Evening star., 1937-03-09
FARLEY ATTACKS
COURT PLAN FOES
Cites Precedent for Change
in Judiciary in North
Carolina Speech.
BY the Associated Press.

BY TIE ASSOCIATED PreSS.
CHAPEL HILL, N. c.. March g.
Postmaster General Farley accused
opponents of President Roosevelt S
court reorganization proposal OF
"straining at gnat' today and cited
what he called ample precedent for a
change in the judiciary.
Farley. chairman of the Democratic
National Committee, spoke here under
auspices of the North Carolina Po-
litical Union, non-partisan student
organization at the University of North
Carolina.
Those within the Democratic party
who oppose the plan agree with nj
(Mr. Roosevelt's) diagnosis of the evi
but fight the method he offer!
to cure the evil" Farley said. HI
added these opponents have not Offered
an adequate alternative"
Farmers, industrial workers anc
citizens generally are quite aware oi
what is going on" he said, land are
perfectly satisfied that the President
never in his life had any thought thar
to make our Nation safe"
Opposition Believed Heritage.
Speaking of at least some" of the
Supreme Court justices who voteo
against New Deal measures, Farley
said:
Perhaps this is heritage
from their days as practicing attor.
neys. Then they had the great com.
binations of capital as their best cli-
ents. 1t is not remarkable that a law.
yer who has devoted most of his life
to protecting such interests carries his
habits of logic into his later years"
Congress has frequently varied the
number of Supreme Court justices,
he went on. The court has consisted
of S members at times an( 10 al
others. 1t has been increased OF
diminished ordinarily because Con.
gress was dissatisfied with the courts
attitude and wanted men of another
mode of thought on the bench"
Discussing a proposal for a consti-
tutional amendment to accomplish
court reorganization, Farley said, 1--WE
have been trying l3 years to overcome
the Supreme Courts decision on the
child labor act with constitutional
amendment and haven't got within
hailing distance of the requisite con.
firmation by three-quarters of the
States"
The authority now asked by the
President could be altered by Sim
pie act of Congress" he said, whereas
an amendment that should prove i'm
practical or inadequate. necessitatine
delay in the first place, could be
changed only by the elaborate
processes of another amendment.
Position Declared Constitutional.
None of the senatorial leaders op-
posing the Presidents plan suggests
Congress is going outside its consti-
tutional function by adding to the
membership of the court" he said,
but added they objected to the pur-
pose, terming it packing the court. Vi
He referred to Senators Glass OF
Virginia, Borah Of Idaho. Wheeler OF
Montana and Connally of Texas, who
he listed as opposed to the Presidents
proposal, and called attention to their
debate on the appointment of Chief
Justice Hughes by President Hoover.
Senator Borah declared the Su-
preme Court becomes the economic
dictator of the United States the
Postmaster General said. Senator
Glass Senator Wheeler and Senator
Connally expressed similar views on
that occasion.
tom Connally accused the pros
pective Chief Justice of having al
ready written his verdict Chief JUS
tice Hughes did not come up to the
wicked eminence attributed to him,
but the Senators are still Of the same
opinion as to the evils Of the court
as now constituted"