Evening star., 1936-01-19
SUPREME COURTS FUTURE
HAS BEARING ON ELECTION
New Deal Complexion of Tribunal
Could Change Greatly in Five Years
if Deaths Occurred.

stands and as it is now interpreted By
the court.
The New Deal is something utterly
new to America. AS a form of society
and government it differs from any.
thing America has ever known. II
differs, not as Republican differs from
Democrat, but as one theory of So
ciety differs basically from another.
The New Deal is, as Mr.. Roosevelt
said in his message to Congress jan
uary 4, 1885, "a new order Of things"
and as he said in another message to
Congress January 3, 1884. "a perma-
nent readjustment of many of our
ways OF thinking and therefore Of
many Of our social and economic ar
rangements." Il suspect Mr.. Roose-
welt must have got those phrases
from Prof. Tugwell)
To an American seeking to under
stand the philosophy underlying the
New Deal, the mechanism of society
and government which it contem-
plates, the nearest analogy is to be
found in the new experiments now
NNANNA WY Az INiI y, 4IdlJs
and some other European govern
ments. True, the New Deal is not
identical with either fascism or NaA-
ism or communism. But neither are
those three experiments identical
with each other. In each country the
new conception Of society is modified
by local conditions and national ira
dltions. In the same way the New
Deal, if it should come to complete
fulflllment in America, would be
modified by our American traditions.
But the philosophy which underlies
the New Deal has much in common
with the new experiments in Europe.
1t contemplates what is called the
"totalitarian state" or the "authori-
tartan state" 1t contemplates a com.
pact Capitalization of power in one
man at Washington, the President
and his agents. 1t contemplates,
therefore, destruction of much of the
rights of the 48 separate States. And
1t contemplates wholesale destruction
OF the rights of individuals; it con-
templates. practically that no citizen
shall have any rights which the CEN
trail government is bound to respect.
Bars to New Deal
Now the American Constitution is
written on the assumption that the
United States is a federation of 45
States. Hence, for this reason, the
Constitution and the New Deal can
not exist together. Furthermore, our
American Constitution contains, in
the part which is called the bill of
rights" certain guarantees to the in
dividual, guaranteed rights which the
Government cannot invade. Hence,
for this second reason also, the New
Deal and the Constitution cannot ex-
ist together. America must choose
between them.
In the experiments now under way
in Europe. to which the New Deal is
analogous, there is no such thing as
disinterested court holding the ball
ance even between the citizen and the
government. In that conception Of
society tilc courts are nlc:e,y arms Of
the government, carrying out the will
of the government. The character
istic of the courts in America is that
to them the citizen and the Govern
ment stand equal. Under our system,
as has recently been demonstrated,
the courts are under no obligation to
decide in favor Of the Government Just
because it is the Government. Tho
American courts are as free to decide
in favor Of the private litigant as in
favor of the Government itself.
To me it seems inconceivable that
any one should contemplate with any
emotion other than dismay a condi-
ton in which the citizen has no
courts to uphold the citizens rights
against the Government. 1t Is incon.
ceivable that any one should con-
template the surrender or the wiping
out or the undermining of the rights
which our American Constitution
guarantees to the citizen.
One of the guarantees in the bill OF
rights is the freedom of the press. I
think it is tenable to say that the
New Deal cannot go on to fulfillment
so long as freedom of the press exists.
for the press in many cases. like the
courts. tends to uphold the citizen
against the Government, and tends
to speak for minorities as against ma
jorities. and to make minorities into
majorities.
In short, there are two American
institutions which stand in the way
of the New Deal-freedom of the press
and the independence of the courts.
Only by getting rid of those two
can the New Deal conception of So
ciety come about.
(CopYr!9ht. 1861