The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-03-25
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fend themselves against the criti-
cisms leveled at them by President
Roosevelt and his associates.
/ have searched the records as
far as I have been able and I have
yet to find where any justice of the
Supreme court of the United States
ever has expressed himself publicly
on any occasion when the court was
assailed. 1t is rule that is strictly
adhered to by the nine justices
whom Mr.. Roosevelt has described
as "the nine old men," Therefore,
we see them as the center of one
of the greatest political battles in
history, wholly unwilling to be-
smirch their dignity or their rec
ords by answering back.
The recent "fireside chat by Mr..
Roosevelt was replete with innuen-
does and differences that the men,
bers of the court are quite incapa-
BILE of doing their job; that they are
living in an age that is dead and,
consequently, unable to see things
as the rest of the country sees
them today. Mr.. Roosevelt's speech
at the victory dinner of the Demo-
Gratis was purely politics and his
fireside chat in explanation of his
court program was 80 per cent poll
tics. But the Supreme court is not
in politics. It strikes me as being
almost a tragedy that these mine
old men" can not defend their honor
and their record after lifetime of
service to the American people.
I do not take much stock in the
many TRADES that have filed the
air and columns upon columns of
newspaper space that the present
justices are incapable of doing their
job. There is so much untruth, so
many unwarranted conclusions in
those TRADES that it amounts to a gil
gantic campaign that will mislead
the people of the nation. Assuming
that some of the justices are too old
to do their job and assuming fur
Their that some of them may be
too conservative to deal with pres
ent day problems, it yet seems to
me to be an indisputable fact that
there is nothing in life that can
take the place of experience and the
lessons thus learned.
While Mr.. Roosevelt was taking
vacation in the warm sunshine of
49,, Georgia, the case
Abte in behalf. of the
Spokesman court packing
proposition was
ably presented to the senate COM
mittee on the judiciary. His spokes-
men were Attorney General Cum
mings and Assistant Attorney Gen.
eral Robert Jackson. They did their
job well. They met some of the
most vicious questions from COM
mittee members that l have ever
heard and they met them with a
smile. True, opponents of the pro-
gram among those senators were
not satisfied at all with the explana-
tons advanced by the Presidents
spokesman. That fact, however,
does not take away from the two
witnesses the credit that is due
them.
And thus for the first time we
have what must be regarded as Of
fetal arguments. I mean these ar
guments are to be distinguished
from fireside chats and political
speeches concerning the merits of
the Presidents plan. Likewise, for
the first time we have frank ad-
mission that Mr.. Roosevelt's pur-
pose in asking congress to give him
authority for appointing six addi-
tional judges is to give him men on
that court who will see present day
problems IS TIN President sees
them. This admission was made by
Assistant Attorney General Jack
son. It was not made in so many
words but even proponents of the
Presidents plan said that such a
conclusion was warranted.
In view of Mr.. Jackson's state
ments to the committee, we can
look back upon some of the
speeches made by New Deal spokes-
men some months ago and can
realize from them and present de-
velopments that Mr.. Roosevelt had
the general purpose of packing the
court in mind for some months.
This circumstance seems to explain
also why the President and his adj
visors refused to accept the recon-
mendation of Prof. Raymond Moley
in 1884. At that time, Professor
Moley, a member, if not the num-
Der one man, of the Brain Trust,
urgently pressed for the New Deal
ers to 60 to the country with two
constitutional amendments. He
wanted the people of the country to
understand that these amendments
would permit enactment of certain
types of laws. He thought that the
congressional elections of 1884 was
the time to present the questions
to the voters. 1t must be said that
Professor Moley's proposition was
one of the fairest and soundest to
be made. 1t is a method prescribed
by the Constitution itself.
Since it must be recognized that
the Constitution is what the SUI
preme court says it is, it strikes
me that Professor Moley proposed
a fair solution and that if Mr..
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