Evening star., 1936-10-04
BY ROBERT CRAWFORD.

YdO . WHO anu WlllCu 10 W1Ldc
A/ Is creating a good deal Of
wv argument and controversy
over whether Mr.. Henry
Varnum Poor, has committed lese
majeste in his mural decoration OUT
side Of the Office Of the Attorney Gen.
eral, in the Department Of Justice,
which depicts the figure Of lawyer
pleading case before the Supreme
Court, with his back to the bench,
and whether the aforesaid lawyer Is
or Is not the Attorney General him.
self. The fact Of the lawyer having
. bald head IS only circunlstantial
evidence and might apply to many
lawyers learned in the law. There is
also nothing in the prima facie evi-
dence that because the gentleman
wears q wing collar and q four-in-
hand tie that 1t is Mr.. Cummings, for
while he affects wing collars and smart
four-in-hands, there are others.
The etiquette Of the Supreme Court
Of the United States Is as inflexible as
that Of the old Austrian Court, and
there are some things that are simply
not done. AS several of the justices Of
the court frequently sit through a
hearing with closed eyes and immobile
countenances, 1t may be that the gentle
man in the mural thought they would
not see which way he was turned.
There Is no doubt, however, that the
central figure on the bench Is Chief
-T,,sfico Mr. Cborlos ryops YYuohae
and that the associate justice on his
right is Justice Brandeis-the luxu-
rant white hair Is unmistakable. This
mural in the Department of Justice
is considered one Of Mr.. Poor's best.
The modern school of art does not
appeal to every one and those famil-
lar with Mr.. Poor's work in the Metro
politan Museum and the Montrose
Gallery, New York, are inclined to
think he rather excels In pottery and
tile decoration. He received his art
education at the Slade School in Lon
don and the Julian Academy in Paris.
Brandeis Family History
Enlightening and Charming.
Speaking of Justice Brandeis: There
Is perhaps no man on the Supreme
Court bench who Is so generally known
to the rank and file of Americans as
Mr.. Justice Brandeis. MIR. Alfred
Lief's new book, THE Personal His
tory Of an American Ideal" is inter-
esting. delightful and comprehensively
Informative when 1t comes to the pub
lie service and professional life of the
great lawyer. but to understand the
real why and wherefore, the back
ground, his heritage and the formative
period of his life, one gathers more
from the biography Of the Goldmark
and Brandeis families, written some
time ago by his niece, Josephine Gold
mark. This biography, Pilgrims Of
48. or One Mans Part in the Austrian
Revolution of 1848 and a Family Mi
CRATES to America" Is one of those
family histories which have an init
mate and unusual charm for even the
stranger. Joseph Goldmark, the
original Of "One Mans Part in the
Revolution" was scholar and gen.
tleman who became distinguished In
this country as well as abroad. He
was the father-in Of Justice
Brandeis and the husband Of the clever
and beautiful Regina Goldmark, who
Is said to have been all that her name
implied.
The story Of the cultured home life
Of the Brandeis and Goldmark fami-
lies, which settled in Cincinnati,
shortly after coming to the States,
their dependence upon books, music
and family correspondence with loved
ones left in the old country, remind
one a bit of Countess de Chambrun's
description of life in the Middle West
in the early pioneer days, which she
so delightfully."- describes in her story Of
Nicholas Longworth, and which was
revelation to the effete East who