Evening star., 1935-09-03
DEMOCRATS COURT
CLAIM DISPUTED
Study of Record Lifts Blame
for Ten Invalid Laws
From G. 0.P.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

mittee, which has set out to convince
the country that the newspaper cor
respondents in Washington are in
accurate in their interpretations,
might with advantage look to the
reliability of its own pronouncements.
Thus the Democratic committee IN
its latest statement to the newspapers
has this to say:
"As Senator Lewis of Illinois pre-
sented In q Senate speech, the
Supreme Court pronounced unconsti-
tutional seven acts signed by Presi-
dent Harding, seven signed by Presi-
dent Coolidge and three signed by
President Hoover"
Little Truth in 1t.
The only thing true about the fore
going statement Is that Senator Lewis
said 1t In speech to the Senate on
August /. Now the facts are that the
Supreme Court of the Uaited States
did render II opinions during the
period in which Messrs. Harding,
Coolidge and Hoover happened to be
in the presidency, but the acts of
Congress which were passed upon by
the Supreme Court in those years
were adopted N previous years and
bore the signatures of other Presidents.
1t sometimes takes several years for
an issue to be presented to the
Supreme Court. The date Of final
decree, therefore, has no possible con-
nection with the administration that
happens to have come in power since
the original law was passed.
OF the seven decisions of uncon-
stitutionality rendered while Mr..
Harding happened to be in the White
House, three were opinicus on acts
passed during President Taft's admin
istration, three were on laws passed
during Mr.. wilson's term and only
one was a bill which Mr.. Harding
signed.
In Coolidge Term.
OF the seven decisions which were
rendered while Calvin Coolidge hap
pened to be in the White House, one
was on law signed by him, and there
were three which were enacted with
the signatures Of President Harding,
two that had been passed when Mr..
Wilson was President and one while
Gen. Grant was in the White House.
OF the three opinions rendered dur
ing the time Herbert Hoover was
President, holding acts Of Congress in
valid, two were laws passed while Mr..
Coolidge was President and one that
had been adopted when President VIII
son was in office. So the true record
Of decisions holding acts of Congress
unconstitutional in the period under
discussion runs as follows:
Decisions affecting laws passed dur
ing Harding's term. four. Decisions
affecting laws passed during Coolidge's
term, three. Decisions affecting laws
passed during Hoover's term, none.
The foregoing total Of seven laws
signed by the three Republican Presi-
dents in the IL years since the World
War compares with a total of seven
acts actually signed by President
Roosevelt which were declared un-
constitutional within the first two
years Of his term in the White House
Competent lawyers say the probable
tiles are that seven more Of the acts
passed during the last two years of
Mr.. Roosevelt's term will also be de-
clared invalid. So the chances are Mr..
Roosevelt will achieve the record of
having transgressed the Constitution
more times than any other President
Of the United States in approving in
valid acts of Congress-
Leads McNutt Into Error.
1t is most unfortunate that Senator
Lewis speech, which he, had inserted
in the Congressional Record with q
table alongside of 1t, has not been cor
rected, because 1t is leading to inno-
cent error on the part of such we'll
meaning Democratic Governors as
Gov. Paul v. McNutt of Indiana, who
repeated the same misstatements on
August % to that gathering Of Young
Democrats at Milwaukee, which was
an assemblage so important, appar-
emily, that Mr.. Roosevelt himself ad-
dressed it by long distance wire from
the National Capital.
Gov. McNutt was formerly the dean
of State university law school, and
80 it puts him in much more awk-
ward position than the average lay
man who tries to quote statistics on
a matter Of this kind. The Indiana
Governor In his speech said:
During the Harding, Coolidge and
Hoover administrations the Repub-
lican Congress passed and q Repub-
lican Executive signed II important
administration measures which were
declared unconstitutional by the Su-
preme Court Of the United States.
Only six measures passed during
the Roosevelt administration have
been declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court. The score shows II
errors by the Republicans to by
the Democrats"
The Seventh Decision.
1t will be noted that Mr.. McNutt
comedies only six measures declared
unconstitutional under the Roosevelt
regime. Other New Dealers do the
same. They apparently do not count
the decision of the Supreme Court in
the second gold bond case, but, as
matters have since turned out, the
opinion of the court must be counted
as q defeat for the New Deal. The
court not only said that Congress
went beyond its power in abrogating
q contract In a Government bond,
but pointed out that no loss had
been proved. Now, under legislation
enacted at the session of Congress
just closed, the citizen Is deprived
of an opportunity to sue in the Court
Of Claims to establish his loss. So
the defeat of the administration on
the gold bond contract has been rem.
dered complete by its own confess
sion of guilt in the law signed by
Mr.. Roosevelt barring gold clause
suits.
But It Is really not vital to COM
pare how many acts were passed
under Republican or Democratic ad-
ministration that were later declared
unconstitutional. As matter Of