Evening star., 1937-02-26
BY WILLIAM C. McCLOY.

Every voter who Is able to read q
newspaper knows that the justices Of
the Supreme Court of the United
States are appointed for life or good
behavior. In a nebulous way, the
average citizen looks upon these ap-
pointments as political plums that
fall to clever lawyers with strong
political friends. The average citi-
zen is far more interested in the
appointee's chances for confirmation
by the Senate than In his qualif1ca-
tions for justiceship. Every Amer
lean is a potential politician.
But to get a clear understanding
of the battle now being waged In
Washington over President Roose-
velt's proposal to change the COM
pleXion OF the Supreme Court, it is
necessary to examine the court, its
establishment and the qualifications
Of its members much more closely.
Under our complex modern civiliza-
ton, . Supreme Court justice has
become more important than a Sen
ator or q Representative.
The Supreme Court itself stands
ut the head of the entire judici sys-
TEN Of the United States, the whole
Government resting on the three
fundamental branches-legislative, ex-
ecutive and judicial. While the crea-
ton Of lower courts which fill out
the Federal structure was left optional
with Congress, the establishment of
this one court which should be su-
preme was made mandatory by the
Constitution. The details Of its or
ganization and its Jurisdiction were
left to congressional action.
Membership Has Varied.
The Supreme Courts membership
has varied from time to time, begin
ming at six, running up to 10 and then
reverting to nine, at which number it
has stood for a number of years. When
the court was established, the country
was divided into six circuit court dis
tricts. The highest court, under the
judiciary act Of 1889, was organized
with chief justice and five associate
5uSticeS-one Supreme Court justice
for each district. In 1907, a new dis
trict was added for Kentucky, Tennes-
see and Ohio, making the number Of
justices seven. Two more were added
In 1887, to overcome the congestion
in business In Western and South
western States, and the number Of
Supreme Court justices was raised to
nine. In March, 1868, President Lin
coin appointed a tenth justice, Con-
gress having created a tenth circuit
for Oregon and California.
In 1865, during the quarrel between
President johnson and Congress, JUS
tice Catron died. The Senate-bit-
terly opposed to President Johnson
refused 10 confirm his appointee and
reduced the number Of justices to
seven as soon as two more should be
removed by death. For while, the
number stood at eight. While the
legal tender act was pending, Justice
Grier showed signs Of failing health
and his colleagues urged him to re-
sign. In April. 1869. after the pass
ing Of johnson, Congress increased
the number Of justices to nine.
Selection Method Important.
When the trainers Of the Constitu-
ton took up the judiciary problem,
the method of selecting the justices
was Of the first Importance. In most
of the States represented, the appel
late judges were selected by the legis-
latures Of those States, and, in two
of the States-New York and Con-
necticut-the legislatures acted on
appeals as the judiciary. The found
ing fathers preferred the system pre-
vainng in sachusetts, Maryland,