Evening star., 1937-03-24
OUTBURSTSMA
|. HEARING ON PLAN
TO ADD TO COURT
Spectators Are Warned to
Cease Exhibitions of
Partisan Feeling.
PRINCETON PRESIDENT
SEES DANGER TO NATION
Dodds Criticizes President for At
tempting to Make 1t Appear
Crisis Exists.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN,

Two outbreaks of partisan feeling
among spectators during the question
ing of President Harold w. Dodds of
Princeton University by the Senate
Judiciary Committee today resulted in
a threat to hold future hearings on the
Roosevelt court bill in executive ses-
sion.
For the first time since the hearings
started, spectators applauded loudly
when Senator Burke, Democrat, of
Nebraska, objected to a question asked
DR.. Dodds by Senator McGill, Demo-
crat, of Kansas. The university presi-
dent was appearing in opposition to
the plan to increase the Supreme Court
membership.
McGill had asked for a technical in
depreciation of section of the Con-
stitution. Burke. explaining that DR..
Dodds was not called as a constitu-
tlonal authority, suggested the question
be withheld until experts on the sub
Ject take the stand.
When the applause subSided, Chair
man Ashurst, apparently surprised,
politely rebuked the spectators.
A moment later, Senator Hatch,
Democrat, of New Mexico. objected to
other Senators interrupting McGiu.
This drew loud applause from ad-
minstration supporters in the
audience.
Senator Logan, Democrat. of Ken
lucky obtained the floor and said:
The chairman evidently is not
hard-boiled enough. If this happens
again, I am going to move that future
sessions be held in executive sessions"
Guards Ordered to Act.
Ashurst agreed, and instructed the
guards to politely but effectively" re-
move any members of the audience
who applaud in the future.
Comment by Cummings.
Attorney General Cummings at his
press conference today was asked to
comment on the letter written by
Chief Justice Hughes to Senator
Wheeler, Democrat, of Montana, in
which he opposed increasing the
membership of the Supreme Court.
All l have to say, and it is all"
said the Attorney General, lis that
the statement of the Chief Justice is
interesting. 1 hope it will be given
careful study as it will no doubt be
the subject of discussion as the debate
goes on"
Earlier Dodds, speaking out against
President Roosevelt's proposal, had
told the committee "the leader or
party who makes two emergencies
grow where only one grew before
renders the Nation a grave diSService.
The university president criticized
Mr. Roosevelt for attempting to make
it appear that a crisis exists in this
country demanding immediate action
on the court bill. He said a danger
Gus emergency psychology" is being
engendered.
I'VE are told that broad unspeci-
fed powers are needed at once"
President Dodds continued, because
an emergency of horriflc proportions
exists"
The witness added: 'TempeStuous
gales are sweeping over world poll
tics and one democracy after another
has given up their fight. Their de-
mise was not sudden or instantaneous,
but followed in each case a series of
recurring emergencies. each one SEEM
ing to demand the surrender of some
feature of popular government in
favor of the Executive.
The Nazi victory in Germany was
in accordance with the letter of the
law, Article 48 of the German constitu-
ton. But it had been preceded by
series of executive DEGREES under the
same article, each one chiseling a little
(See JUDICIARY, Page A-4)