Evening star., 1936-11-08
Justice Brandeis to Mark 8Oth
Birthday on Friday the 18th
Has Cjiven No Indication
He Desires to Put
A,Uay Robes.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis, associate
Justice of the Supreme Court and
famed as a spokesman OF liberal doc.
trine, celebrates his 80th birthday an
niversary next Friday, the 18th.
Eligible for retirement since 1926.
Brandeis. oldest of the nine justices,
remains immersed in work and study
and has given no indication he wants
to put aside the silk robes Of the
court
In keeping with his habits Of years,
the justice planned no unusual cele-
bration Of his birthday anniversary,
other than perhaps a small family
gathering
A vigorous defender OF many New
Deal measures and social experi-
mentation, Brandeis has voted to up
hold the Roosevelt administration IN
7 of the 13 cases decided up to the
present term Of the court.
His views on experimentation"
word often used in campaign speeches
since the New Deal began its legis-
lative program, may be summed up
in his dissenting opinion on the Okla
homa ice. case when the court in
validated law regulating competition
In the ice business.
Must Let Minds Be Bold.
ITO stay experimentation in things
social and economic is q grave re-
sponsibility," said the justice in q
long exposition of his views.
Denial of the right to experiment
may be fraught with serious conse-
quences to the Nation. 1t is one
of the happy incidents Of the Federal
system that single courageous State
may, il its citizens choose. serve as
q laboratory and try novel social and
economic experiments without risk
to the rest Of the country.
This court has the power to pre-
vent an experiment. - But in the
exercise of this high power We must
be ever on our guard. II we
would guide by the light Of reason
we must let our minds be bold"
This opinion, in 1882, was often
recalled in the days that followed
when many New Deal measures were
falling before the power Of the court
Justices Brandeis. Cardozo and Stone
dissenting, became q well-known ap-
pendix to decisions Of the court. A
notable exception was the N. r. A..
which was thrown down by unanimous
decision.
A native Of Louisville. KY. Brandeis
was educated in schools there, In Ger
many and at Harvard. He entered the
Harvard Law School in 1875 while
Longfellow, Lowell and DR.. Holmes
still were on the college faculty anc
the aged Ralph Waldo Emerson de.
livered an OCCASIONAL lecture.
Began Career in Boston.
After a short period of practice ir
st. Louis, Brandeis settled down ir
Boston and there began to lay tht
ground work of a philosophy which
later was to bring forth furious con.
demnation on one hand and Lavish
praise on the other.
| In the years before 1916 he made fol
| himself formidable enemies because
of extensive litigation in which HI
played a major part.
Twenty years after he assembled the
bench, amid a bitter. long-raging con-
troversy over his nomination by Presi.
dent Wilson. The enemies came te
Washington, but the friends came, too
Wilson was criticized for making the
nomination in the first place anc
powerful influence was brought to beal
upon him to withdraw 1t. He knew q
fight was coming before Brandeis tool
the seat left vacant by the death oi
Justice Lamar Brandeis' name wen
to the Senate January %, 1915.
In the stormy hearings Of the Sen
ate Judiciary Committee Brandeis' ca
reer as a lawyer was talked over fo
months. Two volumes of some ! ,60l
pages of testimony were taken.
The hearings began February ant
not until June did the Senate con
firm the nomination by AZ to %.
Integrity Attacked.
Opposition witnesses attacked tn,
nominees integrity as a lawyer. From
some quarters there was also opposi
ton to Brandeis because he was a Jew
the first to be nominated to the high
est court. The opposition described
him variously as "a man of furiou!
partisanship," dangerous radical
and one lacking judicial tempera.
ment."
After the hearings had run fol
three months. Chairman Culberson o.
the Senate Judiciary Committee wrott
| to President Wilson to ask the ''rea.
sons" for making the nomination. Tit
same day, May S, the President gave
his reasons.
Many charges have been mad.
against Mr.. Brandeis: the report oi
your subcommittee has already made
1t plain to you and to the country
at large how unfounded those charges
| were" Wilson wrote. IT myself looked
into them three years ago when I de.
sired to make Mr.. Brandeis a membel
Of my cabinet and found that they
proceeded for the most part from
those who hated Mr.. Brandeis be.
cause he had refused to be serviceabls