The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1937-08-12
SEEN
HEARD
around the
NATIONAL
CAPITAL
By Carter Field y
By Carter Field i

Washington.-The Is distinct
possibility that congress, instead of
the Supreme court, may prove the
chief obstacle next year to Presi-
dent Roosevelt's New Deal pro-
gram. Close friends assert that the
President has not given up his hope
for reform" of the Supreme court
that with the converting OF con-
gress in January he will lay his
plans to put some sort of legisla-
ton through to obtain his objec-
tives, or resort to the constitutional
amendment route. which he has al
ways objected to as too slow.
There is no doubt that this is his
present intention. But he just may
find himself faced with new prob
lens next January. The point is
that congress is feeling its oats. It
is in no mood for insurgency. Every
thing on the surface Is going to be
kept as peaceful as possible. DEM
ocrats will be thinking of the pri-
maries and election next summer
and fall. They do not want to en-
courage gentIemen-or iadies-baek
home to run against them in the
Democratic primaries. with eloyal-
ty to the President" as the chief is
sue. They have a healthy respect
for the Notwithstanding into ev-
cry county of every state-Which
Jim Farley has built up.
But there are many degrees OF
obedience-many fine lines where
loyalty to the President enters. 1t
certainly does enter into the phras-
ing of bills, but it is very difficult
to make the folks back home under
stand this.
On q clean-cut question such as
whether six additional justices shall
be added to the Supreme court there
are no such fine lines. One has to
be for the President or against him.
But most legislative matters are
not so clearly defined. And it is
easy for Democratic senator to
protest the utmost loyalty to the
Chief Executive but insist that Har-
old Ickes, or Harry Hopkins, or
Henry Wallace had deceived the
President into taking a very un-
Democratic positionl
Brain Trusters Out
In the first place, there Is no
chance whatever. judging from the
present temper of senators and rep
resentatives, that there will be any
more Brain Trust drafting of legis-
lation-much less permitting
Brain Truster to sit in on the meet
ings of a conference committee
seeking to rewrite the senate and
house drafts of piece of legisla-
ton into some compromise form
that will be acceptable to both. This
happened in the famous public util-
ity holding company death sentence
bill, but it is not likely to happen
again.
Moreover, the struggle to control
the party, looking forward to the
1910 campaign, with view to NOM
mating Roosevelt's successor and
writing the platform of that year,
has already begun. There is very
strong group of Democrats who do
not intend that the Democratic NOM
inee of 1910 shall be a New Dealer.
Words of praise for the Roosevelt
administration will drip from the
platform, il they have their way,
but there will be a good deal of
hypocrisy and party expediency in
them. Their real intention is to
carry the Democratic party back
quite a step toward the ideals of
such men as Carter Glass and Jo-
siah Bailey, rather than forward to
those of Felix Frankfurter and Ben
Cohen.
So it Is possible, If not probable,
that Mr.. Roosevelt will have good
deal OF trouble in getting just what
he wants from congress next year,
despite the oratory from the very
men who will be seeking to block
him praising him to the skies. 1t
is the conviction ormany disinterest-
ed observers that congress next
year will pass no legislation which
the present Supreme court would
not approve. But it looks as If 1t
win be a most interesting session.
Still a Puzzle
The attack of Gov. George Fl.
Earle of Pennsylvania on Gov. Her
bert H. Lehman of New York in
connection with Lehman's letter to
Senator Robert F. Wagner on the
Supreme court issue is still puzzling
Washington politicians.
Every one here has assumed for
a long time that Governor Earle
was hearing the buzzing OF the pres
idential bee practically continuous
ly. So they have been trying to fit
together the pieces OF this iigsaw
puzzle and get the picture which
must be in Governor Earle's mind.
One phase of it is OF course very
clear. Earle wanted to curry favor
with President Roosevelt. He has
lost no opportunity to do that-not
only to praise the President extrav-
agantly at every opportunity, but to
demonstrate himself, in one way or
,rothor aq hpinp even more Nnm