Imperial Valley press., 1937-07-05
News Behind the News
A Soft Cushion for Mr. Roosevelt &. 1t
Wasn't Stuffed at The White House ..
Court Reform AIibi

WASHINGTON - A NICE soft cushion is
being prepared for Mr.. Roosevelt oy some of the
mder opponents of the court plan and some OF
its milder friends
It's for use when and If F.. D. r. decides to
abandon attempts to get court-packng bill
through Congress- the idea being to soften the
blow for all concerned
But the cushion-and you can chalk this up
for future reference-wasn't stuffed by the White
House
This group of court reform opponents who
would Just as soon have the court plan dropped,
is spreading the word around that Roosevelt
never expected or intended to have his court
bill passed, but was only trying to scare the
conservative justices so they wouldn't dare kill
any more New Deal legislation.
No matter how much credence this story
may receive it just isn't true Roosevelt suppos-
ed the court bill would pass long ago, virtually as
written.
What makes the April Fool version of the
Presidents court plan rather interesting, if not
plausible is the fact that last January Roosevelt
and some of his advisers very definitely did cook
up plan to scare the court by threatening to
pack it and otherwise curb the conservative
majority
The idea of curing the situation by making
a specter of the idea was cooked up at a meeting
of the American Political Science Association at
Chicago late last Decemhet.
Prof Arthur N. Holcombe of Harvard was
president One vice president Under Secre
tary of the Interior Charles West, former con-
gresham, former professor of government at
Harvard and now chief liaiSon man between the
White House and Congress.
There was a round table conference on the
subject of judicial review at which Holcombe.
West, Prof. w. Y Elliott of Harvard, and DR..
Charles Merriam of Chicago, were especially
active and vocal. All four relatively close to
Roosevelt. They agreed that the way to deal
with the court not necessarily to have an
act of Congress constitutional amendment,
but to make definite moves to show that the
court had gone beyond its proper sphere OF juris-
dction by usurping legislative power and that
this was widely resented.
At the same meeting Donald Rchberg who
had frequently discussed the court problem with
Roosevelt cited words of William Howard Taft
that judges should be made to pause and deli
berate by hostile public criticism in order that
they might be kept "alive to the reasonable de-
mands of those they serve"
Roosevelt definitely had decided to try to do
something about the court when the justices, on
Dec. 15 had sent the Duke power case back to
lower courts without ruling validity of about
s50JO000 900 of PWA loans for public power deve-
opments. Secretary Ickes told him the effect
was further to delay about so projects.
The point at which Roosevelt decided to try
to pack the court instead of threatening to pack
it or taking other measures apparently came late
in January after the General Motors strike had
made valuation of the Wagner act a New Deal
necessity, and after receiving reports that Wall
Street opponents were prepared to raise sush
fund to block any constitutional amendment in
the states.