The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-06-19

EdSOn one of those old- time Puritan Church wardens with long pole to keep the Justices and customers awake. If you remember your school books, there was 8 hard knob at one end to conk the boys with, and a feather at the other end to tcikle the girls with. When the sermons got too dull and the congregation showed any inclination to go to sleep on a long -winded preacher, the warden would swing into action.
 People actually do doze off at Supreme Court sessions and it's no wonder, for the arguments are pret- ty hard to follow. When spectator decides to take 40 winks, he or she usually wrinkles up the brow and clowly closes the eyes to give an im- pression of deep meditation. But that doesn't last long. Pretty soon, bang go their heads forward on their chests and they like to break their darn necks. The perk wakes them up, and they look around slyly to see if anyone was watching. If you catch their eye, they smile back coyly to hide their guilt and then scowl all the harder in mock con- centration.
 LINE FORMS TO RIGHT
 The Supreme Court chamber seats around 800, but people flock in by the thousand, particularly on Mon- days, when decisions are handed down. An hour before the noon open ing, there's line forming to get in, and it winds through those spotless white marble corridor during almost the entire session. Sight-seers can take only so much of this, and then leave. That makes room for others, but sometimes people stand in line til after noon for just peek. Law yers, though, and lobbyists sit through whole sessions and seem to lap it up.
 It is pretty insipiring and impress sive at that, even if you don't un- derstand all that goes on. You're struck by the big high-ceilinged court chamber; the thick red carpt with it's subversive pattern of fascist emblems; the "A massive marble columns behind which hang the thick, plum -colored drapes that just miss being purple; the heavy bronze grilles; the high bas-relief sculptur- ing of nearly a hundred bigger than ife-size figures of big-winged angels and big-chested men and naked lit tie boys. It's all as simple and as instricate as the law itself.
 Then up front is the high-polish- ed bench which isn't bench, be- cause there are chairs bheind it-a crazy pattern ol incongruous chair backs padded at fit the bottoms Of the individual justices - and it isn't a bar, either, because it's too high for anybody's elbow.
 JUSTICE OES DOGGY
 But all eyes are on the honorable, the Chief Justice and his eight as- sociates the nine watchdogs of justice. Stone like St. Bernard; Roberts like a mistiff; Black like a retriever; Reed like a French poodle Frankfurter like fox terrier; Doug- las like an Irish setter; Murphy like an airedale; Jackson like setter; Rutledge like shepherd. They're up there to guard your liberties and your rights if you get pushed around.
 The strange thing is that they fight among themselves as to what is right and what is wrong. They seldom hand down a unanimous de- cision. From one to four usually dis sent. Yet the majority rules and the minority accepts the verdict, whether it is on freight rates in North Carolina, labor union repre- sentation in Florida, water rights in Wyoming and Colorado, insur- ance taxes in Oklahoma, the right of a conscientious objector to prac- tice aw in Illinois, or acquittal for "A German Bundists accused of ad- vising their followers how to evade the draft laws.
 And, after all, what is justice but the peaceful acceptance of majority rule? The people of this nation and many other nations have learned that on a small scale. But nations themselves the governments of which are only the representatives of large number of people - have not yet accepted this fundamental principle of democracy in their dealings with each other. That's why they've been having such a hard time at San Francisco.