Evening star., 1937-02-21
BY the Associated Press.

0y ItS HSsSSiebSa ASSs'
CHICAGO, February 20.-Follow'
ing is the text of former President
Hoover's address on The Supreme
Court" before the Union League Clul
today:
have been glad to meet a long
standing invitation of this society.
The Union League Club of Chi
cago was formed in the time Of
a great constitutional crisis and
for the purpose of fighting for
human liberty. 1t is now a nom
partisan body. But it is no less
devoted to constitutional govern
ment. And today, with President
Roosevelt'S proposals as to the Su-
preme Court, We are faced with
the greatest constitutional queS-
tion in these 70 years.
1t is a magnificent thing for the
Nation that the ebate upon it has
risen far above partisanship. The
proposal is too grave to be dealt
with on such terms. 1t Is an in
spring thing that in this question
tEe leadership to maintain the in
tegrity of the American form OF
government has been begun by
eminent Senators belonging to the
Presidents own party. This lead
ership, which W all gladly foi.ow,
places this issue on the highest
plane of citizenship without re-
gard to party, to F artisan politics,
to personal cmbition.
Neither Is the country divided
upon group or class lines. Some
people seem to think that all Amer
leans can be divided into radicals,
Tories, liberals, conservatives, pro-
gressives. reactionaries, right
wing" or "left wing" These i'm
ported terme do not fit very well
in America. They are used often
as epithetS to express our bad
opinions of somebody else. But
whatever they do mean. we find
leading members of each Of these
claSsifications carrying the banner
of opposition to the Presidents pro-
poSals.
Some months ago I made an
address at Cleveland in which I
directed attention to the prob
lens of human liberty. Natlon-
wide the press, even those %
had long been my opponents, were
extraordinarily eulogistic of that
speech. AS a method OF spread
ing flowers over the termination
of my party career the opp Dsition
press insisted on electing me to
the Office of elder stateman. l
have not assumed that high Office.
But at least it marks the accep-
tance of the fact that the era in
my life has gone by when party
aspects of such an issue concern
me. AT least our opponents cannot
associate me either with the Lib
erty League, whose leading men,
bers were so oppose to my views
of government and so bitterly
opposed my election, nor with
those radicals with whose ideas
of a collectivist America I have
SO often been in collision. I am
speaking tonight not as a Repub-
lican; I am speaking as an Amer
lean who has witnessed the decay
and destruction of human liberty
in many lands, who as President
has witnessed the movement Of
these great iloot ~hich are test
ing the American leVees built to
protect free men.
Issue Is Clarified
BY Wave of Debates.
Seldom has debate so quickly
famed up across the >'ation. 1t
is not alone public men and
journalists who are engaged in
this discussion. 1t is alive today
between farmers in the field. -"ork-
ers at the bench, women in their
homes and men in their offices.
The very extent Of the debate
illuminates the gravity of the
issue.
BY this debate the issue has
already been greatly clarified. That
real issue is whether the Presi-
cent By the appointment Of aGdi-
tional judges upon the Supreme
Court shall revise the Constitu-
tion-or whether change in the
Constitution shall be submitted to
the people as the Constitution
itself provides.
This is no lawyers dispute over
legalisms. This is the peoples
problem. It reaches to the very
center OF their liberties. And 1t