Evening star., 1938-08-03

of what rubber
stamp majority can be persuaded to
do even in the face of charges OF
graft and corruption The fact that
a grand jury initiated proceedings and
that Gov Earle endeavored by hastily
passed laws to take away from the
grand jury the power to investigate
alleged crimes is palpably usurpatlon
by both the legislative and executive.
Under the Pennsylvania Constitution,
as under the Federal Constitution, the
Legislature cannot lawfully destroy
the powers of the judiciary, which
include the grand jury system itself.
Even when the courts, which must
pass on any question arising from a
conflict between the different branches
of State Government are controlled
by the Governor and by his political
henchmen, then there is still recourse
to the United States Supreme Court.
because the laws of the United States,
indeed the Constitution itself. provide
that every State must be guaranteed
a Republican form Of Government.
Obstruction a Federal Offense.
The trainers of the Constitution left
this phraSe-a guarantee OF Re-
publican form of Government-to be
construed by Congress and the courts.
There is a statute, passed in recon-
struction times after the war between
the States. but still valid, which makes
it a Federal offense for anybody to
obstruct the judicial processes of
State. Presumably this was passed to
take care Of contingencies in which
the Governor OF State and Legls-
lature. acting in cahoots, could deprive
citizens of State of lawful process of
justice by tampering with the judi
ciary. This law provides that whoever
tnterferes with or obstructs justice in
such cases can be prosecuted. Where
q Legislature and a Governor have
conspired to obstruct the regular pro-
cesses of justice, they may be as much
smenable to Federal statutes as in
dlviduals who attempt to prevent
deputy sheriffs or marshals from carry
out the mandate of the courts.
In the present instance the judge
who has told the legislature that its
orders curtailing grand jury powers
are unconstitutional happens to be
a Democrat. He was designated by
the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
as an impartial magistrate to preside
in the investigation by the grand
jury of charges against Gov Earle,
who happens also to be a candidate
on the Democratic ticket for the
United States Senate.
Time was when, in the event charges
were made against a public official,
the customary answer was to well
come an inquiry and insist on having
all charges aired. The technique of
the new Tories, however, both in
Pennsylvania and in the national ad-
ministration, is to fight off every Ng-
geStion OF inquiry and to conduct
through their own agencies a white
washing investigation. Thus the new
Tories in the Roosevelt regime aided
and abetted the new Tory administra-
tion in Pennsylvania in 1886 when an
effort was made by the Legislature
of Pennsylvania to investigate charges
of improper Works Progress Admin
istration activities in the elections.
The Department of Justice in the
Roosevelt administration went SO far
as to send its own attorneys to pro-
tect the State administration against
the inquiry by arguing that the w.
P. A. was a Federal affair and that
the State LEGISLATURE could not in
quire into it at all.
Entire System Threatened.
So, since it suits the new Tories
to drag in the power Of the Federal
Government to head off an inquiry,
they can hardly object if the true
Liberals, those who believe in honest
government. insist that it is the duty
of the Federal Government to use
its power to prevent the processes of
justice from being obstructed in Penn
sylvania. For if Governor and
sycophantic legislature can do away
with the courts of a State whenever
the latter starts looking into crimes
and misdemeanors, then there is no
assurance Of a continuance of a re-
publican form OF government in the
several States of the Union.
The original compact which the
American people made with the Fed
eral Government was that the States
were at all times to remain sovereign,
but they were to perpetuate the idea
of legislative, executive and judicial
branches Of the State governments