The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-01-08
By WEsTBROOK PEGLER


By WESTBROOK PEGLER
NEW YORK - An interesting conflict has
arisen in the Supreme Court between Justices
Hugo Black and Frank Murphy on the one
hand, and Felix Frankfurter on the other all
new dealers selected for their liberalism. {"
AS l interpret the newspaper accounts, Black
and Murphy criticized Frankfurter for using
his personal views on morals and ethics'''
as measure of justice They seem to think
he should employ other guides, whereas it
seems to me that man must be guided by
his own morality, such as it is, for better
or for worse.
The question then is whether your Justice
is man of sound morals.
In two important cases in which Mr. Frank
furter wrote the majority opinions it has SEEM
ed to me- among others, that the court flouted
good morals. At the moment I am not able
to list those other justices who were content
to let him speak for them. However, it is
supposed that there are no weaklings on the
court who could be seduced to Mr.. Frank
furter's way of thinking although he has the
reputation OF being very persuasive and in
fluential man in the new deal government and
the court as well.
In one case in which Mr.. Frankfurter spoke
for the majority Of the court it was admitted
that the defendant was absolutely in the wrong
had violated his agreement, and, then, as
a means of enforcing wrongful demands, had
told and published lies about the injured party
which were intended to damage his business
and did SO. Nevertheless, Mr.. Frankfurter's
majority opinion, which l take to be express
sve of his own morals and of the morals
OF those who concurred, held that the acknowl-
edged facts did not constitute unlawful con-
duct under the Clayton act. In other words
the Supreme Court was Indifferent to injus-
indiI dual h
to nurse his own injuries and held that Con-
gress had intended to legaze this condition.
which Congress morally could not do even
if that were the intent
In the more recent case where two New
York cafeterias had been picketed with false
representations that a labor dispute existed
and where 1t was acknowledged that there
was no dispute between either EMPLOYER and
any employee Mr.. Frankfurter wrote a ma
Jor1ty opinion which went even further Not
only was the public falsely told that the en-
ployers were unfair to organized labor with
which they had had no dealings whatever
but customers were insulted, and were told
that the food was bad and that to patronize
the cafeterlas was to aid the cause of fascism
1here was no evidence that the proprietors
were fasclsts or in any way sympathetic with
faSciSm.
On this last point the court held that Ito
use loose language or underlined slogans that
are part OF the conventional give-and-take in
our economic and political controversies like
unfair or fascist is not to falsify facts
On this last point the court held that to
use loose language or underlined slogans that
are part Of the conventional give-and-take in
our economic ard political controversies, like
unfair or fascist is not to falsfy facts
To that say the hell it isn't. In the first
place. as Mr. Frankfurter and all the rest of
them well know, the terms unfair to Or
gained labor" and fascist" are not loose
language or underlined slogans. They are DOW
erful accusations employed with the knowledge
that they are powerful and for the purpose
of causing harm to the victims And again.
as he and the rest of them all know, to use
these terms falsely is to falsify facts DELHI
erately and Wantonly and anyone who con-
tends otherwise, is trying to whitewash lies
which is very strange business for the SUI
preme Court of the United States.
In both of these cases, there occurs the
poisonous dictum that unions, however I'M
scrupulous have a special right derived from
Congress to violate the rights of every other
element of the community. In the first case
MIR. F'rankfurter wrote that the picketing of
the victim with falsehoods was "a familiar
practice in these situations" as though this
form OF wrongdong had acquired justification
merely because it had become habitual with
the offender. In the second it becomes legal
moral and fair for union, but only for
union, to call man fascist who is not
fascist when the fact of the matter is that
right now number of citizens are under
Indictment and in jeopardy on charges that
they are faScists.
1t is slightly reassuring to learn that at
least, the Supreme Court is taking some
notice of the existence of morality and ethics
There have been indications that they didn't
even care.
-V-
G1randpappy Jenkins, eager for early
spring. suggests that the next test blackout
be made nationwide and geld on Ground Hog
Day.
Snow furry reported by Florida town.
Must have happened during the night when
the CHAMBER of Commerce wasn't looking