Evening star., 1937-04-06

"Just minute, Mr.. President" Sec
retary of State Roots cold incisive
voice interrupted him. Il think you
were about to say that any judge who
handed down decision like that
was a damned - - - -.
But being President of the United
States you are not going to say that
about a Federal judge"
T. r. glared for moment in silence.
The clenched fist fell on the table:
You're right and I guess I won't"
But to Charles j. Bonaparte, he wrote
that two of the circuit judges were
merely the ordinary type produced
by improper subserviency to corpo"
rations." And to william Allen White:
There is altogether too much power
in the bench" Incidentally, the
strong language would be Roots and
not Roosevelt's; when it came TO
cussing, the latter was singularly mild.
No Elihu Root advised President
Franklin D. Roosevelt when he framed
his message on the Supreme Court.
Theodore Roosevelt did not advocate
the popular recall Of unpopular judi
cial decisions doctrine which even
a progressive like Senator Borah de-
nounced as "bosh"-until after he
had begun to drift away from Elihu
Root
Theodore Roosevelt's mHconception
Of the judicial function WAS also ap-
parent in 1908, when, under = treaty
with Great Britain, he appointed three
impartial jurists of repute" to repre-
sent the United States on the tri-
bunal which was to decide upon the
contested Alaskan boundary with Can
ada. The British government had
appointed Chief Justice Alverstone
and two judges Of the Supreme Court
OF Canada. The Canadians were
Justly furious when Roosevelt appoint
ed Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, who
was making rabidly anglophobic
speeches, and ex-senator Turner OF
Washington, who had also declared
himself unequivocally on the merits
OF the dispute. The third appointee
WAS Secretary Of War Root, but to
him no objection was raised
Instructed Three Jurists.
Sir Wilfred Laurier, the Canadian
premier, in the Parliament at Ottawa
commented rather vigorously on the
appointments. Roosevelt saw . news
paper account Of the speech and In
hot haste wrote an instruction to his
three impartial jurists," explaining
in effect how they were to decide.
"You will, of course" he wrote,
"impartially judge the questions that
come before you for decision" but
"in the principle involved (on the
chief American claims) there will, Of
course, be no compromise"
Root wrote back:
In view of your dissent from the
positions publicly taken by Sir W.T.
fred Laurier, I shall refrain from
assuming the correctness Of that gen.
tleman's statements and opinion in
any consideration which may give
to the Alaskan boundary subject in
advance OF the arguments Of counsel"
T. r. would not have missed the
point; he took from Root, usually
with delight, the keenest barbs of wit
and sarcasm. He once told q ques-
toner that Elihu Root was the most
valuable member of this cabinet be-
cause "he is the only one who will
fight with me-"
It was while Root was on the ocean,
returning from Europe after the con-
clusion of the Alaskan boundary tri-
bunals work in London, that Roosevelt
took Panama." It was . quick,
violent, Rooseveltian action, as to
which Root was not consulted.
"Roosevelts statement that he had
taken Panama." Mr.. Root said later,
was the kind OF exaggeration that he
liked to make. He could have made
q perfectly sound technical presenta-
ton OF his case, but he had no pa
tience with that"
Roots Patience Inexhaustible.
Nothing could more clearly bring
out the different characters Of the two
men: Roosevelt loved to exaggerate
and hated to be patient; Roots store
of patience and far-sightedness was
never exhausted and he knew the
value of explanations even when they
had to be technical.
Root said Of q choice which he
made very early in his career, when
it was a question of running for on1ce
or practicing law, Il decided to be .
lawyer, first and all the time" He
was, but he made an application OF
his profession which not all lawyers
have initiated. BY accepting McKin-