Evening star., 1947-10-05
A Defender of Mans Civil RiQhts
Called an Economic
and Political
Liberal

| WlAhlc dppcdIcu DIS COuIlStl lOI ar
avowed Communist. The issue was
whether the Government coulc
nullify a ! citizens naturalization
papers on the grounds that they
had been obtained "unlawfully'
years before.
Chief Justice Stone, dissenting
with Justices Roberts and Frank
furter, in a long opinion argued
that "the will of Congress shall
prevail-that no man shall retain
his citizenship who does not show
attachment to the principles of the
Constitution"
In reply, Justice Rutledge wrote
Immediately we are concerned
with only one man, William
Schnelderman. Actually, though
indirectly, the decision affects mil
lions. If, II years after a Federal
court adjudged him entitled to be
a citizen, that judgment can be null
lifted and he can be stripped of his
most precious right, by nothing
more than. re-examination upon the
merits of the very facts the iudg-
ment established, no naturalized
persons citizenship is or can be
secure. If this can be done after
that length of time, it can be done
after 80 or so years. If it can be
done to Schneiderman, it can be
done for thousands or tens of thous-
ands of others.
mo citizen with such a threat
hanging over his head could be
free. If he belonged to 'off-color'
organizations or held too radical or.
perhaps, too reactionary views, for
some segment of the judicial
palate, when bis admission took
place, he could not open his mouth
without fear his words would be
held against him. - his best
course would be silence or hypocrisy
This is not citizenship. Nor is it
adjudication"
Critical of State Law
In cases where economic liberal
ISM conflicts with civil rights lib
eralism," Justice Rutlege is in
clined to the economic arguments.
In one of the perennial Jehovah's
Witnesses cases, he spoke for five
Judge majority in 1914 that a
Massachusetts, law banning child
labor was superior to the constitu-
tional guarantee of freedom of re-
ligion. A year later he spoke for
the court when he invalidated the
Texas law requiring the registra-
ton OF union organizers, a require
ment designed to keep Texas an
open shop" State. His opinion
held that the State law violated
the constitutional guarantee for
freedom of speech.
1T was not by accident or coin
cidence,' he wrote" that the rights
OF freedom in speech and press
where coupled in a single guaranty
with the rights of the people peace
ably to assemble and to petition for
redress of grievances. It is from
petty tyrannies that large ones take
root and grow. Seedlings planted
in that soil grow great and, grow
ing, break down the foundations
of liberty"
Justice Rutledge belongs to no
"bloc" on the court. He and JUS
tice Murphy are nearest in their
philosophical approach to civil
rights problems. Other members of
the court, with the exception of
Justice Burton, were either in the
Roosevelt government or. like JUS
tice Frankfurter, closely associated
with it, before their appointments.
Five, including Chief Justice Vim
son, had held executive positions.
Looks to the Future
Justice Rutledge came to the Cir
cult Court of Appeals for the Dis
trict of Columbia from the Univer-
sity of Iowa Law College when he
was As years old. His opinions re-
fleet a relaxed and contemplative1
view of the historical development
of the law
He is not primarily concerned
with the immediate effect of a
decision or with popular acclaim
or even popular understanding.
He lacks the literary style and
philosophical detachment of JUS
tice Holmes or the economic COM
prehension Of Justice Brandeis.
Grounded as he is in constitu-
tional history, he looks forward to
the growth Of the law by orderly
procedures to meet modern condi-
tons. OF the court members only
Justice William o. Douglas is
younger than he. Last July he
was So years old. His opinions have
already made their contributions
to that growth. His dissents have
outlined the shape he thinks the
law should take. His persistent in
dustry indicates that he will con-
tinue to apply the ancient concepts
of the Constitution. particularly as
to economic and civil liberties, to
present and future necessities.
tBy Special Arrangement With
st. Louis Post-Dispatch.}
nroucLoo Ro;