The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-02-22
SUPREME COURT HOLDS HIGH PLACE
 DESPITE MOST BITTER ATTACKS
Over One Hundred Million Eyes
 On Tribunal

house cases. A "carpet-bag" legie.
 lature, probably corrupt, hae
 granted Q monopoly in parts ot
 New Orleans of the slaughterhoust
 business, throwing thousands ouI
 of work.
 Test cases came to the Supreme Court under the new 14th Amend
 ment, aimed at reconstruction by guaranteeing a uniform federal
 standard of civil rights throughout the Union: that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or prop erty without due process of law,
 nor denied equal protection of the
 laws.
 By its decision for the monopoly
 many believed the court had vir.
 tuaIly nullified the civil rights ef-
 feet of the amendment, since it turned the whole matter over to the states. This due process" clause has been the basis of judi. cial argument ever since, and no
 final determination has been made as to what 1t means.
 ECONOMICS TO FORE
 Gradually the cases of the court
 became economic rather than po- litical as the country itself shifted in similar manner. In the Granger cases against the grain elevator monopolies, the court set the prin- ciple that Property does become clothed with public interest when used in a manner to make it of public consequence, and affect the community at large."
 That is a basis for regulation of
 such businesses and property. In thte early years of this cen. tury, various decisions, such as the
 Debs case, which supported Cleve-
 lands use of the military to see
 the U. s. malls through strike vio- lence, the income tax case, and va-
 rious cases affecting state laws re-
 stricting hours of labor, convinced
 most people that the court was On
 the side of property against labor and the common unpropertied man.
 For the last 30 years. and before, continual efforts have been made to restrict the power of the Su- preme Court to nullify acts of Con- gress. Theodore Roosevelt and the LaFollette progressive group cam- paigned vigorously for popular re- call of judicial decisions by less CuIlpcThOIuc IHctuOuo thdh " amending the Constitution.
 HOLMES BROAD VIEW Even Justice Holmes has said,
 T don't think the United States would come to an end If we lost our power to declare an act of Congress void. I do think the Union would be imperiled if we
 could not make that declaration as to the laws of the several states Proposals have been made to. empower Congress to re-pass laws over the judicial "veto," where upon they would stand, not subject to further court review. Secretary Wallace has proposed to amend the Constitution by popular vote in-
 stead of by states, providing Q
 quick reversal of any Supreme Court decision considered as thwarting the peoples will.
 VITAL DECISIONS PENDING AS more than 40 important cases have been decided by the court by a majority of one, proposal has also been made that constitutional questions shall be decided only by a greater majority concurring, say 2 to 2.
 Now this court, which has been one of the most distinctive features of the American form of govern-
 ment, is deciding on Congress- and the presidents acts of dollar de- valuation and abrogation of the promise to pay debts in gold or It's equivalent, the last named de-
 cision having been handed down
 Monday.
 Other vital decisions on the laws Congress has made in it's strenu- ous effort to lift America out of economic stagnation will come soon. 'ss The eyes of the 123,000,000 are on the Supreme Court. (THE END)