The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-08-25

The conflict is as real, fierce and momentous as the undeclared war between China and Japan.
 The die was cast when the southern democrats on the House Rules Committee, led by Gene Cox of Georgia and Martin Dies of Texas, flouted the President and blocked enactment of the wage-hour bill. This was the second most important measure on his legislative program. With the court bill scuttled, the Presi- dent was particularly anxious to salvage this bill and restore pres- tige.
 F. D. R. Sees Red
 When the southern die-llards harpocned it, he saw red. Until then Roosevelt, while angry over the loss of his court plan, was not up in arms. Some of his hot- blooded zealots wanted him to take to the barricades. But the Presi- dent was chary. Then the wage- hour bill was sabotaged. and he needed no further urging to do battle.
 He struck back hard and at once = with the appointment of Hugo Black, ardent south- erner New Dealer, to the Su- preme Court.
 Next he used a southern forum, at the Virginia Dare celebration in North Carolina, to blast the Liberty League, National Marlu- lecturers Association, U. s. Cham Der of Commerce, and some we'll known newspaper proprietors". Then to remove all doubt that he is on the war-path. Senator Joe Guffey of Pennsylvania, ad- ministration stalwart, was sent to the microphone to tongue-lasn Senators Wheeler, Burke and o. Mahoney and Chief Justice Hughes, the master minds of the successful fight against the court bill.
 Flank Attack t
 Only a few insiders know of still another hostile demonstration against the anti-New Dealers.
 This fiery salyo was aimed at Chief Justice Hughes. It ap- peaFed as . series of articles in the liberal weekly The New Re. public. @ Written by Irwin Brant, brilliant editorial writer of The st. Louis Star-Times, they were an amazingly penetrating analysis of Hughes record as chief just tice.. c
 The burden of the articles was that Hughes writes the decisions of the court when the majority IS on the liberal side, and assigns other Justices to write the decisions when the majority is conservative. Tn substantiating his thesis, Brant cited intimate details of the pri- vate proceedings of the court. These disclosures painted Mir. Hughes in q very unfavorable light.
 On the surface, tho cOnnec-
 tion between this attack and the Administration may seem remote. But the tie-up, while indirect, Is definitely . part of the White Houses undcclared war. The information was of such a nature that it could have come only from . member
 of the Court, and from one who is friendly to the Admin istration.
 Brant,s articles will shortly bc printed in a pamphlet and distri- buted widely throughout the coun- try as a New Deal campaign docu. ment. The. same will be done with the Presidents North Caro- lima speech and Guffey's thun- dering roll of war drums. Just the Beginning
 These fusiliades are only the beginning. The President is firmly convinced that 1t is now either his head or that of tho revolting democrats. He con- siders their wrecking of his legis- lative program a direct challenge to his continued leadership and a move to seize control of the party.
 Further, Senator Burt Wheeler k considered the ambitious as- pirant for the throne. That k why Guffey turned his biggest guns on the Montanan and his two side kicks. Senators O'Ma- honey of Wyoming and Burke of Nebraska. Administrationites are convinced that Wheeler plans to run for the presidency in 1940 as . "safc and sane" democrat.