New Britain herald., 1930-05-09
>ENATE GROWS 1NCEEASINGIY LIBERAL IN ITe PHILOSOPHY

SENATE GROWS INCREASINGLY
 LIBERAL IN ITe PHILOSOPHY
 It is becoming csear.H daily ,au. he attitude oz tao Sar=ta toward rhe Supreme Court has changed rom what if Was L-rus ,ha last faw decades. Not for S years has he sena.a refused to confirm a presidential nominee to that hoa4h and from that rma 4nul the se- cecuon Of J4dsa Parker rhere ~as no spirited rEht against a nominee except that which was incidental Q the naming Of Justice B~aa4et~
 Although the opposition 10 Nr. Brandets durlag Inc early years Of President Wilson's first term WAS oQtwardty political n nas@re. uuasr he surface was a 7ldespraad helGsc that Mir Braadats was too liberal, ia his phtlosophs some Of the con- servaetve gentlemen opposing him believed that when on the bench Ae would interpret leading eases n 100 liberal q spirit, in conformity with his known disposition oscora He be- came an associate 5us.ce. For th~ most part this s4ppo@#on has b-~u true; Justice Braud1= has well armed the reputation os heinz on the liberal side" Of mosr important judicial issues settled by Inc zrea. court,
 It has Income evident that th. pendulum has swung ip the other a5- recuon. The opposition Of Nr. Hughes q few months a=o was q straightforward espousal Of the widely held doctrine that a cou- servaCre corporation lawyer should not have p'aaa upon t54 aa.Ion's chief tribunal This opposition @as strong enough, io ordinary csrcum- stances. 10 defeat he romfaauon and it was only tnat Mir. Hughes also possessed a strong personality an Gnblemisncd character and ra-- ord as governor Of New 1,5rs thar indicated he with right coa.a be classed as liberal in his. .concepuoas of public duty and public sarvlee he vas confirmed and pfac-a upon the court as chief 34sclea-,aas ro- turnnig hlm so a court that h. one had alraad. served with distinction
 Dut in inc case Of Jadse Parker there We're 10 strong attributes oe personality. p16tta ser<t-a and 4r unassajIa3l4 judicial r-.onl 10 ae . utilized in his deeanss Nor,eETa h.s friends claimed for him taac he had been judge ais.ngusrad by g. liberal phlosopav: inc impress. on vas u5despreaa tSa- he ~az an uitra-oonservauve. q rz1e Of art~. which all inc vested sueeras= Of tae country you'd rsItsa uaoa rn. court. Not that Judge Parker. OF any iurist like him would de5i9erae-lg favor vested Interests: hat isn't done. But ehera sre Y s4uara5le oa- casions. in the ease oF dlrtded opla- ions. even ] 10 4 decisions. when a judges private beliefs cannot help aiding him in The interpretation Of law and fact. Judges are h4man. and sometimes no anoun, Of IeEaNsuc argument by briefs or tongue can fully erase a preconcavea position upon matters in which ,he words Of contestiag attorneys form bur veneer for principles oC bread ru6he policy
 The Senate, by a close vote. 1t is true, has indicated 10 the country that t is inclined 10 take into account the mental slant Of court nominees as well as their other qualifications, and moreover. is fa- clined to regard this mental attitude quite as much as the subsidiary qualifications.
 There can be no doubt that this critical attitude on the part Of the Senate is likely 10 he permanent The present Senate is unquestion- ably disposed toward liberalization Of the high court This process necessarily is slow, considering that Supreme Court jurists have their positions for life. The Senate in the comnig terms IS not likely to possess fewer liberals in its lineup. All signs point 10 increased elections Of sen ators with "open" if not liberal minds. Indeed. there are competent observers, among them Washington correspondents, who before this have noted the trend of the Senate is toward an increasing liberalism; and some of the august members Of that body already are quite radical,