Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1937-04-01
SEEN and HEARD
around tie la@N
NATIONAL CAPITALA = i
By Carter Field DwA
FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT ~ -
FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

Washington. - More pure hokum
is being dispensed in the fight on
President Roosevelt's proposal to
enlarge the Supreme court, and
more is expected as the debate
grows hotter, than is usual even IN
senate debate.
The principal cry against it is
that it is a long step toward die
tatorship; that Mr.. Roosevelt is
grasping for "more power than a
good man should want, or a bad
man should have"
Some of the very men making
this charge are supporting con-
stitutional amendment - to per-
NIT congress to override Supreme
court decisions by two-thirds vote
of both houses-which would lend
itself much more effectively to the
use of a dictator.
Advocates of the plan make much
of the point that it is necessary to
keep the high court in touch with
the times-that the "nine old men"
are living in the past. But those
making this point do not mention
that the "new blood' they scream
for would be only temporary; that
the Roosevelt plan, if successful,
might easily lead to court of Is
justices, at some future day, all OF
whom might be IS years old and
utterly out of sympathy with what
ever administration might then be
in power.
Opponents of the President say
that this action would destroy pub
lie confidence in the Supreme court.
But it is rather interesting that the
net effect of the proposal has been to
bring forth a tremendous demon
stration of popular approval for the
high nine-certainly amazing in view
of the election results of last Novem-
Der. Nor do they talk much, in max
ing this point, about the many in
stances in the past where the num-
Der of justices has been changed.
Friends of the President insist
that the step is absolutely necessary
in carrying out the mandate" OF
the people in the As to 2 victory of
the President last year. But they
do not mention that there was no
reference to any tinkering with the
court in the campaign-that on the
contrary both sides talked about
clarifying amendments.
Blames High Court
The President in his victory din
ner speech would have the people
believe that the high court stands in
the way of flood prevention and dust
bowl remedying. Which surprised
even government lawyers, who had
been priding themselves on their
victory" in the T. V. A. decision,
which permitted building dams for
flood and navigation purposes, and
even permitted sale Of incidentally
produced" electricity.
Friends of the plan talk of the diff
culty-almost impossibility-of get
ting through an amendment to the
constitution. Whereas the old docu-
ment has been amended beyond
recognition in the lifetime of those
speaking amendments permitting
income taxes, direct election of sen
ators, compelling woman suffrage
imposing prohibition and then re-
pealing it, all despite highly militant
minorities in opposition.
Much of the difficulty of the chile
labor amendment, incidentally, or
which friends of the proposal lay
such stress, has been due to two
things - religious angle, which
seemed to some to open the doo1
to federal interference with religion.
schools = and a sectional unwilling
ness to surrender what was re
garded as an economic advantage
But senator after senator, who il
desperately opposed to the yer.
things that Mr.. Roosevelt wants tt
open the door for by his cour
change, has suddenly become lou
in his insistence that it is con
stitutional amendment giving tn
federal government power to regu
ldCG WAGES dllO llOuIo 0llo WOl h1Il
conditions, rather than a packing
of the Supreme court, which
desirable.
All this is a natural and logics
political sequence, of course, TO
these same senators, and those VIII
agree with them, are much NOR
confident of beating the Presider
in a fight for a constitutional amend
ment than by a majority vote i
either house or senate.
1t has been a long time since an
President has turned on so niue
heat in fight. Every ounce of pres
sure Mr.. Roosevelt can bring t
bear is turned on.
Causes Surprise
There is much surprise in Wasf
ington that the country should hav
so completely accepted, at full fac
value, President Roosevelt's dec
sion to retire from the White Hous
in January, 1941. 1t was first printe
in the authorized and Roosevelt et
tied article of Arthur Krock, in tn
New York Times, which reused S
many heartburnings among tn
White House correspondents. 1t we
ro,oo4od in a cpooch q fo1u dox