The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-04-24

Scenes Phase of the Strug-
 gle.
 Washington, April 24 = The at- tempts at play and counter-play on religious groups by opposing forces warning over the administration Supreme Court plan have been among the most interesting behind- the- scenes phases of the struggle.
 No large religious denomination or group has taken any position for or against the plan. But the contest has been marked from the beginning by:
 The effort of anti Roosevelt forces to persuade members of all
 creeds that the bill was . threat
 to religious liberties,
 The effort of administrat ton
 strategists to belittle such persua- sion.
 Men of various religious beliefs have been caused to testify for
 and against the plan as part of .
 conscious program of appeal to church groups.
 Backstage, the men who have been running the opposing cam- paigns have privately congratulated themselves and colleagues on their ability to capitalize or discount the religious angle.
 This sort of thing isn't new in politics, but 1t seems fair to suggest that if religious men had played in politics to the extent politicians have sought to play with religion, there might be 8 loud howl as to the proper place of gentlemen of the cloth.
 Answer Right Back The opposition scored early with testimony against the judiciary plan by Dr. Norman J. Gould Mickey, ex- ecutive secvretary of the Board of Education of the United Lutheran Church; and Professor Theodore Graebner, professor of theology at Concordia College, St. Louis, and editor of the National Journal of the Lutheran church.
 But soon administration forces were circulating a statement by Rev J. w. Behnken, president of the Missouri Lutheran Synod, which has a national membership of 1000, 900. He said: "If, by the appearance of two Lutheran ministers before the judiciary committee in opposition to President Roosevelt's proposal, the impression has been created that the Lutheran church is engaged in political activities, I would like to state emphatically that such is by no means the case The church's work Is spiritual, not poli- tical The court proposal is a political matter"
 At . time opponents of the plan were remarking happily that a large section of the Catholic re-
 ligious press of the country seem-
 ed to be against the plan, the
 other side thought it staged
 coup by getting Dean Thomas F.
 Konop of Notre Dame Law school, to testify in favor.
 Then the opposition countered with Dean Tgnatius M. Wilkinson of Fordham University Law school. another Catholic institution, and then with Notre Dame Law Schools Professor William M. Cain. Finally the New Dealers came back by citing an editorial by Editor Michael Williams of the influential Catholic weekly, The Commonweal This editorial call- cd the Roosevelt plant "the most common sensible, direct and help full method now possible for get- ting forward with the nations business expeditiously."
 More ecclesiastical persons appear to have been articulate against the Presidents plan than in favor Of 1t. But most of the major figures in American religious organizations have kept silent. And there is no evidence that efforts to use religion as an issue have had any marked effect.
 ShOuse Party Cancelled
 MT. and Mrs. Jouett Shouse-the former remembered as head of the American Liberty League-were go- ing to have a large party. They en- gagged the concert master and Sec- ond violinist of the National Sym- phony orchestra to play.
 The musicians happen to be mem- bers of the race whose life has been made miserable in Germany by by Adolf Hitler. They heard the German ambassador was to be a guest and cancelled the engagement. For that or some other reason, the rAn s.flr mas called off