Evening star., 1935-01-13
CONGRESS HOLDS
KEY TO ADVERSE
RULING ON GOLD
Continued From First Page.)

days, and We would be back on the
road to normalcy."
Most of the State Legislatures will
be in session this Winter, so that the
popular opinion would be registered
quickly.
Congressional infationists meaa-
while were talking privately of the
possibility of increasing the member
ship of the Supreme Court from nine
to IL or IL within the 25 days elaps-
ing between the decision and the
court ruling upon Government ap-
peal for reconsideration.
Thomas Denies Authorship.
Senator Thomas said that the dis
cussion had included the enlargement
of the court to assure that the re-
covery program get a new deal"
Senator Thomas said he was not
the author of this suggestion. At the
outset of the New Deal there was
some fragmentary discussion of the
possibility of enlarging the court
to assure liberal majority.
The subsequent attitude of the
court. in the Minnesota moratorium
and New York milk cases. did much
to dspel talk Of this character. and
responsible administration officials
refuse to admit that any such
thought has ever been entertained.
However, the court may be enlarged
by act of Congress. and it was en-
larged during President Lincoln s
administration to assure judicial sup
port for his Civil War measures.
1t was recalled that the first of the
legal tender cases, Hepburn vs. Girls
void, in 1870, which went against the
Government, never was enforced.
President Grant filled two vacancies
in the court, swinging the balance
the other way, and in about a year
got a decision reversing the court S
previous position.
Assumed Power Criticized.
Still an alternative course of action
on which discussion Of purely
speculative character could be heard
in congressional circles is the sub
mission of a constitutional amend
ment depriving the Supreme Court of
the power to declare an act of
Congress unconstitutional and making
it retroactive so far as the gold cases
are concerned. The courts power to
pass on the conStitutionality of an
act of Congress is not stated in the
Constitution, but has been assumed by
the court. At various periods men,
bers of the court have expressed re-
| luctance to declare an act of Congress
unconstitutional, and on many other
cases the court obviously has bowed
to the popular will without admitting
that it was doing so. The assumed
power of the court to overrule Con-
gress at any time has been criticized
repeatedly.
Former Associate Justice Oliver
Wendell Holmes said. in an address
| in 1918: Il do not think the United
States would come to an end If we
lost our power to declare an act OF
| Congress unconstitutional. I do think
the Union would be imperiled if we
could not make that declaration as to
the laws of the several States"
May Declare Emergency.
Another possible avenue of action
may lie in the President declaring an
emergency and asserting control over
the currency under the old wartime
| laws which he invoked to bring order
out of the banking and financial dis
ruption which existed when he took
Office.
The statistically minded were Won
dering how much Indebtedness ac-
tually was involved in gold-| ,auSe
contracts of one sort or another.
While Government counsel told the
court it amounted to 100000, ,000,0 900,
it was contended that this figure GER
| tainly did not include insurance poll
cieS and mortgages. The total. 1t was
suggested. might actually approach
$500, 600, 100000.
Meanwhile, the nine Supreme Court
justices yesterday were closeted in a
five-hour conference, the first such
meeting since the gold clause cases
were submitted to them for decision.
The conference was behind closed
doors and no intimation was forth
coming as to what occurred.
The conference lasted until S
o'clock, an unusually late hour, and
it was assumed most of the time was
devoted to discussion of the many
questions presented by the gold cases
in which oral argument occupied most
of the time during the week.
Decision Seen February 4.
1t is not expected decision will be
delivered before February 4, and those
closest to the court think it unlikely
that a verdict will be handed down
until even later.
1t is known, however, that the court
desires to expedite its opinion in the
gold cases as it did in the hot" oil
cases and other New Deal contro-
versies which may reach it for de-
cision.
Demand for congressional retrac-
ton of the authority delegated the
President to regulate the price of gold
was viewed by some silver bloc Sem
ators yesterday as a possible outcome
Of this weeks monetary conference.