Evening star., 1937-03-22
Letter of Chief
Justice Cited
by Wheeler.
TRIBUNAL HELD
UP WITH WORK
Van DeNanter Also
in Opposition
to Increase.
BY G.. GOULD LINCOLN.

Chief Justice Hughes. in a letter
presented today by Senator Wheeler
ot Montana to the Senate Judiciary
Committee, effectively disposed of ad-
mInlStration charges that the Supreme
Court is behind in its work and that
proper appeals for hearing of cases
are denied
The letter, written by the Chief
Justice at the request of Senator
Wheeler, created a sensation at the
committee hearing, which today heard
the first of the opposition witnesses
on President ROoSevelt'S bill to in
crease the membership of the Supreme
Court.
The letter disclosed that Associate
Justices Brandeis and Van Devanter
ConCurred in diSapproving of the pro-
D0Sal Since BrandeiS is regarded
throughout the country as one of the
most liberal and able justices in the
courts s history, his dISapprOval is con-
sIdered a serious blow to the admins
tration
Mr Hughes letter said the Supreme
Court is fully abreast of its work"
He added with regard to petitions Of
Ccrtlorari that if any error is n ade
in dealing with these applications, 1t
Is on the side of liberan v"
Sees Efficiency Impaired.
An increase in the number Of
Justices Of the Supreme Court. apart
from any question of policy, which I
dld not discuss, would not promote
the efficiency of the court" wrote
the chief justice Il is believed that
i would impair that efficiency so long
as the court acts as a unit"
The chief justice also answered a
proposal which has been made before
the committee that with more justices
the court could hear cases in diyI-
sIonS.
1t is believed that such a plan
would be impractiCable. A large pro-
portion of the cases We hear are I'M
porcant and a decision by part Of
the court would be unsatisfactory.
In referring to Justices Brandels
and Van DeVanter, Mr.. Hughes wrote:
On account of the ShOrtnesS of
time, I have not been able to consult
with the members Of the court gen.
orally with respett to the foregoing
statement, but I am confident that
it is in accord with the views of the
justices. I should say, however. that
I have been able to consult with Mr..
Justice Van Devanter and Mr.. Justice
BrandelS and I am at liberty to say
thai the statement Is approved by
them
Letter Dated Yesterday
The Chief Justices letter was dated
March 81.
Senator Wheeler told the committee
that If Mr. Roosevelt would submit to
Congress a proposed amendment to
the Constitution which would meet
the situation and at the same time
would abandon his plan to pack the
court we'll all get behind it."
Wheeler himself has offered an
amendment to the Constitution, un-
dCl which, by two-thirdS vote of both
houses, Congress could repaSs a law
which had been held unconstitutional
by the Supreme Court, and make it
valid. providing a congressional cleo
ton had been held in the interim
He said he would be willing to aban-
don his own amendment and accept
some other that was satisfactory to the
President.
Before presenting the letter to the
committee, Senator Wheeler said on
the stand Concernn~ the Presidents
plan
This proposal is not new to me.
II may be to most of the members
of this committee, if not all. The
administration did not take the COM
mlttee or the leaders of Congress into
its confidence on this measure. But
the proposal was made to me at the
last session Of Congress. 1t was not
made by the President. but by men
who are close to him.
Il said to those young men that
the proposal was wrong in principle
and that the American people will
never stand for it."
The Senator did not give the names
OF the young men" to whom he re-
forred
/ was shocked and surprised" said
Wheeler, when I picked up a news
paper in New York and read the
Presidents message and the letter of
the Attorney General I was not Wis
iting economic royalists in New York,
although l was over there to inveSti-
gate some of them.
Il had not always been in agree
ment with decisions of the Supreme
Court However, I have tried many
tSee JUDICIARY, Page A-2)