Evening star., 1924-09-25
Defends Supreme Court.
Tells Why European Postwar
Governments Discarded Plan.

Norman Thomas, follower Of
La Toilette and the Socialists can
didate for Governor Of New York,
recently said, "It is very significant
that none OF the European peoples
in revising their constitutions has
intrusted supreme courts with SIM
liar powers" Ito ours).
That the new European states did
not give their highest courts the
power that the fathers of our Con-
stitution gave our Supreme Court is
not nearly so significant as the fact
that a candidate for the high posi-
tion OF governor of one OF our States
should make the comparison in favor
OF any European government
But. after all, did those new ma
tons fail to establish Supreme Courts
similar to ours through ignorance
or by design with full knowledge, or
because Of tradition and custom, or
were the leaders responsible for the
forms OF the various governments
and not the people as whole.
History teaches US that the tradi-
tions and customs of people have
much more to do with the ultimate
result than abstract philosophy. Only
three things have happened within
the last 1000 years to turn mems
minds away from their ordinary
channel--first, the coming of Jesus
Christ; the second, the crusades; the
third. the discovery Of America.
These were spectacular things, were
not premeditated. they appealed to
the imagination.
war in Europe is the normal life
the usual: peace. abnormal, the un-
usuai. war means change; change
means virile leaders or chaos. Under
& q
unual. wars produce hates and fears
and tend to throw power into the
hands OF the few and to keep the
common people" poor and unframed
In constructive thought.
There is only one country in
Europe today among the smaller ma
lions that may be said to be Z. demo
cratic-republican, Switzerland; and
the circumstance of its birth and
continued life is one of environment
Even so, its government Is a hodge
podge and therefore built without
logic or sequence; but it works be-
cause 1t Is about like the fellow
who has tho two ends Of a galvanic
battery in his handS-he cannot let
go.
The Kingdoms of Denmark, Holland
and Belgium are survivals, and not
creations, like our form of govern
ment- Not in one OF them is an
orderly government institution based
on the aspirations OF a people. The
same set of facts is true Of each OF
all the other small pre-war nations
of Europe.
Spain may be said TO be the only
large pre-war nation Of Europe
whose government is actually
owned by one man. although out
ward appearances indicate it is a
constitutional monarchy
France and Italy-the one a re-
public and the other a constitutional
monarchy--are still bound with the
red tape of tradition and custom of
absolute monarchy. None of the ma
tlons above mentioned. as a people,
has even had a chance TO think about q
supreme court"
None of the new nations growing
out OF the World War, with the possi-
BILE exception Of Germany, is capa-
bic OF thinking of supreme court"
similar to our highest court.
A people do not easily throw of
their religion, their social customs.
their habit Of thought about political
government. No government in
Europe ever had a Supreme Court
similar to ours-the common people
know nothing about our Supreme
Court They are only familiar with
direct action" either by a despot
or a temporary virile leader, or a
government controlled by property
interests.
The revolution in France in 1890.
the revolutions of Europe in 1880,
1S4s. 1870 and 1911-192l, had not the
freedom of action that was true of
our revolution of 177s.17s3 Even
OF tradition and custom and European
proprietorships in land and govern
lnent as we were, large part Of the
population were opposed to severinc
relations with England. Indeed, there
were a few who wanted George
Washington to be king. and othe RS
wanted an aristocratical form Of gov
eminent.
To say that It is significant that
none of the new nations in Europe
established Supreme Court similar
to ours, is merely to confess that
the leaders OF the respective nations
feared to jeopardize their own posi-
tion, or the people were not educated
to the advantages of An impersonal
judiciary in its highest and truest
sense far removed from the passions
of the day.
The Soviet government of Ru ssia
is the best type to date Of the socialist
philosophy in action-to attain its
present autocracy the Soviet leaders
destroyed religious institutions, con-
fiScated all private property, asSa Ssi =
mated opponents or condemned them
to death without the fornality of a
trial or exiled them to a living death
in dungeons on the word of a mill
tary commander, openly repudiated
dc hts of honor-defyinp or desecrat-
ing everything that civilization holds
sacred.
George Washington. Benjamin
Franklin. Alexander Hamilton and
Thomas jefferson never found it nee
essary to do any one of those things.
On the contrary. they demanded the
protection of religious belief, prop
erty of all kinds, life of all men and
the payment of all honest debts
To compare any new European
states government with our form of
government, to our Governments dis
advantage is utter folly, displays
Grass ignorance or is a sinister threat
The people Of Europe are to be con-
graduated that they have achieved
so much against such great odds, but
only the English government is COM
parable to our Government as an i'm
personal government and our Gov
ernment and the English govern
ment, although the best in the world,
are a long, long way from the ideal
impersonal government
An independent, nop-partisan. i'm
PERSONAL judiciary is the foundation
Of a benign, stable, vigorous, efficient
government Our highest court more
nearly approximates the ideal than
that Of any nation in the world.