Evening star., 1932-01-24


(among how many, many really
l. titanic burdens) what Is, on the
whole, the most important func.
ton Of the presidency, appointment OF
member of the Supreme Court. After
appointment by the President the Sc
lection must be confirmed by the Sen
ate.
And the text which this situation In
spires may be stated as follows: The
writer of this article has had flrst-hand
knowledge of the conditions under
which all except one of the present
justices of the Supreme Court were ap-
pointed by the respective Presidents,
beginning with Theodore Roosevelt's
appointment of Oliver Wendell Holmes.
now retiring. Based on that complete
information, the writer undertakes to
make two assertions. One is: No Pres
ldent, from Theodore Roosevelt to the
present, in making an appointment ito
the Supreme Court, has been influenced
by political considerations.
The second assertion Is less agree
sble. In the Senate's confirmation OF
ruch appointments, politics tends in
creasingly to enter.
To say somewhat the same thing in
other words: The Supreme Court is the
one outstanding. unimpeachable success
among the political innovations intro
ny IIlC VI Jul N<O'StAt
ment. 1t is one institution in which
our people are enabled to have COM
plete confidence and pride. ut is this
pride of ours in an institution solely
American in its invention, solely Amer
ican in its absolute independence, solely
American in its detachment from other
branches of the Governmental Is our
pride in this unique American example
Of what court may be that lies at the
root of the hesitancy of many OF us
to adhere to a World Court, which
springs chiefly from countries and peo-
pies having different notion about
what a court should be)
Utterly without Reproach.
Our Supreme Court. as an institution
and in its history is utterly without re-
proach. OF no other American institu-
tion can we say quite the same: Mem
bers of the House of Representatives
have been convicted of crime and sent
to Jail: Senators the same; two cabinet
ministers in 1873 years of history have
been charged with crime, and one has
been convicted one President has been
impeached and others have done things
which gave rise to comment marring
the esteem In which the Office is held.
But as to the Supreme Court, no act
OF it as a court, or act of an individual
upon it has diminished the respect
which the people are enabled to have
for it. zone justice, some 135 years
ago, went insane, but that was not per-
mitted to result in anything detrimen-
tai to the court)
This brings us back to the original
text: Every President, in making ap-
pointments to the Supreme Court, Is
dominated by one of the finest motives
OF which man is capable, the wish to
maintain respect for an institution so
deserving of respect. No President
within the writer's memory has ever
taken any political consideration into
account in naming justice OF the Su-
preme Court That political consider
ations have been urged upon Presidents
by Senators and other politicians ad-
vocating such appointments goes with
out saying. Presidents are obliged to
listen to such things, but no President
has ever given weight to the political
type of recommendation.
Tendency Growing In Senate.
The Senate, however, In confirming,
tends increasingly to give weight to po-
litical considerations. This tendency Is
growing; it is a serious menace and 1t
calls imperatively for attention from
Americans who wish to keep our Su-
preme Court what 1t has always been.
There are organized factions deter
mined to have a veto on the selection
of justices of the Supreme Court, and
these factions have been led by success
to believe that they can intimidate or
otherwise influence the Senate in its
confirmation Of justices Of the Supreme
Court.
Two years ago vacancy occurred on
the Supreme Court through the death
of a Southern justice, Sanford, who
came from Tennessee. In filling 1t the
President took some account OF the
fact that the deceased predecessor was
a Southerner and that the South has
but one representative on the court.
every President gives some weight,
though not necessarily decisive weight,
to reasonable representation OF all Sec
tions Of the country in the court)
II you begin with the Mason and
Dixon line, between Pennsylvania and
MARYLAND, and extend it all across the
country to southern Utah and the mid
die of California, only one OF the nine
justices now on the court will be found
to have been appointed from south OF
that line One Southern judicial cir
cult the fourth-made up OF South
Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West
Virginia, the District Of Columbia and
MaTYldnQ-IldS Ildu llO JuDGlSC VA WV
Supreme Court since 1860. 1t Is hardly
To be denied that this depriving OF the
fourth circuit of representation for
more than 10 years was result ot the
nassions of the Civil War, consequence
lasting until most OF the soldiers who
fought that war are dead and gone.
Before the Civil War this fourth cir
cult contributed more justices than any
other circuit or section.
This President, giving cAFtsm
amount of weight to this geographical
consideration, picked out for promotion
the outstanding judge now sitting on
the Fourth Circuit, John J. Parker. OF
North Carolina. In the acrimonious
senate sebate that later arose. the as
sertion was made that there were ap-
nointees with more convincing quallh-
cations IN other parts Of the country
but no one asserted that Judge Parker
was not the outstanding one in the
territory making up the Fourth Circuit
South Carolina, North Carolina, Vir-
stnia, West Virginia District Of Colum-
Sia and Maryland.
Fought by Two Organizations
The appointment of Judge Parker
went 10 the Senate for confirmation.
IN the Senate opposition was set uI
by two organizations. Judge Parker had
handed down some years ago a decision
sustaining an injunction forbidding,
labor union to solicit new members who
had signed contracts binding them
selves not TO join unions. For this rea-
son organized labor brought pressure
on Senators to vote against conf1rma
ton, and several Senators voted IN DEL
erence to that pressure.
Also. Judge Parker some years ago,
when not on the bench, had made an
offhand statement about organized
participation OF Negroes as such In
politics-a statement to which the Ne
qroes themselves in that Southern COM
nunity would have subscribed. No
Southern Negro, on his own initiative,
would have raised any objection TO
Judge Parker. But an organization