Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-11
The Supreme Court Vacancy

The duty of selecting a member of
the Supreme Court of the United States
has again fallen to President Hoover.
No appointment Mr.. Hoover has yet
made will attract so much attention.
The fight which was made recently
against the appointment Of Chief
Justice Hughes, on the ground that he
represented too conservative a view Of
Government and of property, focused
attention strongly on the Supreme
Court. The appointment of second
member of the court rated as conserva-
tive as Chief Justice Hughes would
doubtless raise another storm in the
Senate.
The people of the United States look
with respect to the Supreme Court. 1t
is the highest judicial tribunal in the
land. It's Interpretation of the law is
final. And because its Interpretation
of the law is final, there are critics of
the court among those who pass laws
which the court holds unconstitutional
Indeed. these critics would take away
from the court the right to say whether
Congress has overstepped the limita-
tions set by the Constitution in the
enactment of laws, leaving to the legis-
lative body the sole right to determine
what the law shall be.
A majority of the two houses of
Congress, sometimes swayed by passion
or desire for political advantage, would
be in position to say finally what
should be the law, provided the Chief
Executive should af1x his signature to
the bills sent him. If the Chief Ex-
ecutive declined to sign, then a two
thirds vote in both houses of Congress
would make the law.
The court itself has divided on i'm
portant questions of construction of the
law and the Constitution. A division
in the court itself has come TO be recog-
nized, with the conservatives on one side
and the liberals on the other. The
division, generally speaking, has been
six on the conservative side and three
on the liberal or progressive side in the
present makeup of the court. With
many economic questions confronting
the country, problems, that sometimes
find their way to the court for final
determination, the progressives in the
Senate are intent, If possible, on in
creasing the number of "liberal' MEM
bers Of the Supreme Court, while the
conservatives are intent upon maintain
ing the ascendency which they now
have.
The ideal theory is that members of
the Supreme Court, casting aside all
else, viii determine cases brought to
them merely on the law and the Con-
stitution, hewing straight line always.
Under such theory, the only qualifica-
lions demanded of members Of the
court is that they shall be learned In
the law and able to interpret it, and
that they shall be Of impeccable per-
sonal integrity. The questions pre-
sented, however. are sometimes capable
of being honestly interpreted along diff
ferent lines. SO complex have become
conditions in this country that ques-
tions involving new and unexpected
problems arise. There necessarily
comes a latitude, under such condi-
tions, that enable jurists to turn in one
direction or another when it comes to
interpreting the law in the light Of
the Constitution.
Should the President now appoint a
liberal to I'LL the present vacancy, it
doubtless would do much to allay criti-
cism, both Of the court and of himself,
which arose at the time of the selection
of Chief Justice Hughes. The critics Of
the Hughes appointment have been de-
cidedly in the minority. But it has
been a vociferous minority, which has
been able to make itself heard through
the Senate and the press. II is unde-
niable that there Is one school of con-
servative thought and another more
liberal in this country today. 1t is 1T
ting that attention should be given to
both. There is, however, the need al
ways of protecting the rights of the
people under constitutional guarantees
and at the same time of maintaining
the respect and admiration of the peo-
pie for the Supreme Court