Evening star., 1937-07-23


prominent. he said, the courts listened
and made their decisions more along
judicial lines than legislative lines.
That situation prevailed, he said
until the administrations of Presidents
Coolidge and Hoover, when the courts,
he asserted, proceeded more along leg
islative lines.
This brought realization generally,
the spokesman continued, that agita-
tion had to be renewed, and this was
begun with President Roosevelt's sur
prise message to Congress on February
S requesting a revision among the
lower and highest courts.
Much of Program Accomplished.
The spokesman asserted that Presi-
dent Roosevelt believed an interesting
parallel now exists as a result of the
with the days when the courts lis
tened" Therefore, he believed that a
large part of his court program has
already been accomplished, Temporal
Eily at least.
The spokesman said that before
February S, the Supreme Court held
the agricultural adjustment act un-
constitutional, but that after the
Chief Executives court recommends
tions had gone to Congress, the Su-
preme Court in effect overruled itself
IN the A. A. A. decision by upholding
the social security act.
The same thing was true in the
case of the outlawing of the Guffey
coal act before February and the
upholding Of the Wagner labor rela-
tions act after that date The spokes-
man said there was a similar parallel
also in the New York minimum wage
law case. which the court held un-
constitutional, while afterward it up
held the Washington minimum wage
law.
The net result, the spokesman said,
IS that the President feels the ad-
ministration has attained certain Of
its objectives
One OF the principal gains the
President was represented as counting
was that the country has been made
court conscious and Constitution
minded. It has reached the conclu-
sion as result OF the court dispute
in Congress, he added, that the Con-
stitution is not intended to block So
cial and economic reforms If they are
necessary to the general welfare.
Still Long Way to GO.
The administration spokesman was
asked If President Roosevelt was sat-
tsf1ed with this measure Of progress
and replied that he felt he was making
progress, but still had long way
to go.
Asked II the President considered
further legislation on the subject was
desirable, the spokesman called atten-
ton to his recommendations on the
subject and added that Congress has
three methods Of acting-not acting
at al, rejecting recommendations and
approving recommendations.
The spokesman noted that there
already was apparent among certain
elements Of Congress . feeling that
Congress now should go home and
leave the remainder Of its work to a
future session.
He asserted that an important pub
Usher recently called on the Presi-
dent and inquired why he wanted
anything else new, asserting that peo-
pie were more prosperous now than
they ever had been before.
The spokesman said President Roose-
velt told the publisher that during
the Coolidge administration the gen.
eral attitude was ''everything's lovely
don't rock the boat-just let every
thing alone"
The President went on, the spokes-
man said, by citing as an example q
prospective cotton crop Of l4,500, 900
bales this year. This, he said, was
more than could be used or exported
and will mean that much of it will
be added to . current surplus.
Going on with his illustration, the
President according to the spokesman
said that suppose Nature is good again