Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1937-04-19

J
non committal?
Some Of them feel
they need not antagonize the admin
istration unnecessarily and that a
compromise bill will come out of the
Senate committee, and thus spare
them all the grief that comes from
a fight against them, engineered by
the Farley political machine.
The vote probably is close today
not more than five to 10 votes either
way. But the general expectation is
that the bill transmitted by the Pres
ident with his message to Congress
on February S will be materially al
tered. The debate has brought out
several defects which the administra-
ton itself will want to correct.
Present Status of Bill.
Thus, as the measure stands today,
Mr.. Roosevelt or future President
could appoint a man at the age Of 50
and he would be eligible to serve for
10 years-namely, till he is 70. That
would not be infusing young blood"
and six old men can be appointed if
the proposed bill written at the White
House were passed.
Some amendment insisting that no.
body shall be appointed who is over
60 years of age would seem to be likely.
though this might cut off some of
the candidates for the Supreme Court
bench who have been active in behalf
Of the Presidents plan.
Talk of compromise" is heard on
every side. But what is "compro-
mise? Certainty, in close fight, it
is mistake for either side to con-
cede at this stage of the game that
any compromise will be accepted.
If President Roosevelt really wanted
to compromise, he would not say so
at this time He could wait till the
bill came out of the Senate commit
tee or he could stand pat till the bill
passed the Senate and wait and see
what changes the House might make
and then try to work out a compro-
mise in conference.
The Senate Judiciary Committee
will rewrite the bill. The committee
will not ask Mr. Roosevelt's views be-
cause a majority there is opposed to
his plan anyhow. Yet an effort to
meet the public sentiment which wants
some sort of change will be made.
Limit Of IS Indicated.
Thus, for instance, the reporting out
Of constitutional amendments requir-
ing retirement at rs may be looked for.
This might be adopted by the COM
mittee irrespective of the Presidents
bill.
AS for the basic issue-whether when
= President Of the United States
wants the decisions of the Supreme
Court changed, he need only ask Con-
gress to increase the size of the court
this is something that doesn't permit
Of middle ground. If Mr. Roosevelt
Is right, then two or six justices added
makes the scheme Objectionable from
the viewpoint of those who are taking
their stand on principle. Just one
germ of contagious disease injected
into the human constitutional system
Is as bad as a great many germs
From the standpoint Of the Presi-
dents supporters, they, too, will want
six justices because they think Mr..
Roosevelt needs at least six more to
balance the four who have been con-
sistently invalidating New Deal laws
and the one who has done it OCCASION
ally.
There's another kind of a COM
promise possible. If the debate is
prolonged and the Senator's opposed to
the Presidents plan succeed in arous-
Ing by their speeches considerable
sentiment against action for some time
to come, the present session of the
Supreme Court may when it ends in
June see two designations. This would
completely transform the issue for the
time being. Opponents would say they
want to learn what type of justices
Mr.. Roosevelt plans to appoint. Sup
porters might be disposed to wait till
the nominations are announced and
thus an agreement might be reached
to defer action until after confirma-
ton by majority of the Senate.
But how do the votes stand now?
The answer is that from the very
beginning it has been apparent that
solely on personal conviction and or
a secret ballot, the proposal of Mr.
Roosevelt to pack the court would be
overwhelmingly beaten in both houses
Says Farley Machine Active.
But since the administration keep.
tabs on every member of Congress!
and the Farley machine already i
-~Astive in building a backfire agains
members Of the Senate who have de-
clared themselves publicly against tn
Presidents plan, many Senator'S hav
to choose between allowing some Far
ley-chosen Democrats to come to tn
Senate in their places or standing b.
and trusting to future development
to enable them to modify the Ill
effects which they believe will 10,
from packing OF the court.
The chances Of passing the Presi
dents bill with few amendments
but not altering the basic principl
he has in mind, grow better ever
day that the Farley political machin
Is at work. Many persons have pro
tested by letter to their Senator
against the Supreme Court bill bu
not enough of them have said in 3
many words that they will not vot
next time for a member Of Congress
who approves by his vote the Presi
dents bill
Nor have enough Republican vot
ers written their pledges of support 6
Democratic Senators who might b
wavering and who would like
know now whether thew can cour
gains from the conservative group
Offset the votes being modified
the so-called 'Non-Partison Labc
League" and other New Deal mechan
1sms for lining up votes.
AS 1t Is, the chances Of the Presi
dents winning the fight are bette
than even.
Copyright, 1857
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