Evening star., 1935-12-29
@Frankfurter Boys
Enjoy a Respite
BY Oscen L. Scott.

are enjoying tnelr easiest pre-cOilSreS-
sional season in three years. MIR. Roose-
velt has had little work for them to do.
Deep significance can be read into that
situation. Represented is turning point
in the life of the New Deal; away from
constant experiment, back to normal
law making In each of the past three
sessions Congress returned to find itself
swamped with new plans all done up in
blue ribbon and accompanied by White
House orders to pass into law.
A year ago the proteges Of Prof. Felix
Frankfurter. adviser to Mr.. Roosevelt,
were taxing their brains to find words
that would convey to the President
power to do almost anything and that
would give him $4,880 100000 with which
to do it. Also they struggled, among
other things, with ideas to apply in
seeking control of utility holding COM
panies and with phrases that would give
the country system of old-age and un-
employment insurance.
But times have changed Much of
their product is Of highly questionable
legality. Other parts of it are not work.
ing so well.
AS q result the President this year Is
prepared to encourage Congress to do
some of its own thinking. Time that the
New Deal legal prodigies formerly spent
searching for new ideas and for phrases
that would turn those ideas into law, now
is being devoted to searching for argu-
ments that might convince at least five
Supreme Court justices that the result
ing laws should be allowed to stay on the
statute books.
The Shift goes farther than that.
President Roosevelt in the past has dis
couraged Congress from originating any
important legislation. White House con-
ferences, in which members of Congress
had little part, decided questions of pol
icy. Then came prodigious efforts on
the part of the "Frankfurter boys" to
whip the policy into the form of bill.
When that job was completed Mr.. Roose-
velt usually dispatched a message to
Congress. Immediately after reading Of
the message the prefabricated legislative
plans would bob up in each House.
Sponsors Of much of the New Deal
legislation actually did not know what
was contained in the plans that bore
their names. Sometimes nobody but
the young bill drafters knew.
However, at the last session of Con-
gress members began to be bit critical.
They baked at language in the work.
relief bill that was loaded down with
trick land or" phrases and that would
have given the President unlimited au-
thority to make over the whole executive
administrative machinery of the Federal
Government.
They found the social security plan so
badly drafted that the whole thing had
to be rewritten. They complained about
the quality of craftsmanship in the util-
ity holding company bill, although Prof.
Frankfurter's ace proteges. Ben Cohen
and Tom Corcoran, had been proud of
their product.
Toward the close Of the last session
Congress was in a mood to reassert it.
self. So, this session, the President is
taking different tack.
Mr.. Roosevelt now has told newspaper
men that, while he will recommend an
appropriation of S5oo,oO0.ooo for public
works in the next budget, Congress will
have to decide how that money shall be
spent. In the past three years spending
has been an executive prerogative. Con-
gresS gets it back.
IoAAO AAC0IA AMY lCSlo1dtlOLl ID DS~
ing worked out. The old method called
for drafting in the executive department,
with Congressman allowed in on the
plans later. But now Senators and Rep
resentatives have been called in by the
State Department to confer on plans.
Hints are being thrown out that Con-
gress and not the President will decide
on future relief plans and the future
spending Of Federal money on relief.
In other words Harry Hopkins, w. P. A.
administrator. will need to sell members
Of Congress as well as the President on
his ideas for caring for the unemployed.
Senator Wagner of New York has Il
housing plan all of his own. This one
did not come through Harold Iekes, the
P. w. A. administrator. Congressman
are ready to spring their own plan for
paying the soldiers bonus-or at least
plan not of White House authorship.
Some of the heavy New Deal thinkers
would like to try their hand at writing
what they think would be a constitu-
tional N. r. A, but they can't interest
Congressman, and thesplan is as good as
dead.
The swing at this time is back toward
more normal relationship between Con-
greSs and the Chief Executive. The
period of executive domination that pre-
vailed after March. 1888. grew out of
the popular demand for action in COM
batting the depression. Mr.. Roosevelt
fulfilled that demand.
But is the return to normal in con-
greSsional affairs here to stay for
while, or is it simply the lull before a
storm?
The Supreme Court probably holds an
answer to that question. It's first ap-
praisal Of the product of the New Deal
young law drafters has not been f1atter-
ing to them.
The judges threw out N. r. A. They
narrowly approved devaluation of the
dollar, but administered a rebuke in so
doing. They now are about to deter
mine the legality of other vital parts Of
the New Deal.
A few more days may determine the
fate of the farm program in all of its
varied phases. After that comes de-
termination of the legality of the Ten
nessee Valley Authority. There will fol-
low rulings, on the powers Of the Public
Works Administration and the utility
holding company law. The Guffey plan
for soft coal code will be reviewed by
the court while Congress still is in ses-
sion. Similar action may affect the
national labor relations law.
The Congress that assemblies January
will see nearly all of the remaining
portions of the New Deal mass in legal