Evening star., 1924-01-05

| the nnai ruIing would be the dicta-
tion Of tho minority In place Of q
Il Congress. say Tn. opponents, can
limit the powers Of the Supreme
ers from Congress. then some future
Congress might pass other limiting
laws. until all the safeguards Of 9
written CONSTITUTION would be usurped
by the Legislative body. Then Con-
damental Law, and the Constitution
no longer would remain the limit OF
Legislative license.
So much has been said OF the action
Of the Supreme Court In deciding
against the constitutienality of laws
that the impression Is given that
such rulings are common and that
the Supreme Court exercises a sort
Of censorship over Congress, deciding
what laws are wise and what un-
wise. Never has there been any such
censorship.
The fact is that In the century and
? third since the Constitution has
Of thousands Of laws passed under
It, only forty have been set aside ~
In conflict with our fundamental law,
and but nine laws 30 ruled out have
been rejected upon q vote Of only q
majority OF the court. Usually the
rejection has been either upon unani-
nous opinion OF with only one or
two Justices dissenting. Many laws
have been ruled as unconstitutional
by the inferior courts, consisting Of
q single Judge, and when such rulings
have not been appealed by the liti-
Mt lrf tot fn1n In -
or even state Judge has overturned
the act Of Congress.
A%*
In the House Of Representatives a
bill similar to the Borah bill has
been introduced by Representative
Frear, except that IL goes further
and would provide for the recall OF
Justices of the Supreme Court. a.
well a. all other Judges. The Consti-
tuition (Articls III, section - pro-
vides that Judges Of both the su-
preme and inferior courts shall hold
their ofi1ces during good behavior,
and shall at stated times receive for
their services compensation which
shall not be diminished during their
continuance In office"
In Bancroft's History of the Con-
stitution" (page 353) that high au-
thority says:
hut the Constitution retains the
means Of protecting itself against
the errors Of partial or interested
Judgments. In the first case, the
force OF a judicial opinion of the
Supreme Court, in so far as IL is
ireversible. reaches only the particular
"The court is itself inferior and
subordinate to the Constitution. It
has only a delegated authority, and
every opinion contrary to the tenor
of it's commission s void. except as
can act of the Legislature at vari-
ance with the Constitution Is declared
void: an opinion OF the supreme
Court at variance with the Constitu-
ga third Influence may rise up as
the rightful interpreter of this great
charter of American rights and
American powers. in the good sense
of the land wiser than the judges
alone, because 1t includes within it
selves; and this may lead either to
better instruction Of the court or to
an amendment Of the Constitution by
the collective mind OF the country.
Chief Justice Marshall. the highest
authority on tho Constitution that ever
lived, stated:
'Tt IL a proposition too plain to be
contested that the Constitution con-
trolls any legislative act repugnant to
II, or that the legislature may alter
tho Constitution by an ordinary act.
It is emphatically the province
and duty Of the judicial department to
say what the law Is"
Copyright, 1924, By Paul Y. Oollins.)