Evening star., 1937-03-21
NATIONS LEADERS
CALLED C0WARDLY
ION SIT" STRIKES
Silence of Roosevelt and
Congress Hit by Senator
at Court Hearing.
RESPONSIBILITY LAID
TO JUSTICES RULINGS
Pecora Also Charges Example
Was Set for Workers by
High Finance.
BY JOHN II. CLINE.

President Roosevelt and Congress
have been "cowardly" in failing to de-
nounce sit-doWn strikes, Senator Van
Nuys, Democrat, of Indiana charged
yesterday at the conclusion of a tense
hearing by the Senate Judiciary Com
mittee on the bill to enlarge the su-
preme Court.
I think we have been cowardly-
both Congress and the President-in
not strongly denouncing these strikes"
Van Nuys declared. Had we done so,
believe they could have been stopped
in 48 hours"
Van Nuys' statement came lust
after Justice Ferdinand Pecora of the
New York Supreme Court had placed
the primary responsibility for the sit
down strikes on Supreme Court deci-
SlonS and the example "set by high
finance and merely copied by work.
ing men and women"
Supporters End Testimony.
Pecora's statement concluded a week
OF testimony by witnesses called in
support of the Presidents plan to an.
point six new justices to the high
court unless those justices now over
70 resign. The opponents of the
measure will begin presentation of
their case tomorrow, with the liberal
Senator Wheeler, Democrat, of Mon
tana, as their first witness. 1t is eX.
pected he will be followed by Ray
mond Moley, formerly chief brain
/ truster' Of the New Deal.
The presence of the fiery pecora
and sharp quarrel between the pre-
ceding witness, Irving Brant, and
Senator Connally, Democrat, of Texas.
revived tagging interest in the
hearing.
Mrs. Alice Longworth. widow Of
the former Speaker of the House and
daughter Of President Theodore
Roosevelt, again occupied a chair be-
hind the committee table Peerinx
at Pecora through a tortoise shell
lorgnette, she laughed at his verbal
tilts with committee members, jotted
down an occasional note and puffed
on numerous cigarettes. despite a
dozen or more Positively No Smok-
ing signs. These have been consist
emily disregarded throughout tha
hearings.
Pecora Draws Visitors.
Pecora's presence also attracted A
number Of Senators who are not mem.
bers of the committee. Chairman
AShurSt refused to let them partici-
/ pate IN the questioning but severa l.,
notably La Toilette and Minton Of
Indiana, became so interested in thu
proceedings that they evaded the rule
by writing out questions and passing
them to friendly committee members
to PROFOUND.
| At the outset of his statement,
Pecora, who attained national recog-
| milton while conducting the Sena5 "a
stock market investigation during the
early days of the New Deal, criticized
two Supreme Court justices-one by
name and the other by implication.
After declaring the myth that tbs
courts can do no wrong is absurdly
false and dangerous to the integrity
of the judicial system" he added:
The idea that it is contrary to a
sort of eleventh commandment 10
criticize the courts has tended to
make the judges less sensitive to
merited as well as unmerited criti-
cism 1t has accentuated a feeling
on the part of some judges that all
criticism directed toward them is in
bad taste and evidences a want OF
craftsmanship"
Seen Aimed at McReynoIds.
This, apparently, was aimed at
Supreme Court Justice McReynolds,
who told the Phi Delta Theta frater-
nifty Tuesday night that "the evil
dence of good Sportsmanship is that a
man who has had chance to present
fair case to a fair tribunal must be
good sport and accept the outcome. u
| Later, he quoted the following from