The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1940-05-20

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johnson was frequently de-
nounced as war monger" when
he declared at the time OF Munich
that the U. S needed the finest
air armada in the world-pos-
sibly 10000 planes. The blitz-
kriegs in Poland. Norway, the
low countries now convince many
people that he was conservative.
He ran into powerful opposition
when he asked congress for mill
lions to finance a start on his
industrial mobilization plan-for
more millions to buy critical ma
terials like tin. rubber, quinine,
etc. But the spread of war has
forced an overnight. and possibly
a wasteful, move in both those
directions.
The big. burly West Virginian
may have been playing in luck,
but he also named the date Hitler
would attack Holland md Bel
GUM. So now the bigwigs listen
when he talks, and he is invited
to national defense conferences
at the White House, while Wood
ring bends over his desk mile or
more away.
The audacious and disturbing
argument that the founding
fathers" were not responsible
for the bill Of rights or the con-
stitution has been advanced by
Rep. Hatton Summers OF Texas,
the nearest approach to a pollti-
cal philosopher on Capitol hill
and so recognized by supreme
court members. His contention
Is Contained in an article ne has
written for a new magazine, en-
titled THE Bill of Rights" and
sponsored by distinguished New
York lawyers, including Elihu
Root, jr.
Long before the founding
fathers" assembled, Summers
points out, the principles they
embodied in the constitution had
been incorporated in several
states codes, notably Virginia's.
Before that, however, they had
been enshrined in the English
bill Of rights of 1701. But long
before that document was fash
Toned, they had been fixing
themselves in the notions, opin-
ions and convictions and pur-
poses OF the people. These pro-
visions inhere in the nature Of
things from the beginning"
ut Is q fact" continues the
Texan, "snd it ought to be a
very instructive fact, that no
basic provision of our Bill of
Rights, or OF the rest of our
constitutional structure, state or
federal, can be traced to any in
dividual, or to any convention,
as its originator in any creative
sense. They each e. back so
far historically and spread out
so broadly that not one of them
adds to the Legitimate fame of
any human being as its orig
inator."
Applying his analysis to the
present-day world, Mr.. Summers
believes that the new deal sys-
tenn of government has resulted
directly from the historical error
he deplores and seeks to correct.
The Roosevelt administration, in
his opinion, places too much de-
pendence upon men and not
enough on broad, basic prin-
ciples.
The emergence of John j.
Dempsey as a national figure
through his crusade for the
Hatch bill has in 1t the elements
of a political romance. Indeed,
it might be described as the
second act Of a drama which
has an ancient civilization for a
setting and the late Senator
Cutting for an invisible men,
Der of the cast. Here is the
plot:
A member Of the wealthy and
socially prominent Cuttings Of
Long Island, graduate OF
Groton and Harvard, Mr.. Cut
ting settled in New Mexico and
through discreet use Of his
money. became the behind-the-
scenes boss. He was a rather
effeminate individual, but his
lisp and Harvard accent could
not hide the fact that he used
ffahfsnS xatord. in a aenata d.