fore It. =
Only five more states are necessary
to make the income tax constitutional.
Perhaps this evidence of its popular
ity has something to do with the re-
ported attitude Of the court. 1t was
rather more than ten years ago that
the sagacious Mr.. Dooley laid down
to Hennessy this incontrovertible prop
osition: II dunno whether the consti-
tuition follers the flag, but tn 500
preme coort does foller tn illiction re-
turns"
Court Reverses President.
Just at present Washington Is won
dering whether the joke Is on Presi-
dent Taft or the court, for the jur-
lists have fatty reversed the president,
to whom SO many of them owe their
seats. on the question of reading into
the Sherman antitrust law the word
unreasonable" In January, 1910,
President Taft launched at congress a
special message on antitrust and in
terstate commerce legislation. Though
here at the time, / do not recall that
the message created any wild excite
ment then. Today 1t Is the most gen.
orally sought pamphlet in the docu-
ment room. From its exhaustive sur
vey Of antitrust legislation Gull
these passages:
THE Supreme court in several Of its
decisions has declined to read into the
statute the word unreasonable be-
fore restraint of trade on the
ground that the statute applies to all
restraints and does not intend to
leave to the court the discretion to
determine what is a reasonable re-
straint of trade. 1t has been
proposed, however, that the word
reasonable should be made a part
of the statute, and then that 1t
should be left to the court to say
what Is a reasonable restraint of
trade, but what Is a reasonable SUD-
preston of competition, what Is a
reasonable monopoly. / venture to
think that this is to put into the hands
of the court a power impossible to ex-
ercise on any consistent principle
which will insure the uniformity of de-
cision essential to just judgment. It
Is to thrust upon the courts a burden
that they have no ~precedents to en-
able them to carry, and to give them a
power approaching the arbitrary. the
abuse of which might involve our
whole judicial system in disaster"
And now, alas, the court has done
Just what the president applauded It
for declining to do in the past. 1t
has read into the law the word "un-
reasonable which congress and the
president refused to put there. It
has thrust upon the courts" that bur
den which the president thought IA
months ago was too heavy for them
to carry. In a speech only a day or
W ago he declared the courts did
not have enough power. Washington
wonders whether he thinks SO still.
"Taft by Default" the Sentiment,
When action lags In senate and
house, political Washington turns to
the discussion of presidential POSSIBLE
tiles. This Is particularly true Just
now when the lines are being formed
for and against candidates of either
party.
In the Republican party there seems
to be a general resignation to the idea
of the denomination of Taft. "Resig.
nation" is the only word to express
the attitude of the party's representa-
tives here. There is neither hearty
enthusiasm for him, nor yet a healthy
opposition. One might think that the
insurgents whom Taft fought and who
fought him might put up a lively fight
In the Republican convention. But
there is no indication that they will
do 1t. Certainly they show no signs
of organizing to that end. / talked
recently to one of the most widely
known insurgents In the house. He
was just starting for New York to
call on Roosevelt.
Il see that Roosevelt has written
to friends in Nebraska" / said, by
way of small talk, that the mention
of mis- name for the presidency is
most embarrassing to him and he
begs 1t may be stopped"
We'll. he has to write something
of that sort to remind the people he