Evening star., 1937-09-12
Constitutional Debate.

CONSTITUTION OF the United States on
Constitution day. celebrating the signing
of the fapous document $50 years ago.
President Roosevelt's address naturally
will head the list. The Chief Executive
Is expected to extoll the document. 1t
has been his contention that the Con-
stitution is sufficiently elastic to meet the
demands of the New Deal for greater
Federal control over the activities of the
people. 1t is not amendment of the Con-
stitution which is needed, he has main
tained, but more liberal Interpretation.
He is not expected to retreat from that
position.
The country will listen with approx
mately as great interest to an address
which is to be delivered by Senator
William E. Borah of Idaho, a great stu
dent of the Constitution and a stickler
for adherence to its provisions, who
speaks the night before the President.
The discussion of the Constitution by
the President and the Idaho Senator al
most resolves itself into a debate. For
Borah has been an ardent opponent OF
the Presidents plan to change the in
terpretation of the Constitution to fit
New Deal ideas by the simple process of
placing New Dealers on the Supreme
Court. He stood in the forefront of the
opposition to the Presidents court bill
and it is believed that he had much to
do with the writing of the adverse
report of the Senate Judiciary Com
mittee on that measure. If there is to
be a change in the Constitution, Borah
contends, it should be made in accord
ance with the provisions of the Consti-
tuition itself, by the people themselves,
and not by means of a congressional
law, written at the behest of the Presi-
dent-Roosevelt or any one else.
Temporarily at least the President
has been checked in his plans for en-
larging the Supreme Court, which in
reality means his attempt to rewrite the
Constitution by Interpretation. The
Chief Executive, however, has given
definite notice that the fight is to go
on despite the killing of his court bill
by the Senate at the recent session of
Congress On Constitution day he will
have another opportunity to set forth
his views of the fundamental law of the
land, and at the same time to press his
demand for revamping of the Supreme
Court. He will do the first beyond
doubt Whether he will seize the op-
portunity to carry on his crusade for his
court program remains to be seen.
More than a score of times the Consti-
tuition has been amended since it was
first signed. One amendment, the
eighteenth, was later repealed by fur
ther amendment. The eighteenth amend
ment placed the Federal Government in
absolute control of the liquor traffic and
denied the use of liquor to the American
people for beverage purposes. Mr.. Roose-
velt was first elected President on plat
form pledging repeal of national prohibi
ton, pledging the Federal Government
TO withdraw its hand from this control
of the people. Since his election, Mr..
Roosevelt has sought to extend the con-
troll of the Federal Government over
many of the affairs of the people. Like
national prohibition, this control is con-
ceived as beneficial to the American
people.
The Constitution, which is now to cele-
brate its 15oth anniversary, gave TO the
Federal Government certain powers and
reserved others to the States, and still
others to the people themselves. The
encroachment of the Federal Govern
ment upon the powers reserved to the
States did not begin with President
Roosevelt and his administration, but 1t
has gone further than under any other
administration in times of peace. 1t is
the contention of the President that
because of modern conditions, the forty
eight State governments cannot cope
with social and economic problems affect
ing the whole people His Legislative
program is designed to remedy the situa-
ton. The President, however, is not
content to submit his plans for centrah-
zation of the Government in Washington
to the people, by way of proposed con-
stitutional amendment. He prefers tt
have the matter attended to by Congress
and himself, plus Supreme Court thai
will see eye TO eye with them.