Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-06-13

But while the appointment of Mr..
Stone is commendable, the princi-
pie involved in the selection of SEN
ator Byrnes and Attorney General
jackson is one that will occasion
considerable debate. Neither one
has served in judicial capacity be-
fore. The South Carolina Senator is
an able advocate and so is Mr.. Jack
son. Both men are personally popu-
lar in Washington and except for
their readiness to subordinate every
thing to considerations of party poll
tics they are as good a pair of public
servants as can be found in the
New Deal.
Is, however, personal and political
loyalty to the President the acid
test for appointment to the Supreme
Court? Senator Byrnes was lead
er in the third term draft move
ment in Chicago and has done yeo-
man service for the administration
on the floor of the Senate. Mr.. Jack
son has been an efficient admins
traitor of the Department of Justice,
but his opinion declaring legal the
transfer of average destroyers to
Britain was not the work of a great
lawyer but a master of the adroit
phrases of expediency.
Voted as Unit.
What the Nation wants on the
Supreme Court is men who can for
get politics. The record of the last
term shows the New Dealers voting
as unit in so many cases that it
seems strange coincidence. The
tendency of the Supreme Court
with its New Deal majority has been
to apply the principle that the king
can do no wrong. Counsel for the
Government agencies and depart
ments seem to get their way as the
rights of the citizen are repeatedly
trampled upon. Thus in the 1899 40
term of the court the Government
counsel won all but two or three
tax cases. Even where the lower
courts occasionally said a taxpayer
was right, the Supreme Court ruled
otherwise. In the last term of the
court just closed the score in Fed
eral tax cases was 80 to in favor
of the Government counsel, 8 to 3
in favor of the Government in labor
cases and 10 to 4 in favor of the
Government in business regulation
cases.
AS for disSents, out of a total of
1856 opinions rendered by majority
of the court, the record shows that
a great liberal jurist like Chief
Justice Hughes was overruled by his
radical colleagues % times. Justice
Roberts dissented 80 times, Justice
Stone dissented six times.
The number of dissents shows
how the Chief Justice had lost con-
troll of the court. Small wonder he
resigned. Will Chief Justice Stone
be able to do otherwise? 1t remains
to be seen. OF the dissents in the
last session, one by Justice Stone
stands out. He and Mr.. Hughes de-
clined to go along with Justice
Frankfurter' opinion that new
workers who had been rejected for
employment must be hired because
of alleged Discrimination by an en-
ployer and that back pay must be
awarded.
Ruled Against n. r. A.
Justice Stone, however, was one of
the nine justices who held that dele
cation of power to the N. r. A. was
unconstitutional and every now and
then he has revealed reverence
for the human rights in property as
contrasted with justices like former
Senator Black, who seem bent on
confiscating corporate property at
every opportunity.
The appointment of Senator
Byrnes pleased the Senate. He is
one of the most likable men in public
life and it should not be forgotten
that he was one of the sponsors of
q Senate resolution against sitdown
strikes couple of years ago. If the
sentiment of the country swings
against the confscationists on the
court 1t would not be surprising to
find Justice Byrnes closer to the
conservative than the radical side.
Somewhat the same trend may be
expected eventually from Attorney
General jackson. He has in recent
years been more of the prosecutor
type, but originally he was a
corporation lawyer of merit. So far
rs his record as practicing at
torney is concerned, Mr.. Jackson
ranks as high as anybody who has
recently been put on the bench. The
only case in which members of the
bar found him wanting was in the
matter of the average destroyers
and he will be forgiven by some
for rendering an expediency opin-
ion in a time of international crisis
though it is believed iecommen-
dalton from him to secure ratifica-
ton by Congress would have gone
q long way toward removing SC
many of the criticisms of one-man
rule which have been visited on the
executive branch of the Govern
ment.
In the days to come, property
rights will be challenged and the
New Deal Supreme Court will line
up for and against. In such show
down, Justices Stone, Reed, Roberts
jackson and Byrnes may well be.