The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1937-03-11


of the Presidents bill as sent to
congress, the high court would, con-
sist of Is members. There is no
doubt about this. Senator Joseph T.
Robinson to the contrary notwith-
standing.
But a forward looking President
who may occupy the White House
some time after the court reaches
the size of IS members will be just
as helpless, no matter what hold he
may have on congress, as Presi-
dent Roosevelt feels himself to be
in his struggle to obtain for the fed
eral government the power to regu-
late wages, hours and working con-
ditions in industry.
Matter of Age
Every one of the justices might
conceivably be eighty years OLD!
But if their construction Of the Con-
stitution were that of Justices Louis
D. Brandeis and Benjamin N. Car
dozo in the MIRA case 1t would
make no difference If all OF them
were under forty.
And there would be nothing, short
Of increasing the number OF justices
to 81, with 16 new justices pledged
to any particular reform desired at
the moment, which the President or
congress could do about it. Assum-
ing of course that no constitutional
amendments broad enough to cover
the cases involved had been passed
/ in the meantime.
Whereas, should that situation
arise, and should Senator Wheeler s
plan instead of the Roosevelt plan
have been adopted, all the Presi-
dent would have to do would be to
get a law through congress with a
] two-thirds majority IN both houses
overriding the high court
/ All of which is rather amusing
because of Senator Wheeler's con-
slant statements that the Roosevelt
plan vests too much power in the
hands Of a President, In view OF the
possibility that there may be an
other Harding in the White House
some time. The Wheeler plan would
simplify the task of any would-be
| dictatorial President who had SUI
hcient popular following and pollti-
cal sagacity to control congress.
| But it would take a good many
years to ratify such constitutional
amendment as Senator Wheeler has
proposed. And President Roosevelt
knows this perfectly well.
The Silver Issue
No campaign pledges or conven-
ton planks are going to be violated
on the silver issue. In fact, there
is almost conspiracy of silence In
effect now, just as there was moth
ing but "hush, hush" during the
campaign last summer and fall as
to the white metal.
Secretary of the Treasury Henry
Morgenthau, Jr., thinks something
ought to be done. The government
is still buying prodigious quantities
of silver III accordance with the sill
YER law-which directs the Treas
ury to keep on buying silver until i
either reaches a price OF Sl.29 al
ounce or a ratio of one to three
with the gold held by the govern
ment.
Actually the ratio Is still about
one to five--due to the fact that the
government has been obliged t.
take over so much gold poured into
this country by foreigners either fol-
safety or other reasons. Wherea:
the world price OF silver is still
slightly under As cents, as compared
with about A cents when the silver
buying program began.
Secretary Morgenthau disclose.
that the Treasury has invested ST.,
100 100000 in silver since the pas
sage OF the silver act, and that tn,
average price paid is about SO cents
Which means that the net loss t.
the government on its silver opera
tons to date has been SITE, 200 900
a loss incurred without getting any
where in the direction OF either O
the two specified detectives. i
A considerable fraction OF thi
loss Of course has been in the pur
chase of newly mined silver from
domestic producers. For lonl
time now the government has BEEF
paying domestic producers about 7
cents an ounce. 1t will be recalle,
that this price paid United State
miners and mining companies RAJ
along as a sort Of sliding scale
during the period Immediately fol
! lowing passage of the act. whel
purchases by the United States gov
!, eminent were pushing the worl,
price up and up, disrupting fsca
affairs in China, and inspiring err
thusiasts and spectators to believ
i that the ST. % objective would reall
1 be attained.
J Expected Profit
), In fact, there is little reason I
I doubt that President Roosevelt an
: Secretary Morgenthau entertaine
! the same idea, and figured thu
!. when this price should be attaine
! there would be huge profit on tn
silver just as there was on tn
. gold. All the silver commandeere
! at the time silver was nationalize