Evening star., 1937-08-21

OF government that would accom-
pany it.
1t may be that old and serviceabl
friend Of commentators, the future
historian, looking back ten or twenty
or a hundred years from now, will say
that the high tide of Mr.. Roosevelt 8
adventure was February S of this year.
That was the day he specta cularly and
confidently sent to Congress 4 meas
ure written out to the last comma,
which he called on Congress to pass
and thereby give him Supreme Court
that would validate anything he chose
to do.
For the present We cannot know as
much as the future historian. We
cannot know whether Mr.. Roosevelt s
adventure will 60 farther, or ebb.
However, the factors which will de-
termine the answer exist in the pres
ent and many Of them can be ex-
amined.
When Mr.. Roosevelt made his at
tempt to change the court, q majority
OF his party in Congress were appalled,.
We can look upon this majority as .
group, although they took different
ways of expressing their common feel
ing. The group included some who
felt the best way to get the party and
the country through bad situa ton
was for them to continue to support
tie President, even to announce that
they would vote for his court
measure.
Congress Ready for Farley
As a group they determine dto check
the President-but to manage it with
out offending him or making their
to put in words the attitude of the
Democrats in the Senate toward Mr..
Roosevelt last February, one could pic
ture them as saying to him: See here,
you really must not do this. We aren':
going to make any party split nor any
public trouble. But you must cooperate
with us. We will manage somehow to
get by this court measure you have
started without humiliating you: we'll
pass q modified measure adding two
justices OF the court or something Of
the sort. But you must consult with
us and cooperate with us. There are
some other things you have gone too
far with and you must back away
from these, too-the announcement
Of c. l. O., for example, and the con-
donation Of 'sit-down' strikes. And we
must bring an end to this colossal
spending. And for the future you
really must not send measures to Con-
gress without telling us in advance.
But well manage 1t without any row.
You and we must cooperate"
In short, the Democratic leaders
tried to bring about with Mr.. Roosevelt
the status that normally exists be-
tween every President and the leaders
Of his party in Congress But Mr..
Roosevelt would not have it that way.
He made radio speech on March 4
In which he angrily claseed many of
the Democrats in Congress with the
Tories and defied and threatened
them
nevertheless the Democrats in Con-
gress continued to try to achieve CO.
operation between themselves and the
President. In July. when the defeat
OF the court measure was effected, the
Democrats in Congress tried to man.
age 1t by kind Of consent arrange
ment with the President, tried to avoid
hurting the Presidents prestige, tried
to have mutuality between him and
them. For few days 1t was thought
this was accomplished. 1t was thought
the President would appoint some good
Democratic lawyer Of high standing
to the vacancy on the supreme bench
But the President fell into 4 mood
OF what his admirers call Dutch