The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-06-12

Court Vacancies Before He
 Can Hope to Receive Ap-
 pOintment in Van Devan.
 ter's Place.
 Washington, June 12.-The su- preme court plan is way up in the air and so are the supreme court aspirations of Senator Joe Robin. son.
 The question is whether they will come back down and, if so, how.
 One of these days Robinson will go back to the White House with the results of his egor to see what kind of 8 compromise on the Roosevelt plan can be worked out in the senate.
 Perhaps he will go bearing biz red rosy apple with only few soft spots. Or maybe just couple of little apples, rather greenisf and somewhat tart. Or perhaps the skeleton of a very dead fish on the end of a string.
 The nature of the Robinson re- port will determine Roosevelt's future course. The senator went to the White House one night and said he wanted to be sure the president was going through with the court fight. Roosevelt said he was. Robinson then asked ii he could check through the sen- ate and figure out how he could best get Roosevelt what he wanted after which he would come back with the proposal for approval. The president told him to go ahead.
 If the president can't see enough nourishment in what Robinson brings back he may give up his in- tention of forcing the issue to a vote at this session. Or he might accept a poor compromise in the senate in the hope of getting a much better bill from the house. At any rate, the word has gone around that old Joe" is on the spot and working pretty hard. One administration insider ex- plains that there's no chance of Joe being a bride unless he gets some bridesmaids to stand up with him." Meaning that if Joe can't wangle some appointments to the court for Roosevelt, he can hardly hope to land on the court himself.
 Probably there's not much jus tice in that. But the effect of having everybody around Capitol Hill grinning over the idea of "Joe working for his porridge" is prob- lematical. The hardest rooters for appointment of Robinson to the court are senators opposed to or at least lukewarm to, the Roose- welt court plan. In effect, they're being told that the easiest way to help Joe get the job is to help him get the president a satisfac- tory compromise.
 Supreme Court for an Issue Wise politician Roosevelt is won- dering what his big issue will be for the 1888 congressional elections
 The president is not of the shy retiring type and seems convinced that the future welfare of America isn't very largely up to him. So he hopes to shape the 1888 issue, even though he isn't rum ming.
 The issue, he hopes, will be one which will help defeat various anti-New Deal members of con- gress in next springs primaries.
 That means he will turn to the left for a liberal, progressive or radical issue.
 Thus far Roosevelt hasn't been able to think of more attractive campaign issue than that of the supreme court and its powers over legislation. And unless he can win something from the pres ent court fight he now plans to carry the battle over into 1888. !
 Some Blame Roosevelt
 Lukewarm or antipathetic admin tration leadership, with plenty o1 vigor and hard work on the other side, has figured importantly in the court plan deadlock, and Roosevelt himself has been blamed by some of his followers for resting back or the oars and expecting the country to shout congress into acquiescence
 House Majority Leader Sam
 Rayburn persuaded Roosevelt to
 launch the struggle in the senate
 after House Judiciary Chairman
 HattOn Summers went cold on the
 plan.
 Joe Robinson's friends explain that he was "ill" during the cru cial period, but the ailment hasn't been diagnosed. None of the ad- ministration's real fighters were on the judiciary committee, and the supporters it did have there merely grunted and fumbled Chairman Henry Ashurst, who had declared vehemenftly against the court-packing plan and then flip -fopped, spent the time mak- ing jokes about himself and everybody else. When the White House tried to cut the hearings short, it failed. The publicity was too pleasant. Senator George Norris supported the bill in con- mittee, but didn't like 1t well