Evening star., 1937-07-20
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY e. GOULD LINCOLN.

President Roosevelt's court bill goes
into its final battle in the Senate today,
with the return of that body to business
after the truce growing out of the
death OF the late Senator Robinson of
Arkansas, Democratic leader. How long
the battle will last is still uncertain But
the administration program looking to
enlargement of the Supreme Court has
received some crushing blows in recent
days. None more so than the letter
written by Gov. Lehman of New York to
Senator Wagner urging him to oppose
the measure.
If the anti-court bill Senators needed
encouragement this letter of the New
York Governor, made public on the eve
of the resumption of hostilities was
calculated to give them that encourage
ment. 1t was considered judgment
which Gov. Lehman expressed when he
wrote to Senator Wagner. For he had
expressed similar views to President
Roosevelt himself months ago" There
had been no inkling of the break be-
tween the President and the New York
Governor over this measure, however.
Gov. Lehman has been credited with
being very close to the President and
D.
One New York Senator, Copeland, has
strongly denounced the court bill and
the compromise which has been put
forward by administration forces Sena-
tor Wagner, who formerly was a Judge,
maintained silence with regard to his
own stand on the court bill No man
has been more effective or more hard
working in the interest of liberal legisla-
ton than Wagner. There seemed no
good reason for his remaining silent
upon the court bill if he really ap-
proved it.
Gradually the President and his po-
litical adviser, Postmaster General James
A. Farley, have withdrawn from their
first advanced position in support of
the original court bill. The history Of
the measure, since it was sent to Con-
greSs by the President last February s.
has been rather remarkable Early pro-
nouncements by Mr.. Farley. chairman Of
the Democratic National Committee
were to the effect that the votes to
put the bill through the Senate and
House were lin the bag; that they had
only to call the roll
The first break came when President
Roosevelt several weeks ago told press
conference that the mistake being made
was that too many people had been
looking at trees instead of at the forest
This was his way of saying that he would
not insist upon the passage of the
original bill without change Then came
the maneuVerS of the administration
leaders to work out a compromise In
the end they settled upon the Robinson
Hatch-Logan substitute. The original
bill was dead; it had been abandoned
Again there were eager predictions from
the administration leaders that victory
was at hand; that the votes to put
through the compromise were in the
bag"
A few days of debate revealed the fact
that the opposition to the compromise
was tremendously strong-and grow
ing stronger. And then Representative
Summers Of Texas. chairman of the
House Judiciary Committee. delivered a
blast in the House that shook political
Washington. He denounced the COM
promise, said it should be laid aside and
warned the President that if he per-
sisted in forcing this issue he would
split the House from top to bottom He
said, too, that the bill would never be
reported out Of the House Judiciary
Committee Apparently he knew what
he was talking about in that connection.
The bill could only reach the floor, If
1t succeeded in passing the Senate. by
being ordered out of committee by a
petition bearing the Signitures of a
majority of the House members
Followed the death of Senator Robin
son, the majority leader of the Senate
and the Presidents right-han man in
the court bill fight. Immediately further
diSlntegratlOn OF the administration
forces backing the court bill was threat
ened. To bolster the defense of the bill,
the President sent his now famous let
ter to Senator Barkley OF Kentucky,
insisting that the fight should go on.
His structures against opponents Of the
bill on the ground that they had been
indecent in their political activities and
had not observed a proper attitude of
mourning for Senator Robinson made
some Of them see red.
Finally, on the very eve Of the reopen
ing of the contest, Gov. Lehman fires
his broadside into the court bill The
court bill is now before the Senate
after having received an adverse re-
| port and a recommendation that it do
not pass from the Judiciary Committee
of the Senate. The compromise could
not receive majority approval of the
ommittee-although the committee
might split evenly on it.
1t is under these conditions that the
President is urging his followers into
| the breach again. He has been warned
repeatedly that he would disrupt the
Democratic party if he continued this
fight.
Reports from the train bearing back
to Washington those Senators who at
tended Senator RobinSons funeral have
indicated that the administration is
gambling desperately for any kind of
compromise. According to reports the
administration has been willing to ac-
cept an amendment which would exclude
| from the operation Of the bill any of
| the sitting justices of the United States.
| 1t seems incredible that this should be
so. The President has repeatedly stated
that immediate action is needed to put
new blood" on the supreme bench. 1t
was because immediate action is needed
! that he has turned his back on a con-
| stitutional amendment. He said it would
! be too slow and too uncertain. He said
| it again in his letter to Senator Barkley
| the other day.
The administration leaders have ap-
parently misjudged sentiment in this
country badly in this particular fight.