The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-06-23
Flynn DiSSectS Vexing Platform
 Problems That Face Democrats
ConstitutiOn, Money, High Court Bother
 Party Leaders


 didn't prevent a tremendous row on the money question, which wasn't even an issue then. But of course William J. Bryan was living then and there is no William J. Bryan among the Democrats now. MUST BACK GOLD MOVE
 The platform will have to endorse the presidents abandonment of gold redemption, devaluation, as well as putting the power of valuation in the president's hands. It may use some weak words about stabiliza. tion when Europe's conditions make that possible.
 It certainly will try to escape say- ing anything definite about man- aged currency. If 1t does, when the whole job is done, there will be no great difference from the Republic can platform.
 Yet everyone knows that the two parties are oceans apart on money. The truth is that on this subject both platforms will be meaningless. The voter will just have to take the wv pHkSASo dS AAS AAAOW0 VkASAAA-~kLA0 Republican party as the representa- tive of the propertied interests, the Democratic party as the representa- tive of the debtor interests.
 As the next four years roll around, both parties will shape their policies without regard to their platform declaration and in accordance with their support of these two great divergent interests.
 TRUST PLANK IS BOGEY There Is going to be trouble with that anti-truSt plank. The NFA was Q complete overthrow of Demo. cratic policy on trust laws. Since It's annulment, the party has played with the Quffey act, another coln- plete denial of its old Anti-trust policy.
 The GufEey act has been held un- constitutional, but the desire of the president to move In that general | direction Is known. No man can make an honest declaration against monopolies and support these meas ureS.
 Besides, the Department of Jus- tice under Attorney General Homer s. Cummings has done nothing against the trusts. In charge of the trust division is notorious critic of the antl-trist act. This Is a dangerous subject.
 There are senators like Black of Alabama who are bitterly against the administration record on this business. The administration will have to use its suppressive power to keep out Q light on an aSiti-trlst plank.
 The Constitution, of course, is goa ing to be soft-pedaled. The Cone stitution, as Judge Hughes once said, is what the supreme court makes 1t. As 1t stands, therefore, 1t makes all application of the prCss, idents so-called planned economy impossible.
 F. R. DUCKS ISSUE But the president is clearly afraid of that issue. Last week he said the Constitution was good enough for him. There will, therefore, be no constitutional amendment plank tlIl- less the force comes from someone else.
 But the supreme court Is not good enough for the president. He un- doubtedly believes the best way to handle that thorn Is to wait until one or more of the justices depart | in the next four years. A new ap- pointment would help, but not much.
 After all, the president may lose one of his own supporters on the bench. And we may remember that the MIRA was declared illegal unanimously and that the Guffey act and the AAA were thrown out by @ 6 to 8 verdict.
 The president would have to get two appointments and they would have to be on the right side of the court to help him Q little there. There will be various minor scraps about minor blanks. but aside from money, the trust laws, and perhaps the Constitution, no major row ap- pearson the horizon now. We may 1 be treated to the spectacle of a quiet, tranquil, perfectly disciplined Democfatic convention.