Evening star., 1949-07-20
Party Ratio Of 6 10 ;
Reflected Many Years
In Supreme Court
'supine' 6. O. P. Blamed
For Portisonship Shown
In Democratic Regime
By David Laurence


1t for granted that President
Truman will name q Democrat.
For many decades, however, tn.
Supreme Court reflected a ma.
jority and a minority party rep
resentation on the basis Of 6 to 3
This meant that, irrespective o,
whether a Republican or Demo
cratic President made the ap'
pointments, the Supreme Cour
always had one-third of its mem
bers from the opposite politica
party. Men are supposed to for
get partisanship and politica
connections when they ascend tn,
bench, but nevertheless the prin'
ciple Of 6 to has been main
tanned as a kind Of tradition
Only under the late President
Roosevelt was the custom fla
grantly disregarded. Today ther'
are 8 Democrats on the Suprem,
Court and only one Republican
an unprecedented case Of unbal'
ance.
Supine G. o. P. Blamed.
Part of the blame for this /.
the supineness of the Republican,
who. in all the years that new ap.
pointments have been made, have
not ventured to call the attention
Of the country to the partisanshir
displayed. Only since 1916, wher
the Republicans won the Con.
gress, did they begin to note thai
the same partisanship had beer
applied throughout the Federal
judiciary. Senator Alexander
Wiley Of Wisconsin, who was the
Republican chairman Of the Ju-
dietary Committee of the Senate
in the 80th Congress. made a
penetrating speech on this sub
ject, pointing out that more than
s5 per cent Of the judges on the
Federal bench had been selected
from the Democratic Party.
It was a Republican President.
william Howard Taft. who in 1910
elevated to the chief justiceship,
Justice White-not only a Demo-
crat but a man who had served
in the Confederate Army during
the War Between the States.
There was certainly no politics
in that selection, for Justice
White hailed from Alabama,
which State he represented In
the United States Senate before
his appointment.
President Hoover kept the 6-to-
3 ratio when he named Justice
Cardozo. a Democrat. to the
Supreme Court. even though
Charles Evans Hughes was then
Chief Justice and hailed from the
same State as Mr.. Cardozo.
Naturally there has been dis
cussion here Of the religious af-
f1liations of the justices. When
President Taft named Chief, JUS.
tice White, q Catholic. It, was the
first time any one of that religious
faith had served in that capacity.
Subsequently two Catholics-Jus-
tice Butler and then Justice Muir
phy-successively were appointed,
50 that it is natural now to hear
talk in the National Capital about
finding some one who Is a Catholic
and who also fits the other re-
quirements.
Should Go to West.
One of these is that the appoint
ment probably should go to the
West. There certainly are. how
ever, able jurists in the Republi-
can Party who also happen to be
Catholics.
II the President is determined
to name Democrat, then Senator
O'Mahoney Of Wyoming probably
fitS the religious and regional and
political specifications. But 50
also does Chief Justice Harold
Stephens Of the Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia, q
Catholic and a Democrat who
halls from Utah. Judge Stephens
was runner-up, so to speak. fol
the last appointment to the
Supreme Court made by President
Franklin Roosevelt. He was passed
over at the last moment in favor
of Justice Rutledge, although his
name had been recommended by
the Justice Department and the
rumor at the time was that he
was virtually certain of appoint
ment.
Judge Stephens is one of the
ablest jurists in America. He is
not an extremist in the sense of
being either on the left or the
right 50 far as domestic ideologi-
cal issues are concerned. His i'm
partiality and integrity are un-
questioned.
The chances are that the Presi-
dent will not act precipitately. II
Attorney General Tom Clark
wants the appointment, he prob
ably can have it, even though he
doesn't fit the aforementioned
requirements as to religion or
region. But he would make a
good judge, and it has been
customary for recent Presidents
to name their Attorneys General
when there is a vacancy on the
court. James c. McReynolds, Har-
Ian Fiske Stone, Frank Murphy
Robert II. Jackson all served as
Attorney General before being
appointed to the Supreme Court,
t1eDreduetion kishts Reservea.)