Evening star., 1936-01-03
A Government of Law.

Senator William E. Borah Of Idaho
declares himself a supporter of the Con-
stitution and the Supreme Court. There
is nothing surprising in this. For him
to do otherwise would be as amazing
as a dog biting man. His firm declara-
tion in favor of government Of law and
against a government of individual men
has attached to it a significant descrip-
ton of New Dealers and what they are
attempting to do to America. The Idaho
Senator, the candidate of many Repub-
licans for the presidential nomination,
seizes the constitutional issue, and along
with it the States rights issue, and places
them beside the issue of monopoly which
he has already forcibly raised. His
statements, appearing in the current is
sue of the Red Book, are made on the
Court regarding the constitutionality of
important New Deal laws.
In one paragraph Senator Borah de-
scribes succinctly New Dealers who con-
tinue to shroud themselves as far as
possible within the folds of the Consti-
tuition, verbally, while at the same time
acting along diametrically opposite lines.
ut does not seem to me-" he says, that
there is nearly as much danger to our
institutions in the out ut-and-out advocates
of communism or faSciSm as there is
in the tendency to praise the principles
of democracy, but employ the methods
of fascism." Therein lies the kernel
Lip service to the principles of democ-
racy and to the Constitution, while at
the same time there is an effort, subtle
but persistent, to undermine these prin-
ciples, constitutes the indictment of the
New Dealers by the Senator.
In discussing his article with members
OF the press, Senator Borah answered
pertinent questions. His answers range
him even more clearly in opposition to
New Deal theories and New Deal per-
sonalities. IT know" says Senator Borah,
"of no reason for amending the Con-
stitution now" And in answer to fur
ther questioning he says that effective
social security and labor legislation can
be written within the terms of the Con-
stitution as it stands today. II am not, p"
he says, "in favor of disturbing the pow
ers of the States as they exist. We can
not have great national government
without great States"
There it is, the issue raised first by
New Dealers, plain and clear to the man
In the street. The effort to superimpose
the Federal Government over the activ-
tiles Of the people and over the States
has been under way for almost three
years.
The Idaho Senator does not proclaim
an opposition to all amendment OF the
Constitution. Far from it. His oppo-
sition is to amending the fundamental
law merely to validate the New Deal.
He calls attention to the struggle be-
tween democracy and dictatorship in
this country and says that he is re-
minded that some of the most earnest
advocates of democracy in this country
apparently are equally earnest in de-
manding an abridgement or even an
abrogation of the power Of the court"
His own position he makes clear as
crystal 1T is my feeling" he says, that
when the trainers of the Constitution
lodged the power to amend the Consti-
tuition in the people, and conferred upon
the Supreme Court the power to annul
acts found to be in violation of the Con-
stitution, they made this Government
of law rather than Government Of
men. And only by preserving both the
Constitution and the power of the court
can we be certain that 1t will remain
O Government of law"
AS a defender of the Supreme Court
and the Constitution, Senator Borah
takes his position before the American
people. He is against insidious efforts
A. n{f