Evening star., 1936-11-07
The Problem.

that are seemingly unmStakable. 1t has
declared its preference for the New Deal
administration. If there are those who
voted for President Roosevelts re-elec-
ton who do not believe in the New Deal
and Ito various ramificationS, they kept
quiet about it during the campaign.
Judging from the size of the electoral
vote and from the tremendous popular
vote plurality rolled up for the Presi-
dent, there is little the anti-New Deal
Democrats can do about it now.
President Roosevelt has not yet said
what his future course will be. There
were questions he left unanswered dur
ing the campaign among them whether
he planned to resuscitate the N. r. A.,
and whether he planned to ask for an
amendment to the Constitution which
would validate the N R. A, the old
A. A. A. the Guffey coal act and several
other New Deal measures which were
declared illegal by the Supreme Court
Of the United States. These are Ques-
tions which many of his supporters are
likely to call up now that the election
has been won.
The Democratic platform, adopted last
June in Philadelphia, dealt with the
subject of constitutional amendment,
but left the matter rather up in the air,
although it declared strongly for the
New Deal laws which had been invali-
dated by the Supreme Court under the
Constitution. 1t said: I'VE know that
drought, dustStorms, minimum wages
maximum hours, child labor and work.
ing conditions in industry, monopolistic
and unfair business practices cannot be
adequately handled exclusively by 48
separate State Legislatures, 48 sepa-
rate State administrations, and 48 Sepa-
rate State courts. We have sought,
and will continue to seek, to meet these
problems through legislation within the
Constitution. If these problems cannot
be effectually solved by legislation within
the Constitution, We shall seek such
clarifying amendment as will assure to
the Legislatures of the several States
and to the Congress, each within its
proper jurisdiction, the power to enact
those laws which the State and Federal
Legislatures, within their respective
spheres, shall find necessary, In order
adequately to regulate commerce, pro-
tect public health and safety, and safe
guard economic security. Thus we pro-
pose to maintain the letter and spirit
Of the Constitution"
Judgment as to whether these prob
lens can be solved by laws enacted
within the terms of the present Consti-
tuition is left, presumably, to the New
Deal administration. 1t is for that rea-
son that the Presidents announcement
regarding plans for legislation is awaited
with the keenest interest.
If the principles of the N. r. A. and
other New Deal acts now defunct are to
be revived, it appears that that end must
be accomplished either through the
means of an amendment to the Consti-
tuition or through tampering with the
powers of the Supreme Court. Far
preferable would be the submission of a
specific amendment to the Constitution
Any attempt to limit the powers of the
court and to restrict the independence
of the judiciary would be sad blow to
American liberty. Proposals have been
made in the past to take away from the
court the power to pass on the consti-
tutionality of acts of Congress or to
make it impossible for the court to rule
unconstitutional an act of Congress ex-
cept by decisions in which seven of the
nine justices concur. Either of these
propositions would be bad. The first be-
cause it would leave the citizens of the
United States and their liberties within
the absolute control of a politically
minded Congress. The second because
1t would in effect permit small minority
OF the court to declare law constitu-
tional.