Evening star., 1937-03-01

Mr.. Roosevelt's decision to take his
Supreme Court case to the country on
March in fireside broadcast on "the
state of the Union" does not fly the
white flag of surrender. but it is con-
sidered throughout political Washing
ton as an unmistakable S o S. There
can be little doubt that the volume OF
protest and opposition aroused by his
judiciary program has taken the Presl-
dent by surprise and that it finally con-
vinced him he must roll up his sleeves
and fight without further delay. All
sorts of tales persist as to the reason
which at last impelled F. D. r. to hurl
the full weight of his personal influence
into the breach. One circumstantial
report is that trusted Capitol leaders
brought word to the White House that
as of today the Supreme Court end OF
the judiciary bill hasn't the glimmer OF
a chance of passage. This lugubrious
assurance was accompanied by the re-
puted statement that not more than %
Senate votes at the outside could be
absolutely relied upon for the proposal
in its present form. 1t was when he was
confronted by this alarming situation
that Mr.. Roosevelt apparently deter
mined to lose no time in appealing to
MY friends" and presenting his argu-
ments in the forceful, magnetic fashion
of which he is an acknowledged master.
The Nation may be prepared for a
supreme effort by Americas most color
full broadcaSter.
His forthcoming heart-to-heart talk
will be the Presidents eighth So-called
fireside chat since he took Office in 1888,
and his maiden appearance on the air
waves for a set address since his inau-
guration for a second term in January.
The other Roosevelt radio contradictions
with the people were as follows: March
IL. 1933 on the banking situation; May
7. 1898, report of progress since March
4; October %. 1888 a survey of general
conditions; June %, 1884, The New
Deal-Has It Aided You?"; September
80. 1884, general conditions; April 20,
1885, the work relief bill, and September
6, 1896, the drought situation. Court
opposition leaders. freely conceding the
Presidents unmatched powers of per-
SuaSion at the microphone, expect him
to change a good many opinions
throughout the country and make prob
ably thousands Of converts to his cause.
They do not believe that his Intervention
will have any appreciable effect on the
Senate vote, unless it should produce a
far greater upturn of popular Sentl-
ment in Mr.. Roosevelt's favor than is
now thought likely. In light of a char
acteriStic fact that single Senator
Vandenberg of Michigan-has received
$4,000 letters, of which only rs support
the President, it will need something
approaching miracle to reverse the ap-
parent popular verdict against the
administration proposals.
X xk
Speculation is necessarily rife as to
the actual authorship of the Supreme
Court reform scheme. Rumor's latest
candidate for that distinction is Charles
Edward Clark, dean of the Yale Law
School. According to reports drifting
down from New Haven, Prof. Clark was
in Washington a week or 10 days before
the judiciary bombshell was sprung upon
the country. Faculty associates are said
to have wondered at the time what was
the cause of his protracted absence and
presence in the National Capital. As the
story now has it, his sojourn was asso-
ciated with the developments that are
stirring the country from end to end.
Attorney General Cummings took his
law degree at Yale in 1893.
+ X x
Newest addition to Washington's ever
growing list of authors is Richard l..
Stokes, who has Joined the Capital
bureau of the st. Louis Post-Dspatch.