Evening star., 1937-02-13

government. however, Mrs. Delafield
sums up by writing that the only
really distressing thing about the coun-
try seemed to her to be the general
hostile fear of individual thinking
and the absolutely SNUG assurance
with which the young, Communist
trained generation takes to itself not
only all wisdom, but all knowledge.
The facts Of history, she discovered,
have been rearranged Ito put 1t gently
by the Communist party to suit Com
munist theory, and they are taught in
this rather special form IL the Com
munist schools. Mrs. Delafield seems
to think that there is no more reason
to admire Communist-sponsored mis-
information or Communist-ordered
repression of individual thought than
there is to defend the same evils under
other government forms. But, of
course, she is only capitalist hailing
from democracy. She has written q
very nice book.
THE ULTIMATE POWER. BY Nor
ris l.. Ernst. New York: Double
day, Doran & Co., Inc.
THE entire question Of the Supreme
Court is gone into at length in
this book by the New York lawyer
who has won fame as counsel for
the American Civil Liberties Union.
Mr.. Ernst goes back to the origin
~ fha ,raeaot naptrnuarSu-tha Ton-
stitution. At great length he retells
the Observation-Disclosures story of
the framing of that document. Most
pertinent to his discussion is the at
titude of the founding fathers on the
powers Of the Supreme Court. No.
where in that document and nowhere
in the minds of its drafters, he says.
was there any intention or hope that
the court some day would take unto
itself the power to invalidate laws
of Congress.
The general attitude Of the men in
Philadelphia in that Summer Of 1887
was that the best possible make
shift should be found and submitted
to the country as soon as possible,
Mr.. Ernst says, all realizing that what
they could possibly accomplish in the
would have to be changed
regularly and drastically as the coun-
try changed. He holsters this asser-
lion with innumerable quotations from
The fathers themselves.
The country did change, and at
"a ,@nfyat Rp 81 hi 80
ton to how the change affected the
court and how the court affected the
country. There was the Marbury de-
cision; then the Dred Scott decision,
and then the war. There were other
decisions involving strange reversals,
'usurpation" Of power, hair-splitting,
Illustration of the will of the people"
and now the New Deal war.
Mr.. Ernst is convinced the courts
control over laws making national
legislation on wages, hours, child labor
and other social questions must be
stopped If democracy Is to be effec-
tive. The ultimate power of gov
ernment must flow without hindrance
from the people to their elected re-
sponsible officials, he says.
In view OF the Roosevelt judiciary
it is interesting to note what
this commentator, who seeks to curb
the court, says Of increasing its size:
Others urge-If we cannot add
all the Senators to the bench "a
plan previously discussed), why
not add one or two judges as We
have done in the past? This pro-
posal seems to me TO be one Of
cringing desperation. 1t might
bring temporary relief, but GER
tainly has no enduring benefits.
To dig the Supreme Court out OF
q hole we filled vacancies in the
'70s, but aside from the reversal
of the one opinion in the legal
tender case there was no visible
enduring benefit.
He favors an amendment giving
Congress power to override any de-
cision of the court. In support, he
quotes James Madison and cites the
English system.
This book could not possibly be
more timely. 1t is spirited and pas
,ionate rather than analytical, but it
IS interesting to any one who is going
10 hear all sides in this great con-
and know its background.
E. T.
OF AQUITAINE. BY Mel
rich v. Rosenberg. Boston: Hough-
ton-Mif1in Co.
THIS highly-readable book seems
to be in the best fashion of the
is, 1t is work Of his
tory, written with coloring of the au-
thor's individual shades Of irony. Such
works are being produced in increasing
at this time, and they seem
to the reviewer to mark the most
hopeful literary growth anywhere to
be deserted on somewhat fat hori-
zon. Mr.. Philip Guedalla's "The
Hundred Years was a recent brill
liant example OF the movement-if
it may be called. Eleanor
Of Aquitaine," while treating OF
vastly different historical period, is In
the same tradition.
It is not biography of the vivacious
Queen, as its title may lead one TO
suppose. 1t is history Of the time
In which she lived, as ii passed in the
various countries which she favored
with her presence and attention. It is
a history Of manners. enterprises, poll
tics. Eleanor moves through the
pages. But there is much more TO the
book than her career It is in sum a
history of the courts of France and
England during her lifetime
1t Is, Of course, not done with minute
detail or profound pondering. 1t is
light and written for light reading
although the author is manifestly a
scholar. He sees his courtly subjects
with an ironical eye and paints them
with just that tinge OF absurdity
which lends enchantment to the COM
placent modern readers view. He
makes chronicle, indeed, which Is as
ingenious as those old records from
which he has taken his materials
His book Is recommended as one OF
he ~