\
m—
by William
National Press Bullding
SATO
Bruckart LEE oP
aml
ST 0
Washington, D, C,
Washington.—It has always been
said that politics makes strange
bedfellows. Histo-
Strange ry has shown this
Bedfellows statement to be
true because in
every political battle one can note
unusual combinations, odd types
working together, personal enemies
fighting side by side—in truth, bed-
fellows for the time being.
Never has the truth of this old
adage been better demonstrated,
however, than in the current politi-
cal fight that was precipitated by
President Roosevelt's demand that
congress pass a law which will al-
Jow the Chief Executive to add six
new members to the Supreme court
of the United States. The real con-
gressional fight on the President's
bold move has not yet gained full
headway. But time enough has
elapsed since Mr. Roosevelt offered
his history-making demand for
power to add enough judges to the
Supreme court, judges of his own
selection, to give him a majority,
that those close to the congressional
scene are now in a position to pre-
dict probably the most heated con-
troversy since the days immediately
preceding the Civil war.
Already, it can be stated, one can
see senators and representatives
who are known for their liberal
views standing side by side with
hard-boiled conservatives in opposi-
tion to the President's plan, which
they describe as a move “to pack
the Supreme court.” Likewise one
can see conservative Democrats
from the old South following Presi-
dent Roosevelt and joining hands
secretively with the wildest radicals
in the senate. One will see Demo-
crats and conservative Republicans
in earnest conversation planning
ways and means to halt the Presi-
dent's drive for control of the court
and at the same time one can see
radical Republicans planning with
gram-—strange bedfellows,
one,
While this conditi
it is by far less st
the proceedings ti
bitterness that
While, as I said, the co
hardly under way, there
now personal animosity
the senate to a degree that I nev
have seen before. I had the privi-
lege of observing the famous
League of Nations fight at close
range. There was personal bitter-
ness in that battle.
friendships were crushed and close
relationships torn asunder. Yet, I
think that the current controversy
is likely to cause the League of Na-
1s even
er
senate
nificance. In other words, there lies
ahead for the congress a raging fire
that is bound to destroy political
lives and political ambitions. Which
lives and which ambitions depend. 1
think, upon the answer which the
country’s citizens give to the now
direct question:
Are we to have a system of courts
and judges, independent and free of
politics, or are we to have puppets
that will do the bidding of political
masters?
. * »
I said above that the result of the
will be deter-
mined by the atti-
tude of the coun-
try. It is vital that
the citizens realize this fact. Since
President Roosevelt made no men-
tion during the campaign for re-
election in 1936 of plans to reform
the Supreme court, there has been
no public expression on the subject.
There will not be another opportu-
nity for the voters to express their
views until November, 1938. The
only way, then, open to those who
want to express an opinion for or
against the court change is by send-
ing their views to their congress-
men and senators. Conversations
that I have had with members of
the house and the senate convinces
me that the representatives and
senators will appreciate word as to
how their constituents feel.
Further evidence of the desire of
congressmen and senators to know
the feelings of the voters is given in
the tremendous propaganda that is
going on. Friends and foes of the
Supreme court reform program are
on the air nightly; scarcely a day
goes by that some senator and usu-
ally several of them and numerous
congressmen participate in debate
or issue statements concerning the
great controversy, and from the tre-
mendous source of propaganda sup-
ply at the command of the Presi-
dent come countless statements and
interviews and radio speeches prais-
ing the President's plan. Even the
President himself has made one of
his famous “fireside chats” telling
why he should be given the new
power.
In the meantime—and some more
strange bedfellows—we find the
most peculiar cross currents operat-
ing. Among some of the religious
groups, there are many who fear
that the court packing plan will void
constitutional guarantees of re-
ligious freedom. They fear even-
tual control of the churches by the
stale, having in mind, no doubt
what has happened to religious
Up to the
People
groups in Germany and Soviet Rus
sia.
Editorials from the Catholic press
are being circulated privately
among many legislators and against
these are some Protestant preach-
ers who take the position that the
Supreme court is out of date and
ought to be reformed. Numerous
Jewish leaders are opposing the re-
form but among the Jews are many
who feel that President Roosevelt
is right.
Then there is the split among the
farm leaders. I refer to farm or-
ganizations with national spokes-
men.
some against it,
the opponents seems to be a funda-
mental fear that to change the
court will open the door through
which dictators may walk.
reputation as regards this point, I
pression by the distinguished colum-
nist, Westbrook Pegler. Lately he
wrote:
“All of a sudden, Mr. Roosevelt
discovers that the Supreme court is
largely senile and demands quick
ed, would create an easy precedent
for the most cynical packing of the
type of Huey Long or Warren Hard-
come. It might not be many years
either . All dictators pack the
courts by legal means as a pre-
liminary to the promulgation of
their dictatorial laws. After that it
is comparatively easy to take over,
because the courts belong to the
dictator and do as he orders.”
There can be of
course, that the Roose-
velt proposes to have congress do
| for him is legal. Since, however, it
| is legal in this instance, it will be
of course, for someone else
to come along after Mr. Roosevelt
| and pack the court with men of his
own choo: who will decide
then President de-
n to decide. There is no
once the
Senator Wheeler,
Montana Democrat who has
{ long been outstanding in the liberal
character of views he holds, has
} added to this thought the expres-
sion that if the door is to be opened,
the people must do it—not the con-
gress that was elected without vot-
ers having heard the proposition
mentioned
no question,
thing Mr.
ng
| legal,
men
| sires
vhat may come if
. » »
As the fight of packing the Su-
preme court waxes warmer, one
can not help not-
They Make ing how De
Mistakes clever politicians
make mistakes.
There are many who believe that
Mr. Roosevelt made a grievous er-
ror in proposing revision of the Su-
| preme court in the fashion he chose
while there are others who say that
he was elected by such a tremen-
dous majority that he will have the
people behind him regardless of the
character of proposition advanced
to congress.
It is interesting to note how many
congressmen and senators are dodg-
ing the issue. Their silence is posi-
tively thunderous because they do
not know how the people back home
feel about the general proposition.
There are others who have come
out boldly for one reason or an-
other in support of the plan and
senate who have determined their
fight to the finish to stop passage
of such a law.
Then there was the mistake which
Senator Robinson of Arkansas, the
ate the other day. He vigorously
the President's plan. He called at-
torial comment in opposition and ac-
cused all of those people indiscrimi-
nately with being part of a gigantic
conspiracy against the court pack.
The humor of the Robinson out-
ator whom I very much admire.
What he did by an hour-long attack
in the senate was to re-emphasize
all of the criticism of the Press
dent's plan.
One might refer in this conneo-
tion also to the explosive type of
speech made by Harry Hopkins, re-
lief administrator. Of course, ev-
eryone knows that Mr. Hopkins has
made his life’s work that of looking
after suffering humanity. He is on
the government pay roll in such a
job. Mr. Hopkins attacked all op-
position to the President's plan be-
cause he said it was in the interest
of humanity to do so. The relief
administrator made his appeal di-
rect to all of those receiving federal
money through relief rolls and that
obviously will be taken up by oppo-
nents of the President's plan who
undoubtedly will say as some al
ready have hinted that Mr. Hop-
kins is trying to muster relief
classes to bring pressure upon con-
gress.
© Western Newspaper Union.
AE
SCE
Zhimks about
Twilight of Knee Pants.
ANTA MONICA, CALIF, —
Since our diplomatic group
must shed the half-portion
breeches they've been wearing
at official functions abroad,
quit mistaking them for foot-
men and start in again mistak-
ing them for waiters, as for-
|
merly.
But the under-rigging doesn’t
make so much difference anyhow.
In the best plenipo-
tentiarying circles,
it's the top dressing
counts — the
gold - plated cocked
the dress coat
the bosom crossed
the lapels and the
throat latch so deco-
rated with medals
that, alongside one
thus costumed, Sol-
Irvin 8S. Cobb
* * *
End of the Holdout Season.
HE baseball season couldn't
start off properly unless a cer-
tain catastrophe impended before-
Every self-respecting player
who made a hit last year insists
he'll never spit in the palm of an-
other glove. This makes him a hold-
out. The manager declares the play-
er will take what's offered him and
not a cent more. This makes him
a manager.
But fear not, little one.
all be in there when the
or the mayor or somebody
and tosses
They'll
governor
winds up
to launch the first
the ball
general
Nr 4‘
ANOorin
game
thteen feet in the
f the
nearly ei;
direction «
America.
Changing Style Capitals.
H OLLYWOOD
now the wor
5
ions, if you can believ
any style
creations +
circles, fre
mann
ninate,
tly make the women
and the men look ef-
naybe that's the desired
oldtimer wouldn't know
look
fer
effect:
about that. -
However, there's a new hat out
here for masculine wear which fas-
cinates me t is a very woolly hat
~—a nap on it like an old family
album - and the crown peaks up
in a most winsome way, and there's
a rakish bunch of tail-feathers at
the back which makes it look as
though it might settle down any
minute and start laying. 1 think
they got the idea for it from the
duck-billed platypus.
* - »
Civilizing Ethiopia.
ONQUERED Ethiopians attempt
4 to assassinate their new over-
lord, Viceroy Graziani. Nobody is
killed, but several individuals get
bunged up.
So the conquerors arrest all na-
tives of Addis Ababa in whose huts
weapons are found. They round up
2,000 “"suspects’ out of a total popu-
lation of 90.000.
So promptly 1,800 of these black
prisoners are put to death in
batches. In former days the fir-
ing squads would have worn them-
an
of this sort, but no — well, who
would deny that the machine gun
the crowning achievement of
white culture? Poison gas is also
much favored for pacifying rebegl-
and plane-bombing
The Public's Short Memory.
FINANCIER, whose exposed de-
vices are as a bad smell in
shape. A little time passes, and, lo,
in a new setting, he bobs up, an
envied if not an exalted personage.
So-called exclusive groups welcome
him in: newspapers quote him on
the sunshine of folks’ tolerance——
yes, the admiration of some.
No evidence that he has repented
of his former practices; no sign of
intent to repay any broken victim
of those fiduciary operations. The
private fortune which he took with
him when he quit is still all his.
And maybe there's the secret of
this magical restoration to the fa-
vor of the multitude.
IRVIN 8. COBB.
©--WNU Service.
Budapest Catacombs
The Budapest catacombs date
back to the days when the Fort of
Buda was held by the Turks, mark-
ing the farthest fortified advance of
the forces of Islam into Christen
dom. They were probably intended
as avenues of escape for a belea-
guered garrison, but they also have
fresh water wells in them, and some
of the chambers were used as re-
positories for great numbers of hu-
man skulls and bones, as in the
«ase of the catacombs at Rome.
ARARAAA RAR AR RAR RAR K
STAR
DUST
Movie « Radio
*
*%% By VIRGINIA VALE kk%
X20 20 20 00 0 2 0 0 0 2
32000 2 2
HE biggest sensation of the
year in motion pictures is
the success of Ritz Brothers,
those three wild-eyed comics
who rush into “On the Avenue"
like a tornado and break up the
show. They work with such
whirlwind speed that in a stunt
utes on the screen, they use up
more genuinely comic material
Expert dancers rave about the
eratic training: actors suspect that
they played in stock for years to
their line delivery.
to Harry Ritz himself—he's the
hardest working one in all their
sketches—they have never had a
dancing or singing or elocution les-
son in their lives.
wn Wonsnsn
For days Joan Bennett had all of
her friends in a perfect fever of ex-
citement while
made up her mind
about going to New
York for a stage en-
gagement. Back in
New York Margaret
Sullavan had an-
nounced that she
was going to with-
draw from the cast
of “Stage Door," be-
cause she is going
to play a mother
role in real life
soon. The producer
thought it would be a grand idea to
get Joan to take over her part. She
was quite Walter
Wanger, to whe is under con-
tract, said he was willing to
go. But that wily Walter
showed Joan the costume
for “Vogues of 1837" and that set-
tled it,
3ut according
she
Joan Bennett
interested, and
m she
let her
Wanger
sketches
a
If you have been wondering what
Arthur Tracy, the Street Singer so
long popular on the radio, has been
up to, you'll soon see for yourselves.
In “Backstage,” a picture he re-
cently made in London, he plays
opposite Anna Neagle, the Gan-
mont-British star. Tillie Losch is in
it too, the exquisite dancer whose
hands writhed so seductively in
a
Clark Gable, who thinks that Rob.
and Robert Taylor who thinks that
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to let them
make a picture together. The story
tary story by Percival Wren.
wn
There is a serious shortage of
beautiful chorus girls in Hollywood
right now, because all the studios
are making big musicals. Girls who
could not even get a few days extra
work while the studios were all busy
on dramatic pictures, are now sign-
ing ten-week contracts calling for
as much as $200 a week. Samuel
Goldwyn's chief complaint about the
beautiful girls who come to Holly-
wood seeking work is that they in-
lar star, instead of being beautiful
in their own way. The one sure
one of his pictures is to have some-
one tell him that you look just like
Virginia Bruce, or Carole Lombard.
ws enue
When Kathryn Witwer, popular
MBS prima donna, first came to
Chicago to win fame
and fortune, she had
exactly $5 in her
purse and some
secretarial training
which she traded
for music lessons.
First prize in a Na-
tional Music Clubs
federation contest
ge erick Stock and also
Kathryn with Mary Garden
Witwer at the Chicago Civie
Opera. After her
successful opera debut her home
town of Gary, Ind., sent her to Eu
rope for further study.
en
ODDS AND ENDS—Marlene Dietrich
ie 4
Two Blouses From Making One's Mark
He who influences the thought of
» n ’ J, £
One Smart I attern his times influences all the times
that fellow. He has made his
impress on eternity.— Elbert Hub-
bard.
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ICTY
Le I) §°4
Culture Needed
The enjoyment of art demands
a certain degree of culture.
HTIN
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A
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in stage coach days the 7
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Spending Youth
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