Evening star., 1937-05-22

-. 49, Mark Sullivan.
plan to reorganize the executive
department. 1t has been overlooked
in the greater public interest in Mr..
Roosevelt's other plan, his plan to
reorganize the courts.
The two plans are related. If both
should be enacted, Mr.. Roosevelt
would have-I quote . calm minded
person, Walter Lippmann-"personal
power greater than was ever conceived
possible in the chief official Of a con-
stitutional state"
The relation between the two plans
can be made clear by recalling an
action Of Mr.. Roosevelt which is little
known, but which, in the light Of
other actions of his, seems to have
significance.
Humphrey Fired"
Soon after Mr.. Roosevelt took ONCE.
In the busy. exultant early days OF
the New Deal, Mr.. Roosevelt dashed
off a letter to member Of the Fed
eral Trade Commission, William E.
Humphrey. Mr.. Roosevelt wrote:
without any reflection at all upon
you personally or upon the service you
have rendered - l find 1t neces-
sary to ask for your resignation.
feel that the aims and purposes Of
the administration with respect to
the work Of the commission can be
carried out most effectively with per-
sonnel Of my own selection"
Commissioner Humphrey did not
resign. Mr.. Roosevelt wrote again:
You will, I know, realize that do
not feel that your mind and my mind
60 along together on either the poll
cies or the administering of the Fed
| eral Trade Commission act, end
| frankly l think 1t is better for the
people of this country that I should
have full confidence"
| Again Commissioner Humphrey did
not resign. Thereupon, October 7,
1893, Mr.. Roosevelt wrote once more,
and finally:
! hereby removed from the Office OF
commissioner of the Federal Trade
Commission"
Court UphoIds Humphrey.
Commissioner Humphrey protested
the legality of his removal He died
soon after. The executor of his
estate sued the Government for salary
between the time of Commissioner
Humphreys removal and his death
In due course the case came up to
the Supreme Court. The court de-
cided unanimously that Mr.. Roose-
velt's removal of Humphrey had been
illegal and that Humphreys heirs
were entitled to s3,04306.
The court was careful to say that
its prohibition of summary removal
by the President did not apply tc
ordinary officeholders. 1t did not
apply to postmasters, for example
These Mr. Roosevelt can remove. He
can remove any officeholder who is
as Justice Sutherland put it. merely
one of the units of the executive de-
paltment."
The prohibition applied only tc
what have come to be called the
quasi judicial commissions. Of which
the principal ones are the Fedora
Trade Commission and the Interstate
Commerce Commission. These com.
missions have been given by Congress
special functions, which are partly
judicial To protect these functions
Congress gave the bodies specia
standing. They were set up to be
in the words of Justice Sutherland
independent of executive authority
." and free to exercise its judg.
ment without leave or hindrance OF
any other official or any department
Of the Government"
Given. Special Immunity.
To make this protection effective
Congress. on setting up the commits.
sions, gave them special immunity
Congress gave them precisely the pro-
lection they needed against precisely
the thing Mr.. Roosevelt tried to do
Congress provided that. Members o1
the commissions can only be removed
by the President "for ineff1ciency
neglect OF duty or malfeasance ir
Office" They cannot be removed fol
the reason Mr.. Roosevelt gave fol
removing Mr.. Humphrey, merely be.
cause Mr.. Roosevelt wanted "personne,
of my own selection"
The courts decision against Mr.
Roosevelt in the Humphrey case came
down on the same day as its decision
against him in the N. R. A. case
May ~, 1885. (Both decisions were
Unanimously Four days later, Mr.
Roosevelt made his sensational hour.
} and-a-quarter criticism OF thu
; Supreme Court to his newspaper
conference. Mr.. Roosevelt dwelt onl!