Evening star., 1945-06-01

take this as meaning ne Will not
develop policies Of his own nor
that he will continue indefinitely
either Mr.. Roosevelt's appointees
or economic advisers-particula
in domestic affairs It would be
disappointing indeed if he did not
reverse some of the governmental
habits of the Roosevelt regime.
Certainly there is no obligation to
perpetuate Roosevelt mistakes.
Regret Jackson Draft.
Believing this, some of those who
wish Mr.. Truman well felt regret
when he drafted Associate Justice
Robert jackson of the Supreme
Court, who now is in France, to
head the prosecution Of war crimi-
mails. Not that in character and
ability Justice Jackson is not an
ideal man for the job-because he is.
The objection is not in the least
personal, but is based on the far
broader grounds that as a matter
of public policy it is a mistake for
a President to detach a member of
the Supreme Court for duties un-
connected with the court, no matter
how important they may appear nor
how convenient it may be to him.
Mr.. Roosevelt did not look at it
that way. He not only consulted
with members of the court on pat
ronage and political matters, from
which they are traditionaIly sup
posed to be aloof, but more than
once he reached into the court and
drafted one of its members for out
side work
For example, he named Justice
Roberts as head of a commission to
investigate the Pearl Harbor dis /
aster, a mission which detached him
from the court for approximately
four months. He did it again when
he got Justice ByrneS to resign to
become War Mobilization Director .
And he once asked Chief Justice
Stone to head an important COM
mission, but the Chief Justice de-
Clined.
Destroys Tradition.
The points made against this
p'actice are:
/. That it destroys the tradition
of aloofneSs of the Supreme Court, !
detracts from its dignity and tends
to lower respect for it as a tribunal
whose members are permanently re-
moved from all considerations save
the Interpretation of the basic law
and the promotion Of justice. The
same arguments apply to efforts
made from time to time to persuade /
members of the court to become
candidates for President or Vice
President.
2. That detachment OF one justice
easily might put the Supreme Court
in position where it could not func-
ton. Though the court is composed .
Df nine members, six, not five, is a /
quorum of the court. In the present .
court three members were formerly /
Attorney Generals and one was So
Hcitor General. Cases constantly
arise where one often two-and .
more-of these feel disqualified from
sitting. Thus, detachment of one
member and sickness of another .
could reduce attendance of the court
TO five, which is not quorum. /
Adds Extra Work.
g. Even if the danger Of no quorum
did not exist, the detachment of one
man imposes additional work upon
the remaining members. Instead Of .
the courts work being divided among
nine, it has to be divided among
eight or seven already fairly we'll
burdened.
4. Detachment of one man and the /
certainty that in many cases one
other justice will be disqualified |.
either by former connections or ILL
ness great enhances the danger of !
decisions by four members, one less |
than a majority. These four-justice
decisions are concededIy unfortu- /
nate, breed discomfort, criticism and .
confusion.
One notable instance occurred last !.
gear when the detachment of JUS
tice Byrnes and the disqualified
ton of Justice Reed reduced the
court to seven. Thus, in the insur-
ance case four justices were en-
abled to reverse consistent deci-
sions of the Supreme Court, which
had not been questioned in more
than 100 years.
Decision Caused Chaos.
AS result, Congress is still try
ing to find way to nullify the
harmful effects of that decision and
both President Roosevelt and his
Attorney General recognized that a
condition of chaos threatened the
entire insurance industry-a condi-
tion the companies are still trying
to avert.
1t is true the expectation is that
the work which President Truman
has asked Justice Jackson to under
n L.