The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-06-01

devoted to New Deal constitt term marked by the rise of one troversies ever to thunder abo'
 The justices quit th~ bench with the knowledge that when they aS- semble for the new term in October at least one-and perhaps more of their number will be missing.
 To Justice Willis Van Devanter, dean of the court, today marked the close of 26 years of service on the nations highest tribunal. He retires tomorrow to the simple life of farming. duck hunting and horsc- back riding in the Maryland hills. Van Devanter is 78.
 Others of the court, veterans in service, were believed to carry in their minds the knowledge that when the court crier calls "Oyes, Dyes" on Oct. 4, new jurists will hold their vacated places on the bench.
 In Supreme Court history, the close of the session marked the end of an era. The close balance between liberal and conservatives in all probability will have been changed in the fall through the nomination of new justices to take the place of, members lost by re- tirement or death.
 President Stands Steadfast President Roosevelt has indicated in his fight for authority to enlarge the court that one or two justices will not be enough to satisfy him but a change of even one member may be of epochal consequence in American legal history, where great constitutional issues have been de- cided, more and more often, by the narrow margin. of one vote.
 The first of these occurred in 1870 when by a to 3 vote the legal tender act was invalidated, only to be made constitutional again after a year of economic chaos by the to 4 vote of an enlarged court.
 Since then the court has decided repeated cases involving acts of the Federal government by a one vote margin. The outstanding case in recent years was in 1918 when the tribunal, by 5 to 4 vote, con- demned the child labor act barring from interstate commerce goods produced in mills employing chil- dren under IA.
 Wage Case Cited
 Again a decision of outstanding importance viewed in the light of legislative efforts of more recent years, was the District of Columbia minimum wage case which con- demned Congressional act setting up minimum wages for women en- ployed in the District of Columbia.
 This decision, too, influencing future court and legislative history, was made by a conservative court, divided 5 to 3 in 1923. Justice Louis D. Brandeis, dean of court liberals, did rot participate in that ruling.
 The court assumed its present complexion in 1880 when Chief Jus tice Charles Evans Hughes replaced Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Justice Owen J. Roberts re- placed, the late Justice Edward Terry Sanford. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes resigned and the place of that famous liberal was given to another liberal, Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo, a Holmes disciple, in 1892, SO the change did not alter the courts makeup.
 The term of court which began in 1930,. revealed a substantial change in the courts tendency. Five to four. votes again were registered, though at that time chiefly on matters affecting state legislation. But the change which caused the court to be hailed as liberal in its tendencies lay in the fact that both Roberts and Hughes repeatedly Sid- ed with the three liberals then on the bench, Justics Holmes, Brandeis and Harlan F. Stone.
 Legislative Trend Changed
 The tendency first became ap- parent when the court voted to sus- tain the Indiana chain store tax law. It was repeated later when the Minnesota "press gag" law was con- demned. As the trying years of de- pression were reflected in legisla- tive enactments, the lineup still held when the court. by 5 to votes, sustained the Minnesota Mortgage moratorium and the New York Milk control law.
 By the time these decisions were made, the present administration was in power Those who cherished belief that the court followed the election returns confidently pre- dicted that the tribunal would not lcondemn the administrations em- ergency and reform laws.
 'IIot oil" First New Deal Test
 It was not until the Fall of 1884 that the first New Deal test came to the court. It involved the "hot oil" provisions of the National 1n- dustrial Recovery act, which dele gated to the President the power to place restrictions on the ship ment of oil produced in violation of state production control laws. The court condemned it, 8 to 1.
 The decision, based on invalid delegation of the powers belong ing to Congress to the Chief Ex- POLISH WORKERS ! - w RVwSwA VSN