Evening star., 1939-01-08
By A. II. Feller,
Special Asststant to ths Attorney General.

play of local diversity In dealing with
local problems"
One of the great concerns Of the bearers
of the great tradition has been with the
jurisdiction and procedure of the Supreme
Court. To outsiders these appear to be
"technicalities." To Frankfurter, "the
formalities and modes of doing business,
which we characterize as procedure,
though lacking in dramatic manifesto
tions, may, like the subtle creeping in of
the tide, be a powerful force in the
dynamic process of government" The
jurisdiction and procedure of the Supreme
Court is undoubtedly technical and COM
plicated. Yet these rules are of over
whelming importance to the conduct of
its business and to the development Of
the law. There will be few to doubt the
judgment that Mr.. Frankfurter is our
foremost authority on this abstruse sub
ject. The book on the Business of the
Supreme Court" which he wrote with
James M. Lands 10 years ago is the out
standing source of our knowledge of the
subject, while his annual articles on the
Supreme Court furnish the most cogent
current discussions of the movement of
this branch of the law.
In emphasizing the continuity of the
great tradition, there is danger Of OBJ
scuring the fact that the new appointee
stands on his own merits and that he
is as different from his three prede-
cessors as they were from each other
Holmes was pre- -eminently a man of
urbane and ripened wisdom, Cardozo
essentially scholar of legal develop
ment. Brandeis will 60 down in history
as a judge who understood how to
weld economics into legal decision.
Frankfurter brings to Court gifts which
these men possessed in somewhat lesser
degree. His knowledge of the workings
of government has been ripened by many
years of experience. People are just
beginning to recall that his contact with
national affairs long antedated the New
Deal. The history of his connections
with the administrations of Taft, Theo-
dore Roosevelt, Wilson and Hoover is
still to be written. He has heard and
given counsel for many years and on
many things. He has delved deeply into
the administration of criminal justice in
Cleveland, into the regulation of public
utilities, into myriad Of other activi-
ties of government. The body of knowl-
edge which he brings with him will
strengthen and widen judicial judgment.
His Experience in Labor.
A special accomplishment of the new
justice is his knowledge Of the problems
of labor. In the last two years the
Supreme Court has dealt with an un-
usually large number Of labor cases, and
this number will probably increase in
the coming years. The Chief Justice
and Mr.. Justice Brandeis. have had i'm
portant labor experience prior. to their
appointments to the bench. Mr.. Frank
furter's experience is far more extensive,
beginning with his successful handling
of the labor relations problems of the
World War period through his CO.
authorship of the leading treatise on the
labor injunction.
It may well be that Frankfurters
greatest asset as Supreme Court JUS
tice will be his capacity for dealing with
his colleagues. The Court has only re-
Gently emerged from period Of stress;
two new members have Joined 1t. It Is
of considerable significance that Frank
furter enjoys the warm personal friend
ship of several members of the Court.
He possesses the rare quality Of getting
along with people. The number OF his
friends is incredible and they are to be
found in every walk Of life and among
every shade of opinion. A man Of such
temperament can contribute nightly to
refashioning the unity Of the Court.
Faith in Liberty and Democracy.
Above all, the new justice brings with
him a faith in liberty and democracy
which is as realistic as it is sturdy. His
passion for the essential liberties Of
freedom Of press, speech and religion
need hardly be adverted to. His vision
Of the nature and problems oe dsmoc-