Evening star., 1937-04-18
Chief Justice Hughes
Shows His Skill
BY OVEN L. SCOTT.

Is drawing full credit from friends and
opponents alike for the skill with which
he Is guiding the Supreme Court through
the present crisis IN its history. A series
OF strategic maneuvers, eliminating on
April IL, left Franklin Roosevelt, at
fifty-flve, definitely on the defensive, but
as determined as ever to have his way.
Seldom If ever before in the long life
OF the Supreme Court-so the constitu-
tional experts say-has a Chief Justice
functioned with equal brilliance to guide
the court away from pitfalls that con-
fronted it. The Governments own legal
lights do not make exception for John
: Marshall whose task, they contend, was
less difficult than that OF Chief Justice
Hughes.
The reason is that the Chief Justice,
at the start of the present term OF the
Supreme Court, faced what to many of
his friends looked like an almost hope
less situation.
A majority of the court had decided
that neither the Federal Government nor
the State governments possessed power
to regulate vital phases OF industry or
agriculture. They had charted out
mo mans land" in which government OF
all kinds was powerless.
Not only that, the court majority had
stopped President Roosevelt in his tracks.
Their decisions staked out field for
Federal Government action that ap-
peared to doom most of the New Deal
experiments not previously killed. Those
decisions already had offended a big
part of the farm population as we'll as
John L. Lewis and his expanding bat
talions Of workers.
After the November election Chief
Justice Hughes and his associates found
themselves on an uncomfortable spot.
They faced very determined President.
Backed by unprecedented popular ma
jorities and in control of Congress
in which the opposition party was nearly
obliterated. That President had prom
ised the people to solve their many
problems. Yet-owing to the court-he
felt that he lacked power to move In the
directions in which he desired to move.
On February Mr. Roosevelt an
nounced his direct frontal attack on the
court itself
There seemed to be little that the
justices could do to defend themselves.
They could not speak out publicly to
argue with the President. Then the
position in which they were placed was
made more uncomfortable by the knowl-
edge that Mr.. Roosevelt definitely had
assurance of enough votes in Congress
to force change in the membership
of the court.
At this stage the biographers of the
Chief Justice were about ready to con-
clude that their subject would become
known to history as the leader who had
guided his court to pinnacle Of power
only to face defeat and loss of powers
at the hands of the other two CO.
ordinate branches of the Government.
This was counting without the skill
and persuasive ability of Mr.. Hughes.
The Chief Justice headed a court in
which there was an unusual division of
viewpoints. Four out of nine justices
believed that the Constitution definitely
forbade any broadening OF Federal Gov
ernment power. Three definitely ap-
proved OF allowing Congress to act with
in broad limits. Justice Owen Roberts
and the Chief Justice held the balance
Of power
During the early days of the New Deal,
Justice Roberts went along with the
Chief Justice and the three liberal con-
structionists to approve of experiments.
He accepted the Presidents dollar de-
valuation and approved of State control
over milk prices. But then suddenly.
Justice Roberts was found lined up with
the four strict constructionists. His vote
upset the railroad retirement act. He
wrote the decisions overturning the A.
A. A. farm control experiment. His
vote helped to destroy the New York
State minimum wage law for women.
Lawyers began to say, LAS goes Owen
Roberts, so goes the Nation"
Chief Justice Hughes took advantage
of that situation to make history With
the court under attack, he saw that the
attitude Of one justice could upset the
strategy OF the courts opponents. There
followed long delay in decisions on two
vital cases. But when that delay was
followed by action, Justice Roberts was
found voting with the four other liberals.
The Chief Justice gets credit for an
historic feat in persuasion.
X *+
Justice Roberts joined with the liberals
to uphold the New York State unem-
ployment insurance law in 4-to-4 deci-
sion. He approved the Washington State
minimum wage law for women He ac-
cepted the right of individual States
acting with congressional approval-to
bar prison-made goods from other States.
He went along with laws for State con-
troll over farm prices
On the basis Of this attitude, the Chief
Justice was able to offer the ground
work for plan of State control over
industry and agriculture.
High strategists Of the New Deal con-
cluded that Mr.. Hughes really was Of
fering the country formula for State
A. A. AS, State N. r. AS, State social
security laws and State labor laws as an
alternative to the Presidents program
OF Federal regulation in these fields.
They saw development of a new States
rights battle.
But then, on April IL. again with the
help of Justice Roberts, the Chief Justice
provided a base for a broader use of
Federal Government power to regulate
in fields that President Roosevelt had
concluded were closed to the Govern
ment by earlier court decisions.
The court majority now has said that
the Government in Washington has
power to act whenever necessary to pre-
vent distractions to the free now Of
commerce among the States In its
other recent decisions, the court had
held that individual States have power
tn act-recardlesS ~ tho d,,a proco..