Finally the President met them this new ground with open sponsorship of increased powers for the Federal Government. Had he done this at first he would probably have teen In a stronger position now. His carly statements roused suspicion that the President was attempting 10 deceive Congress. The whole proceedings were far too. subtle, or as General Johnson, who ix nevertheless supporting the President, remarked, "too damned stick."
The measures which the President feels the Supreme Court will de-dere unconstitutional and which he wishes to pass deal mainly with the regulation of industry, questions of hours, wages and conditions of work, Many' of those most vigorously opvased to the President's plans. make the Supreme Court Justices "lions under the While Housc™ are heartily in favour of these objectives. But they do not consider that the fend justifies the means. They not reconcile the President's scheme {0 lake the civil service out of the "spolls. system" with this plan of petting the Supreme Court into it. They prefer the road of constitutional amendment.
An amendment might take time, and could be blocked by the opposi: tion of thirteen States. But. the opposition feel that a fundamental eeange in the political architecture of the country ought to take time fand should be overwhelmingly acceptable. 'The founding fathers who' Geviced the amendment mechanism did not intend the Constitution to be unchangeable but they did intend it to be rigid—something which could be changed as quickly ax a mob right swing from "Christ to Bar-rabes.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.