Evening star., 1937-03-01
BLACK SCORESF|VE|
COURT MEMBERS
Impress Own PHILOSOPHERS
on Law, He Charges Be-
fore Town Hall.

WI - SVt1 stNts
Setting the tempo for the Town
Halls most tumultuous session, Sena-
tor Black, Democrat. of Alabama, last
night openly charged five members of
the Supreme Court with impressing
their own economic and political
PHILOSOPHERS on the law of the land
While the thousand-odd listeners ap-
plauded or gasped according to their
own views, the cauStic Alabama legis-
lator, an ardent supporter of the
Roosevelt administration, excoriated
the conservative members of the high
tribunal in the strongest language
used to date by any advocate of jul
dlcial reform.
Every effort to legislate for the
hours and the right of collective bar
gaining has been vetoed by the Su-
preme Court" Black shouted.
Have Usurped Right.
THE Judges have uSurped the right
to say what the law should be and
what it Is. They have assumed this
power by writing judge-made amend
ment into the Constitution. say the
judges in effect, have put this amend
ment in the Constitution-the people
didn't put it there-and I say We
ought to put judges on the bench to
take it out.
Your Constitution today is what
Justices Roberts, Butler, Van De-
vanter. McReynolds and Sutherland
say it is-not what the Constitution
itself says. These judges are carry
ing out their own economic and po-
lltical PHILOSOPHERS on the bench and
making it the law.
We propose to add judges to that
court with philosophy in harmony
with the progress of the country as the
only way to preserve the Constitution
and the advance of civilization"
Questioning Becomes Heated.
After Representative Brewster, Re-
publican, of Maine, speaking in op-
position to the proposed judicial
change, had declared the Supreme
Court is the one place in the world
today where minorities can find a
haven" the meeting was thrown open
to questions from the audience-a
move that touched off the real fire
works of the evening.
The questions came so fast and some
were so controversially Worded that DR..
Frank.Bohn had considerable difficulty
maintaining order and Senator Black
and Representative Brewster at times
showed signs of indignation.
How" demanded a man in the back
of the room, can rubber stamp Con-
gress represent the will of the people?"
Dr. Bohn started to rule the ques-
ton out of order. but Senator Black
had already grabbed microphone and
begun his reply:
That" the Senator shouted, lis the
same type of propaganda that resulted
in As of the 48 States going for Presi-
dent Roosevelt last November"
Another member of the audience
hShcu NIlCIIlcI poChIIlS llIC SOul
wasn't temporary solution.
Whether packing or unpacking the
court is temporary solution, I won't
attempt to say" Black answered, "but
occasionally both are desirable"
Takes Issue With Brewster.
An elderly man in the second row
then arose to take issue with Brewster.
You said" he began. that no one
has challenged the integrity of the
court. I wonder if you are not aware
that many of us challenge its integrity
on the ground"
Brewster interrupted at that point
to ask whether his questioner meant
integrity or intelligence.
Il mean BOTH" the inquisitor
shouted in reply. Five of them used
to be corporation lawyers. Why, I'll
wager the first words they uttered
when their mothers gave them castor
oil Were-.'
DR.. Bohn leaped for the microphone
at that juncture and declared the
statement improper. since it was not
a question. Unabashed. the elderly
man resumed his interrupted observa-
tions in louder voice, but whatever he
said was lost, for Dr. Bohn, having the
benefit of the loud speaker system,
matched him word for word and by
sheer volume of sound succeeded in
drowning the revelation of the justices
verbal reaction to their first taste of
castor oil.
Question Ruled Out.
The chairman had still more work
TO do, however, for as soon as the
laughter following this tilt died out,
another man asked: Why didn't the
President tell us in November what
he was going to do?"
Once again DR.. Bohn ruled the in
quiry improper, declaring it expressed
an opinion instead Of submitting a
question.
Granting that the Constitution may
not be adequate to cover the enact
ment of legislation to meet modern
LOST.