Evening star., 1937-04-09
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

One current explanation of White
House reluctance to condemn the sit
down strike Is that labor groups closely
Identified with the c. l. o. have become
the spearhead Of the campaign to popu-
larize the Roosevelt Supreme Court plan.
The burden of the drive rests on the
broad shoulders Of Labor's Non-Partisan
League, in which John L. Lewis is one
OF the controlling spirits. The League
is about to hold series of Nation wide
mass meetings on behalf of the bill.
eliminating on Patriots day." April 10,
practically every important city in the
country will be the scene of demonstra-
tions to whip up favorable sentiment.
The opening gun will be fired At Chi
cago tomorrow. Other places in which
later meetings will be held are Bir-
mingham, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Denver, New Haven, Atlanta, Indianap-
oils, Des Moines, New Orleans, Balti-
more, Kansas City, Boston, Detroit,
Minneapolis, ST. Louis. Omaha, Pitts
burgh, Philadelphia, Nashville and
Houston. Speakers already announced
include Senators Black of Alabama, La
Toilette of Wisconsin, McKellar of Ten
nessee and Guffey of Pennsylvania, Rep
resentatives Connery of Massachusetts,,
Patman of Texas and Eicher OF Iowa.
When Labor's Non-Partisan League met
in Washington on March 8, to lobby
en- masse for the judiciary scheme,
Maj. Berry stated that its purpose was
to come to President Roosevelt's res
cue" just as it had cleared for action
to save the New Deal in 1896.
Under imprint of the Public Infor-
nation Committee" which is supposed
to derive its authority and sinews from
the Democratic National Committee, =
15-page pamphlet entitled who Said
That About the Supreme Court?" has
just left the press. 1t reproduces va
rious utterances by Chief Justice Hughes,
Justice McReynolds, Senators Wheeler Of
Montana, Borah OF Idaho, Glass OF Vir-
ginia, George OF Georgia and Tydings Of
Maryland, and four one-time Presidents
of the United States-Lincoln, Wilson,
Theodore Roosevelt and Taft-all pur-
porting to show that the authorities in
question, both living and dead, once
espoused views in line with Franklin D..
Roosevelt's judiciary reform project.
~ y
Many authorities, both in the admin
istration and Congress, are beginning to
reflect anxiety over the hamstringing OF
the legislative program by the court con-
troversy. A vast array of urgent public
business-which F. D. r. insists should
be called Ought" and not must" leg
islation-is Mdetracked while proponents
and opponents Of the judiciary bill
mAneuver and counter r1aneuver. Meas
ures affecting industry, agriculture, ship
ping and revenue-only to mention out
standing propositions-await the break
ing Of the log jam now drifted into its
third month. The President, of course.
can say the disentangling word any time
he pleases. Apparently he looks upon
court reform as paramount condition
precedent to further development Of the
New Deal. Until it is out Of the way,
slow motion at the Capitol Is the order
of the day.
~ ~ k 4
ForAler Governor Clifford Pinchot Of
Penn lymia has just returned from
North 0arolina where he inspected the
earliest systematic forestry in the United
States-at the Vanderbilt estate, Bilt-
more. That tract then Of 1000 acres,
was taken In hand in 1892 under Pin