Evening Star Newspaper, December 20, 1929, Page 36

HASTINGS SCORES QUSTING OF VARE Constitution Violated by Senate, Member Says in Radio Forum. Describing the Senate’s action in the Vare case as a ‘“flagrant violation of the Constitution,” Senator Daniel O. Hastings, Republican, of Delaware, last evening in a radio address voiced a de- fense of the right of the States to choose their representatives in the Senate. | Senator Hastings said that in barring ‘Willlam S. Vare from a seat as a Re- publican Senator from Pennsylvania, the Senate had fixed a precedent that | gave the majority the right to say what manner of man a Stat> might ex- pect the Senate to accept. He spoke in the National Radio Forum, sponsored by The Star and broadcast over the Columbia Broadcasting System chain. of which Station WMAL is the local | Tepresentative. “It is a dangerous thing” he as-| serted, “for any great body like the United States Semate to establish a | precedent which will enable a bare majority to say that a man who pre- sents his credentials has not been duly elected.” . State Right Question. A still more dangerous question, he said, was whether “a State shall be permitted to make its own choice of its representation in the Senate or whether 1t shall be compelled to adopt the ideas and the standards fixed by the Senate itself.” Nothing {llustrates “the futi o, the Senate’s action, ‘in Senator Has- tings’ opinion, so_much as the admis- sion of Joseph R. Grundy of Penn- sylvania. “It was_interesting to observe the attitude of certain younger members of the Senate, who unquestionably voted with clear conscience agsinst the seating of Mr. Vare, quivering and shaking with alarm when they realized they would be left ‘high and dry’ for reasons to exclude the appointee of the Governor of the State of Pennsylvania.” Senator Hastings said it was well known “that the governor and the man he appointed were in a contest in that rimary with Mr. Vare and spent more han twice as much money for their ticket as was expended for the Vare ticket, and certair. Senators inquired 'm. ‘Cannot we declare that because of the expenditure of money, the Governor of Pennsylvania was not properly elected>” ‘Cannot we follow that reason far enough to declare that we may ignore any appointment that he may make to this great body?’” Authorities Are Cited. ‘The address of Senator Hastings fol- Jows in full: It may be that the public is not in- elined to give much concern as to the relation of the United States Senate to the Federal Constitution. I think it is true that the people generally believe that there 4s no danger of a great body like the United States Sen- ate, directly or indirectly, violating the plain provisions of the Constitution. From the very beginning of our Gov- ernment to the present time there has always been in the United States Sen- ate great constitutional lawyers. The le have learned to have confidence in its decisions and as a general thing have accepted them without much con- cern. The Senate as it increases in ‘membership should increase in strength, s0 that at the present time, with its| 96 members and Wwith its splendid his- | tory, it should be more powerful and more influential than it was when com- posed of only half that number. The Constitution of the United States is now recognized ‘as the greatest docu- ment that was ever written for the guidance of a republic. It has unques- tionably far exceeded the hopes or ex- pectations of those who prepared and adopted it as the fundamental law of the new land. There is no part of the American history more interesting than that which relates to the development of the Constitution. It clearly divides the Government into three branches— the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. All of this was simple enough and clear enough, but there was one great question which for a time threat- ened to destroy it entirely. Limitations had been placed in the Constitution upon the Executive; limitations bhad been placed upon Congress, and who was to decide whether the Executive or the Congress had exceeded the au- thority given them by such Constitu- tion? Should the Executive reach his own conclusion and should that be final? Should Congress make its own interpretations and should that be final, or should the interpretation of the Con- stitution be 1Mt to that other branch of the Government; i. the judiciary? | For more than a century and a quar-| ter now this right to interpret the | Constitution has been rdl"rlm't‘(i by (hs‘ judiciary as a part of its power an ]duty. r’;‘he great men like Marshall, who were members of the Supreme were so clear in their opinions the public generally began to realize that unless it could be left to‘ the judiciary there was no hope for | the life of the Constitution itself. In-| deed this was then, and is now, the only branch of the Government that is | wholly independent. The Executive is elected every four years and the per- sonnel of the Congress is changing every two years. The Federal judiciary, on the other hand, is appointed for life. | Tt is not subject to the waves of public opinion, sometimes hastily formed and | not always matured. A young judee in | the District of Columbia, William | Cranch, in 1807 made an interesting | statement_about the judiciary in the following language: | Watchfulness of Court. “In times like these when the public | mind is agitated, when wars and rumors of wars, plots, conspiracies and trea- | sons excite alarm, it is the duty of a | court to be particularly watchful lest | the public feeling should reach the seat of justice. Dangerous precedents occur in ‘dangerous times. It then becomes the duty of the judiciary calmly to poise the scales of justice, unmoved by the | armed power, undisturbed by the clamor | of the multitude.” ‘ A Virginia newspaper about this time, eommenting on Marshall's judicial con- duct when Burr was arrested, charged Court, that Xmas Savings Checks Cashed DE MOLL'’S Radio Department This department is managed by one of the best known radio experts in Washington, tions of sets are made under his personal super- vision, which guarantees customers. We guarantee our prices found in the city. 12th & Pianos—Victrolas Radios—Furniture | Court, pof the legislative bo Let Us Demonstrate the ATWATER KENT Special Xmi \DE MOL ATTACKS ACTION ON VARE SENATOR HASTING: THE EVI \ING STAR WASHINGTON. FRIDAY, DECEMBER _20, 1928. e 1 | entitled to his seat because in the month —Star Staff Photo. - with treason, made the following com- | ment: “If Burr's crimes were 10 times | greater than the bitterest of his enemies allege, we hope he will only suffer as the law directs. If once the law is| motives of policy, or what is worse, to suit the views cf party, we may bid a long farewell to all our boasted freedom. The judge does not make the laws, he expounds them, and is bound to see that the trial be conducted according to law; such, e believe, has been the conduct of the court on the present occasion, and such we hope it will ever be. The judge who permits the reasons of State or popular opinions to influence his judgment would be a fit member for a star cham- ber court or a revolutionary tribunal, but is wholly unqualified for a judge in a court which has been established by the Constitution and laws of a free and | independent Nation.” Between the years 1801 and 1835 there were 62 decisions by the Supreme involving _constitutional ques- tions. The greater part of these were written by Marshall, and Mr. Justice Story suggested that a fitting epitaph to the life of this great jurist mignt be written in a single line—"Here lies the expounder of the Constitution.” During that period the rights, the duties and the limitations of the three branches of the Government were being em- | phasized. While the great majority of the American people have been entirely content with this division of authority, the question of abolishing the right of the Supreme Court to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional have in re- cent years been questioned by states- men who have become the idol of at least a part of the people of this coun- try. The sober second thought of the American people. however, did not fol- low this suggestion, and in_these days we hear little or no complaint about the desirability of the decisions of the Supreme Court becoming final. Judicial Power Given. The Constitution, however, did give to the legislative branch of the govern- ment judicial powers in one particular when it provided that “each house shall be the judge of the elections, re- turns and qualifications of its own members.” This authority is perfectly plain, and no stretch of the imagina- tion can transfer this judicial power to the Federal courts. In exercising this power it becomes the duty of the House of Representa- tives and of the Senate to act solely in a judicial capacity, separate and dis- tinct from their capacity as legislators. There is no legal appeal. The only ap- peal from the decisions so made is to public opinion, but even if public | opinion overrules the decision, it does | not get rid of the precedent established. | It becomes the duty of every member | y at such times to | render a decision “undisturbed by the | clamor of the multitude.” I cannot help but feel that the last | decision of the Senate, while acting in a judicial capacity, was such a flagrant | violation of the Constitution and the | rights of the great State of Pennsyl- | vania that those who believe a mistake | was made should continue to protest at | the bar of public opinion. | I cannot conceive of any answer to | the general proposition that, when a man_presents credentials of his ap- | pointments or election to the United States Senate, that he is entitled to take the cath and to his seat as a mem- ber of that body. True it is that the Supreme Court has recently said in the Cunningham case that this is within th retion_of the Senate, but it is subservient to All installa- perfect service to our low as can be Club terms. Piano and Furniture Co. G Sts. to be the same sort of discretion which {is left to the Supreme Court in every case brought before it. There is no appeal in either instance, and whether it be the Supreme Court or whether it be the Senate, the question of deciding in ac- cordance with the provisions of the Constitution is solely a question of con- science with the persons rendering the decision. The Constitution provides that the Senate may expel a member by two- | thirds_vote. There is no provision in the Constitution as to what vote is Tequired to determine the question as to whether a member has been elected to that body. It is a dangerous thing, however, for any great body like the United States Senate to_establish a precedent which will enable a bare majority to say that a man who pre- sents his credentials has not been duly elected. The average schoolboy would say that when a man presents himself to the Senate with proper credentials he takes the oath of office regardiess of what may have been said about the irregularities of the election, and that having taken the oath of office, it takes a two-thirds vote of the Senate to expel him. This information he gets from his knowledge of the history of our country, and it is the same impression | that the average citizen has with re- spect to such questions. Rights of the States. But let us pass from this for the mo- | ment to a question that is still more dangerous, and that is, Whether a State shall be permitted to make its own | choice of its representation in the Sen- ate, or whether it shall be compelled to adopt the ideas and the standards fixed by the Senate itself? I think every man and woman must admit that this ought to be the right of every State in the Union. I believe every one believes that the framers of the Constitution of the United States so intended. One has but to take a glance at the per- sonnel of the Senate, the ideas they represent, and the States from which they come, to realize the necessity of this rule. As an illustration, it would be inconceivable that the people of thes State of Pennsylvania would ever elect to the United States Senate a man holding the ideas and preaching the doctrines that are held and preached by the senior Senator from Nebraska. It would, on the other hand, be equally in- conceivable to believe that the people of Nebraska would send to the United States Senate. a man holding the ideas and Drelchinf the doctrines of the sen- lor Senator from Pennsylvania. So I | pended in any nomination for office. or | primary eclections. | ment of the court’s opinion that the the men comprising the personnel of the Senate. It but illustrates the necessity and the importance of permitting the States to make their own choice. But this is all admitted. No man disputes the soundness of the rule, but there is much difference of opinion | as to the application of it. ‘There was introduced in the Senate a resolution declaring that Mr. Vare. hose election returns showed a major- ity of something like 180,000, was not of May prior to his election he, in com- bination with other candidates for of- fice, had jointly expended in the State of Pennsylvania $785,000. It was not | charged that in the expenditure of this | money Mr. Vare or his associates had violated any law of the State, or that they had violated any law of the United States, the sole argument being that it was against public policy to permit any such sum of money as this to be ex- 1 combination of offices. In 1911 the Congress undertook to regulate the expenditure of money at It fixed a limitation upon the candidate for Senator of the United States. It provided, however, that this amount should be exclusive of his necessary personal expenses, for travel and subsistence, stationery or postage, writing or printing, and dis- tributing letters, circulars, posters, etc In the Newberry case Mr. Justice Mc- Rfyt:gld!' in holding this statue void, stated: Limitations of Words. “We cannot conclude that authority to control party primaries or conven- tions for designating candidates was bestowed on Congress by the grant of power to regulate the manner of hold- ing elections. The fair intendment of the words does not extend so far; the framers of the Constitution did not ascribe to them any such meaning. Nor is this control necessary in order to effectuate the power expressly granted. On the other hand, its exercise would interfere with purely domestic affairs of the State and infringe upon liberties reserved to the people.” It will be observed from this state- Congress in enacting such & law had exceeded its authority, and therefore left the matter of nominations in the hands of the State. Before this resolution to exclude Mr. Vare from his seat was adopted a re- port on the contest made by Mr. Wilson was presented to the Senate, in wkich a majority of the committee held that Mr. Vare had received a large majority, even if all of the districts in which irregularities were mentioned were en- tirely thrown out. The minority report of that committee agreed with the ma- jority that Mr. Wilson was not entitled to the seat, but insisted in taking into consideration the money expended for the Vare ticket in the nomination, and for this reason were willing to declare that Mr. Vare had not been properly clected. It would have been very much more consistent for the Senate, if it wanted to find a valid excuse for re- fusing to seat Mr. Vare, to determine in_their judicial capacity that he had We Will Gladly Demonstrate the New Atwater Kent SCREEN GRID RADIO EASY TERMS H. W. HIGHAM 105 B St. S.E. Linc. 0647 might cite illustration after illustration of the great difference in thought of ‘An Ideal Christmas Gift The ATWATER KENT not been properly elected. The facts, however, upon this were so clear that it could not very well be done, and, therefore, they insisted upon passing the resolution, which based all of its complaint upon the primary itself. As I have previously stated, this primary was hehr in May. The full facts with respect to that primary were known to the people of Pennsylvania, and not- withstanding those facts, the election gave Mr. Vare a tremendous majority, thus selecting him as the choice of Pennsylvania for the position of Senator from that great State. What is it, may | I ask, that influences a judge under such circumstances as these? I can think of no better answer than to say | that he is evidently shocked by what | has happened in the primaries preced- | ing the election, and that his shocked | conscience leads him to a violation of the fundamental law; but I am very much inclined to believe that there werc additional reasons that were somewhat | controlling. Head of Political Machine. Mr. Vare was the acknowledged head of a great political machine in a great city. Like most political ma- chines, it was apt to do things that were not pleasing to the general public. It may have been corrupt, for all that I know, and the Senator that voted against Vare may have been rightly afraid that he might otherwise be charged with approving such political methods, but to my mind this is wholly beside the point. These are matters ArmwATER KENT New A Small Down Payment Will Deliver CONVENIENT TERMS 2900 14th St. N.W. Col. 0101 0100 GOLDENBERG'S “AT SEVENTH AND K” The Atwater Kent Screen-Grid Radio At a New Low Price! Model 55 in Lovely Caswell Runyon Cabinet (As Sketched) GUARANTEED SERVICE HARRIS <o INC. At Harvard St. Open Till 10 P.M. THE DEPENDABLE STORE New 109 (Less Tubes) Formerly Sold at $148.50 (Less Tubes) May Be Purchased on Our Convenient and up, less tubes Small down payment AN g for the approval or disapproval of the people of the State of Pennsylvania, If they disapproved 06f Mr. Vare and his methods, they had full opportunity at the polls in November to elect his op- ponent, against whom no such charge had been made, but if the State of Pennsylvania approves of Mr. Vare, it 1s none of the business of the Senat» The Senate cannot substitute its opinion for that of the opinion of the people of a sovereign State. I think in this connection it might be well to compare Mr. Vare's offense to that of those of other people are undertaking to run the politics of this Republic. The nomination of Mr. Vare was in the year 1926, and his of- fense was the expenditure b him and the other candidates on the ticket with him of $785,000. The votes received by him and his associates on that ticket cost 54 cents per vote. It was a little less than 8 cents per capita for the State of Pennsylvania, but the Repub- licans in 1928 spent exactly the same amount per capita for the Na.lon, while the Democrats spent a little less than 6 cents. It might be a shocking thing also to observe that for every vote cast for the national Republican ticket in 1928 there was expended 44 cents by the Repub- licans, and that for every vote cast for the national Democratic ticket there was expended 48 cents by the Demo- crats. In the individual States in 1928 the Republicans exceeded a dollar per vote in six of them, ranging from $1.07 to $1.75, while the Democrats expended more than a dollar for each vote in seven States, ranging from $1.03 to $4.46 per vote, and the per capita ex- penditures went as high as 81 cents plus in one State and in many States it was three times as much as that expended by Mr. Vare per capita. A full report of these expenditures in 1928 was maade to the Senate on February 25 last, and so far as I remember no member. of the Senate has been suffi- | elently shocked to comment on it at | all. The figures I have given with re- | spect to the election in 1928 were ad- | money expended by many local organ- | izations. If this had been counted. the cost per vote would have greatly ex- | ceeded the sums I have just mentioned. Populations Considered. | In order that we may appreciate the | necessity of taking into consideration the cifference in population of the States in considering the enormity of | the offense committed in the expendi- ture of money, it is interesting to note ! that a similar primary contest, expend- | ing the same amount per vote and com- paring it in every detail, the $785,000 in the Republican contest in Pennsyl- vania would have been reduced to $5,600 in Arizona, $8.400 in Arkansas, £7.300 in Delaware, $1,900 in Nevad: 7,300 in New Mexico. $10,000 in Utah, 1$9,700 in Vermont and $5,600 in Wy- oming. There would have been a like contest in the Democratic primaries in been $1,600 up to a maximum of $21,- 600. I am not citing these figures to jus- tify the large expenditure of money. I am mentioning them for the sole pur- of demonstrating that the reason for excluding Mr. Vare from the Senate was not based upon the expenditure of | money alone. I think there is nothing that better illustrates the futility of the Senate’s action in excluding Mr. Vare than the admission of Mr. Grundy a few days It was interesting to observe ho | mitted figures and ~did not include the attitude of -ertain younger mem- | bers of the Senate, who unquestion- | ably voted with a clear conscience against th» seating of Mr. Vare, quiver- | ing and shaking with alarm when they realized they would be left “high and dry” for reasons to exclude the ap- pointee of the Governor of the State of Pennsylvania. It reminds one of that old famous expressiom, “that the Whigs had wished to roast a parson, and they had done it at so flerce a fire that they had burned themselve: Tt is well known that the governor and the man he appointed were in a contest in that prirary with Mr. Vare and spent more than twice as much money for their ticket as was expended for the Vare ticket, and certain Sena- tors inquired with alarm, “Cannot we declare that because of the expenditure of mcney, the Governor of Pennsyl- vania was not properly elected?” “Cannot we follow that reason far enough to declare that we may ignore 28 of the States, and the amount that would have been expended ‘would ha (Continue2 on Thirty-eighth Page) for Christmas! VEN NOW, at the eleventh hour, you can still have your Atwater Kent for Christmas, with all the years of happiness such a radio brings. But we earnestly suggest that you act at once, i for a great many other people have the same thought as yourself. 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