WASHINGTON
Washington, Nov. 28 The
Washington prognosticators, who
usually come closest to guessing
right, picked Attorney-General
Frank Murphy as the President's
most likely choice for the Su
preme Court as soon as the news
came out that Associate Justice
Pierce Butler had passed on.
The choice of Mr. Murphy
seems logical for several reasons.
For one thing, it is geographically
right; Mr. Murphy hails from
Michigan, which is in the same
section of the nation as Justice
Butler's home in Minnesota, as
Washington looks at the political
map. Then Mr. Murphy is a Ro
man Catholic and so was Justice
Butler. Not that the question of
religious beliefs has ever counted
for much in picking Supreme
Court nominees, but as the court
is now constituted it contains one
Jew and seven Protestants and
not a single Catholic. Justice
Butler was the only one of that
faith to sit on the high bench
after the late Chief Justice White
died.
Senate Would Approve
The prophets pointed out that
Mr. Murphy could hardly fail of
confirmation by the Senate. He
has achieved a high standing in
general esteem since he came to
Washington, and his attainments
as a lawyer are unquestionable.
Moreover his experience as an
administrator in the Philippines
and as Governor of Michigan
have given him points of view on
Far Eastern affairs, which may
easily give rise to questions com
ing before the Supreme Court, as
well as of the relations of the
state to the Federal government.
The most compelling reason, as
the forecasters saw it, for the se
lection of Mr. Murphy, is that his
political philosophy runs closely
parallel to that of the President.
He is definitely a Liberal, though
he does not lean so far to the Left
as to justify the appellation of
Radical. He is definitely less
radical than some of the other
Justices, but much more on the
radical side than some of the
others.
A staunch upholder of the Bill
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of Rights in many public utter
ances, Mr. Murphy is held by
some competent lawyers to be
much more a strict construction
ist of the Constitution in general
than the public gives him credit
for being. It is predicted that
once on the Supreme Bench he
would be found more often lined
up with the actually Liberal Chief
Justice Hughes than with either
the extremely Conservative Jus
tice Mcßeynolds or the decidedly
Leftish Justice Black.
Fifth Appointment
In any event, the death of
Justice Butler gives the President
his fifth chance to fill a vacancy
on the Court with a man of his
own choosing, which is what he
was aiming at when he proposed
his ill-fated Court Reorganization
Bill, on which his own party split
more definitely than on any other
New Deal proposal.
A clear majority of the Court
will bear the Democratic label,
not to count Justice Mcßeynolds,
who was President Wilson's At
torney-General and politically is
more akin to Vice-President Gar
ner than to President Roosevelt.
If party politics played any im- ■
T*ra KT KTN TRIBUNE, ELKJN, NORTH CAROLINA
portant part in influencing Su-j
preme Court decisions, the three j
lone Republicans on the bench
would be in a hopeless minority.!
But with a very few notable ex
ceptions, justices of the Supreme
Court have uniformly been chos
en because of their high personal
character and legal ability and it
cannot be fairly said that the
Court follows the election returns.
Another reason which cynical
commentators put forward as a
sound one for Mr. Roosevelt's
nomination of Attorney-General
Murphy to the Court is that it
would remove from the Presi
dential race a man who is credit
ed with ambitions to live in the
White House. The likelihood of
Mr. Murphy's Presidential nom
ination, however, is considered
remote.
So, too, is the likelihood that
either he or any other justice will
feel under the slightest obligation
to take orders from the man who
appointed them. They have been
removed from all control by
either the Executive or the Legis
lative branches of the Federal
Government and have become the
•third major branch, with power
to check the actions of either of
the others.
Functions of Court
It is their function, among
other things, to decide whether
an Act of Congress conforms to
the Supreme Law of the Land,
which is the Constitution, and
their decision to the contrary in
stantly nullifies any such- law
without further procedure and
without recourse or responsibility
of its revival by Congress. And
whenever the President oversteps
the bounds of his authority, dele
gated to him by the Constitution
or by statute, the Supreme
Court's duty is to check him in
his stride and make him retrace
his steps. That was notably the
case when President Roosevelt
undertook to dismiss a Federal
Trade Commissioner and the
Court held that he could not do
it.
Washington observers believe
that Frank Murphy would mea
sure up to that high standard,
particularly as he is not merely a
member of a religious sect which
teaches the highest standards of
personal honor and conduct, but
is an especially active and avow-
OnulmaL
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PHONE 250 ELKIN,
Ed practitioner of the code of his
faith.
To sit on the Supreme Court of
the United States is the unex
presed ambition of almost every
young lawyer. It not only con
fers the highest honor and dig
nity that one of his profession
can achieve, but it is a life job
from which he cannot be remov
ed except by impeachment by the
House of Representatives and
conviction by the Senate. And it
carries a salary of $25,000 a year
as long as he lives.
Blame Cold Weather
Boogy—As soon as cold wea
ther comes I have to stop playing
billiards.
Woogy—Why?
Boogy—Every time three balls
get together they remind me of
my overcoat.
Latest Picture
Artist Scram—This is my latest
picture: "Builders at Work." It is
very realistic."
Visitor But they aren't at
work.
Artist Scram —I know. That's
the realism.
Hit Collar Button
"Here's something queer," said
the dentist, who had been drilling
and drilling into a tooth. "You
said this tooth had never been
filled, but I find flakes of gold on
the point of my drill."
"I knew it," moaned the pa
tient, "you've struck my back col
lar button."
Stones are mentioned 293 times
in the Bible and rocks 135 times.
Palestine was, and still is, full of
limestone rocks, large and small.
WELL DRILLING CONTRACTOR
Drilled Wells are cheaper, more sanitary,
affording an abundance of water that is
always clear, pure and cold. For prices
write
R. E. FAW, HICKORY, N. C.
Phone 700-2
Thursday, November 30, 1939
There were six times as many
persons murdered in Chicago last
year as were killed in airplanes
in the whole United States.
Don t Couqh |
an MENTHQ-MULSICJN_