The Prescott daily news., 1913-04-17
AGITATION FOR INCREASE IN MEMBERS OF SUPREME COURT
 AGAIN BOBs UP.
HIGH TRIBUNAL 0VERWORKED
Congress May Consider Matter of Re lIevlng Court of Some of It's Duties Scheme to Increase Court Likely to
 Meet Determined Opposition.
By GEORGE CLINTON.

"A SOOu many members or congress think that the Supreme court is over- worked" There is said to be no com plaint on the part of the justices that they are overburdened with labor, but the average of age in the membership of the court Is high and the judges have an immense amount to do, though they bear 1t uncomplainingly and perhaps one of the reasons Is that they are opposed to having any change In the present system made. change which has been urged fre- Quently and which may become a chief matter of discussion, if not of action before the present congress ends its days.
 A proposal came from Senator Gore of Oklahoma sope little time ago that 1t might be wise to increase the membership of the court to II judges His plan, 1t seems, Is finding some fa- vor, and President Wilson, who was consulted. about it, has given atten- ton to the pleas in Its behalf but not yet has committed himself to the advisability of adopting the plan.
 Before this time proposals have been made to increase the member ship of the court. The instant such a suggestion comes, provided it is made by some national legislator of promi- hence, the opponents of the plan to increase the size of the court come to the defense of the present arrange ment and say that two more mem- bers are not needed. It has been charged again and again that the Su- preme court Is too conservative, and some men have gone so far as to say that 1t interprets the law today in the spirit of 1880. One of the answers to this made in behalf of the judges is that the court in the last two years has affirmed a good deal of progress i've legislation and has rendered many decisions in keeping with the spirit of the age
 All Kinds of Arguments.
 Every time that there Is a sugges tion to increase the number of Su- preme court judges 1t also is said that the legislators who propose it are de- sirous of finding high and comfortable seats for some noted lawyers of their acquaintance. It can be readily seen from this that all kinds of arguments pro and con, are used whenever a thought comes to anyone of influence that eleven judges can do the work better than nine can do 1t.
 It has been suggested also that some plan might be evolved to relieve the Supreme court of a good many of the duties which it now has to per form.
 It looks today as if any scheme for increasing the court will find good many obstacles in congress The con- stitutional lawyers in house and sen ate, irrespective of party, say that the Supreme court is one which should not be affected by legislation unless it is absolutely imperative that such should be the case. There always has been a dread among Americans. and one knows this because 1t finds its expression in congress constantly, lest the Supreme court should be made a political institution. Whenever it has been suggested that change in thC Ol JoNSCo Wdo the most influential lawyers in con gress have at once endeavored to prove that back of the suggestion was the motive of making the court preponderantly more Democratic, more Republican, more conservative. or more progressive. The evident wish has been to keep 1t free from all kinds of opinions simply because they are opinions. and in saying this of course political. factional or eco homie opinions are meant
 Not Favored by Justices.
 It is said that the Supreme court itself does not view the plan to en- large 1t with anything like favor As the court is constituted today and as has been proved by the upholding and dissenting opinions in certain cases, there is a wide difference of tempera- ment and belief in the court, but they are not so marked apparently that the judicial mind of the justices can not overcome their ingrained feeling It Is urged by the courts friends that with the difference of temperament that exists today an increase in the membership of the court would simply complicate the situation without re- sulting in any good
 The Supreme court has on a good many occasions handed down decis- ions in which the judges were divid- ed five to four, for there are nine members of the court. One famous decision, by which the income tax law as passed by congress about 20 years ago, was declared unconstitutional.