Evening star., 1937-03-07
BURKE LAUNCHES
NEW ASSAULT ON
COURT PROPOSAL
Presidents Program Called
Diligently Cunning and
Deceptive.
RADIO ADDRESS FIRST
REPLY TO DINNER PLEA
Hearings on Bill to Begin Wed.
nesday Before Judiciary Com
mittee of Senate.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

Describing the attack of President
Roosevelt on the Supreme Court as
"diligent and surprisingly cunning
and deceptive program to diScredit"
the court in the minds of the people,
Senator Burke. Democrat. of Ne
braska, replied to the Presidents
Victory Dinner address over the radio
last night.
The Nebraska Senator. one of the
leaders of the opposition to the
Presidents plan to remake the Su-
preme Court and its decisions. linked
with Mr.. Roosevelt's attack on the
court Harry L. Hopkins. head of the
w. P. A. and chief relief admins
traitor
"A subordinate of the President" +"
Burke said, charged with the dis
bursement of billions of public funds
for the relief of our needy citizens,
tells them that reactionary Supreme
Court may prevent future payments.
They have SoWn the wind" con-
tinued Burke. referring to the Presi-
dent and Hopkins. They should not
be surprised if now We reap the
whirlwind. Following each fresh
attack, an increasing number of
our people. whose need is great and
whose confidence in our chosen
leadership is high, are responding
We can't have everything we
want, and as quickly as We want it,
because the courts stand in the way.
The President says so. Hopkins says
the same. Then why wait. Away with
the courts! We will leave it all to
| the President"
"Disservice to Democracy."
Senator Burke insisted that mo
greater disservice was ever done to
the cause Of democracy than that
which may result from these attacks
OF the Chief Executive and his sup
porters on the Supreme Court.
Burke's speech was the first to be
made in answer to the President S
appea. to the people and to the
Democratic party to sustain him in
his fight to have enacted into law
the court bill which would give to the
President authority to appoint a
maximum of six new Justices of the
Supreme Court.
While Burke was aSSailing the Presi-
dents court bill, Representative Flan-
nagan, Democrat of Virginia, spoke
in support of the measure.
You cannot" he said, destroy the
national conscience by judicial fiat
This was attempted by divided court
in the Dred Scott case. You know
the result. The people overruled a
Supreme Court decision by force of
arms. With this experience of the
past like red light flashing its warm
ing, shall we again permit four or five
judges, who are out of joint with our
social and economic growth, to again
embroil us in trouble?"
Representative Rankin, Democrat
of Mississippi, who also is supporting
the President, tackled the problem
from new angle. He said he would
introduce a proposed constitutional
amendment to limit the terms of
judges. He added that he expected
quick and favorable action on it.
Senator Copeland, Democrat Of
New York, opposing the President s
program, issued a statement replying
to the Chief Executives suggestion
that the Supreme Court decisions had
cast doubt over food-control legis-
lation.
Paraphrasing Mr.. Roosevelt's words
in his victory dinner speech, Cope
land said when sweating men. pill
ing sandbags on the levee at Carlo.
find time to study this question" they
will find that failure for flood con-
troll was not the fault of the Su-
preme Court" but of the President s
(See LINCOLN, Page A-l2)