Evening star., 1945-09-19
Burton Appointment
To High Court Hailed
Ohio Senator Is Not Motivated
by Causes or Glass, Says Writer

Ohio Senator Is Not Motivated
by Causes or Glass, Says Writer
By David Laurence
Appointment of Senator Burton Of
Ohio to the Supreme Court of the United
States by President Truman is signifi-
cant not just because he Is Republican
and there is desirable effort to restore
a bipartisan appearance on the high
est court. 1t is significant mainly be-
cause the President has chosen some one
Of judicial temperament, someone who
Is not motivated by causes and class
consciousness, some one who really will
make an impartial justice and who can
be labeled as neither conservative nor
liberal but simply honest-minded.
The Supreme Court is the most i'm
portant institution created by the Con-
stitution because the rights OF the indi-
vidual, the rights of the States, the
rights of the Federal Government are
all construed by the Supreme Court.
There is slogan on the Supreme Court
Building which reads Equal justice
under law" Likewise the oath of q
member of the Supreme Court requires
that he dispense justice Ito rich and
poor alike"
Some justices who have come to the
highest court forget that the oath makes
any such requirement and they assume
either that they represent the rich when
they safeguard property rights or that
they must attack the rich and deprive
them of their lawful rights in order to
benefit the poor.
Preconceived Notions.
Other justices go to the Supreme
Court with preconceiyed notions of what
their duty is, and they have often indi-
Gated that they think they must rewrite
the laws of Congress. One justice in
recent years went so far as to say that
when Congress wrote "reinstate," it
really meant "instate" and that new
worker who has never been an employe
must be given a job whereas Congress
wrote that an employe who lost his job
must be "reinstated" under certain cir
cumstances in which discrimination had
been practiced against union members.
There have been justices who have
conceived the Supreme Court to be a
place where their pet theories of what
the American system of government
should be could be put into operation
Thus America does not have a system
OF administrative law such as Britain
has but some Supreme Court decisions
have from time to time denied court
review and have made binding the de-
cisions of administrative agencies
In Britain there is redress against the
party in power by the people who can
insist on justice by administrative
agencies or overnight hold the party in
power responsible. In America there
is no such opportunity, so the only re-
course is to the courts, the doors of
which have often been closed by the
Supreme Court when an administrative
tribunal issues final judgment.
There are thus many ways by which
conservative or liberal crusader or class
champion can use his position as
member Of the Supreme Court to affect
fundamental courses of action by the
people and the States. Hence when any
President makes an appointment to the
Supreme Court, it is one Of the most
important steps he can take to maintain
an equilibrium in the body polite. The
feeling that the Supreme Court will be
fair has caused many a litigant to re-
sort to the courts rather than more
drastic forms of warfare.
Feeling on Fairness.
For a long time labor union spokes.
men felt that the Supreme Court wasn't
fair to them. Now the situation is re-
versed. Employers feel the Supreme
Court isn't fair and decides cases on
more of a political and class basis.
The late President Roosevelt chose
justices who fitted his views on how the
Constitution should be construed. His
attempt to pack" the court in 1887 by
legislation enlarging the court to Is
members failed but he had the oppor-
tunity later to fill vacancies and he Sc
lected men from his own Official family.
Only rarely have these men departed
from the New Deal concept of govern
ment.
The reason why it is desirable that all
viewpoints be represented in the Su-
preme Court or at least that men should
be objective in deciding cases is that
the justices hold ONCE for life. Mr..
Roosevelt, as the Democratic President,
appointed seven Democrats out of the
nine on the bench and when Justice
Roberts, one of the Republicans, retired
recently it was widely suggested that a
Republican be appointed.
Senator Burton is a man of deep spir-
itual convictions, fearless, open minded,
patient and above ALL well-informed
and conscientious public servant. He
will be missed in the Senate, but he
should be welcomed on the Supreme
Court.
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