The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-05-22
BEHIND THE SCENESI WASHINGTON LY RODNEY DUTcHER-A
 Democrat Washington
 Correspondent
Van Devanter's Resignation
 Final Blow
 To Court Plan

Washington, May 9 - Supreme Court Justice Willis Van Devanter resigned from the bench when he did, according to friends, because:
 He had been wanting to resign for some time and the new re-
 tirement law pensiOning justices
 at $2OyOOO year strengthened his desire.
 He figured that Roosevelt's pro- poSal to pack the Supreme Court was in all probability licked. He relished the thought that if
 there were still life in the plan
 his resignation at the psychologi- cal moment just as the Senate Judiciary Committee was about to
 vote on the proposal, might serve aS final death blow.
 Van Devanter hasn't told anyone all that in so many words and his friends are largely relying on their power of deduction in making this explanation.
 There is no question, however, that the resignation did serve as coupe de grace for the Presidents Supreme Court bill in its present form. It was the signal for a quick change in White House strategy and private admissions for the first time that Roosevelt would have to make much larger conces- sions toward 8 compromise than he had anticipated.
 Not Dear Frank" Either
 It was the first time anyone could remember when the Presi- dent wrote letter accepting a res- ignation without addressing the re- signing official by his first name.
 It wasn't My dear Willis:" It was My dear MT. Justice Van De- vanter." And the President was hardly in a position to express re- grets.
 For that matter, the justice did not write to Dear Frank:", either. Whipping Boy Takes Another
 Jim Farley, who calls himself the administrators whipping boy" is taking another beating, and it's his own fault.
 New attacks were launched on him when he was quoted as say ing, apropos of the decision of two Democratic senators on the judi ciary committee to vote with the opposition:
 "When Senator OMahoney
 comes down here wanting help on
 some sugar legislation, his con-
 science won't be bOthering him.
 will it2 Or when Senator Me- Carran wants aid for his state." Although this was seized upon as a public threat of punishment for Democrats failing to support the President, even Farley isn't as crude as that. Actually he was speaking more in sorrow than In anger, as If to say: Those are our own boys and they're going to be ashamed of themselves"
 But the poorly chosen words did
 just as much damage as if they had meant what the opposition said they implied.
 OMahoney of Wyoming, an old and intimate friend of Farley's, wasn't sore. But Pat McCarran of Nevada was. Not long ago there was an important patronage plum available in McCarran's state. McCarran wanted 1t, but 1t was given to Nevada's other sen- ator, Key Pittman. Pittman sup ported the Presidents plan and McCarran came out against 1t. Amendment Isn't Dead
 The administration could have had favorable report from the judiciary committee on the Norris amendment to its court bill requiring concurrence of more than two-thirds of the members of the court to invalidate an act of Congress - if 1t had asked its forces on the committee to sup port that proposal. .,,
 Senators Hatch of New Mexico
 and O'Mahoney of Wyoming voted for the Norris plan, although
 both were among the 10 commit
 tee members who voted against
 the Roosevelt bill. But Chairman
 Henry F. Ashurst and other
 Roosevelt supporters voted against
 1t, defeating 1t.
 Norris intends to bring up his amendment on the Senate floor, however, and suspects that 1t might pass the upper house. It is reported that Roosevelt is not un- favorable to the idea, which suggests that he might accept 1t as part of a compromise arrange ment.
 Copyright, 1887, NEA Service, Incl