Evening star., 1941-10-06

women wage earners, he presented
brief of 100 pages, of which only
three were devoted to legal prece-
dents, the other 81 recited factory
conditions and introduced medical
expert opinion to show the effect
of these conditions upon the in
dividual workers and the public
health. This document set a prece-
dent for the presentation of cases
involving social legislation and
! brought to the attention of legal
circles the Brandeis view that dis
putes generally arose from "ignor-
ance."
Backed Trade Unions.
Through these years the jurist had
become known as believing that
trade unions were legitimate and
advantageous He was opposed.
however, to union rules that tended
to limit the productivity of workers
or restrict the legitimate expansion
of employers businesses. for he held
that while workers were entitled to
share in the profits that they pro-
duced they were obligated to do
their part toward increasing the
efficiency of enterprise in which they
were engaged.
On the basis of this creed. he was
made chairman in 1910 Of board
of arbitration charged with settling
disputes which annually plagued the
needle trades.
He contributed the preferential
union shop" idea to this situation.
1t provided that union members
were to have preference in employ
ment so long as union help was
available but that employers might
choose as between one union man
and another. The settlement af-
fected 600 plants with 100000 en-
ployes, with an annual output of
$500, 100000, A sort Of industrial
court. with Justice Brandeis as its
presiding officer, enforced this set
tlement from 1910 to 1914.
Fought Railway Merger.
In fight which attracted atten-
. tion throughout the Nation Justice
/ Brandeis fought the merger of the
Boston g. Maine and New Haven
Railroads. In the struggle, which
lasted for some five years, he warned
/ that unsound financial policies OF
| the New Haven line were heading
the company toward collapse. Dur
/ ing the fight. he took part in. a
series of public debates with the
vice president of the New Haven
! line and aroused bitter opposition
! of a number of leading financiers
A few years later the crash came
Justice Brandeis was the center
of attention again as one Of coun-
sci who figured in the congressional
inquiry of the Ballinger-Pinchot
/ forestry feud within the Department
! of Interior during the administra-
ton of President Taft. 1t has been
said that his part in the case made
national issue.
In January, 1916. President Wilson
submitted Mr.. Brandeis' name to
the Senate as a justice of the
United States Supreme Court.
storm of protest broke His enemies
descended upon Washington. But
so did his friends.
Exposed IneQuitieS.
His record as a lawyer was at
tackled. his foes picturing him as
"a man of violent partisanship,
"a dangerous radical" and one who
lacked judicial temperament At
one stage of the debate, seven for
mer presidents of the American Bar
Association wrote to the Senate
committee that it was their painful
duty" to express the opinion that
Mr. Brandeis was mot a fit person
to be a member of the Supreme
Court of the United States" One
of the signers was william Howard
Taft, later to become Chief Justice
But he was not without distin-
guished hackers. One of these was
Gov. Walsh, who delivered this
verbal broadside:
The real crime of which this man
Is guilty is that he has exposed
the inequities of men in high places
in our financial system"
The hearings produced two VOL
umes of testimony, running into
1900 pages. After the hearings had
lasted three months, the committee
chairman asked the President his
reasons for making the nomination
The President replied in May OF
that year:
THE report of your subcommittee
has already made it plain to the
country how unfounded the charges
against Mr.. Brandeis were. I my
self looked into them three years
ago when I desired to make him
a member of my cabinet and found
them for the most part from those
who hated Mr.. Brandeis because
he had refused to be serviceable to
them in the promotion Of their own
selfish interests"
will Ornament Court"
After citing his knowledge OF
modern economic conditions and
of the way they bear upon the
masses OF the people" President
Wilson stated of Mr.. Brandeis:
This friend of justice and of men
will ornament the high court OF
which we are all so justly proud. n
Besides David I. Walsh, Senator
Thomas j. Walsh of Montana and
Newton D. Baker came to the sup
port Of the Brandeis nomination
The fight went on for five months
And then, finally, by = vote OF ~
to "a he was. confirmed. with a
members Of the Senate not voting