◆ SpookStack

faz FRANEFURTER, 1 kg famous abla- iat . tive case, wrote t it is perntclows over simplification to hold that the meaning of a law is plain because ites language is plain. To be suré, Old Weenle has never been succeesfully charged with using plain language and even in this dictum he balled up his wordage in the true manner of Ear! Browder but, if you use a kind of mental Braille, you fetch up at the idea that he wouldn't take any Tesponsibility if he should sit down and write some dish a ‘ gheaf of mash-notes and that if he should tell her, “I am nuts about you,” ae could just _@3s Well mean ‘you make me sick,” and probably would. ' , Well, me, I am otherwise, #0 when I say there is a leak He . in the Supreme Court of the ““westhresk Pegler United States I don’t mean : that there is no leak, I mean thet there is and that this same leak, {f it isn't plugged, might be used one of these days in some decision af- fecting the stock market to let some gang of acketeers, perhaps a bunch of Communists, pull ‘off a killing on the strength of « tip from the ide, They might even engineer a panic... | eak in the Supreme Court has been made evident on two occasions, the latest one be ing a flat, unqualified foretelling of a decision which went in favor of the Communist con- spiracy against the United Stetes Government, Plus an accurate list of the justices who dis- sented, weeks in advance of the _ ment of the decision. f _ My language is plain and means exactly what it says when I say I neither belleve nor insinuate that Old Weenie has been the source of this- i leakage, Performances that one of the brethren ts re. sponsible. Moreover, I can say that this has been called to the attention of Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone and of Representative Hatton Sumners, of Texas, the chairman of the Judiciary Commit- an, =F te Of the Hoiise, N being privy to the affairs of the Supreme Court, nor wanting to be, I won't even spec- ulate as to whether Mr. Stone has brought it up jn meeting and raised hell about it in the privacy of the lodge. Our people don’t try to break into the privacy of the court, or the Cabinet or the State Department, either, for that matter, and ourt decisions even if they did have pipe Mnes ito the chambers. - We feel that such news can wait until it is nnounced in open court because this court has L odetanenatiniieecdesce thc a WASH = Page OUGH © whe ‘seculet, dug. 160 4 public announce- - However, I have reason to suspect from past. - feurt editors would refuse to jump the gun on - tT Me ideology under the _Deal without our ex- ploiting its degradaticn to cotplete the destruc tion of public confidences in its integrity, and inasmuch aa fortunetelling ia against the law and we won't believe it, anyway, we lay off guessing and speculation on the off-chance that it might come true. ‘ ~ Well, so what can be done about it? Li ent agency TS the State Department, where secrete of atomic power are stored. the FEY might be ce on to plant one agent as e sweeper other as ¢ OTD: another messenger, - ” and so forth, and maybe tap the phones of some of the fustinas and nlant listeninag devices Py their chambers and their homes. Soy The FBI was called in, you remember, to find out who was leaking confidential diplomatic in- formation at the State Department and came up with a bunch of arrest, recently followed by a wed = OW BEd s Nata Vi INUIT DEES, bal . \ . But ft does seem unthinkable to do this the Supreme Court because it occupies a posi tion of the highest public trust and if you ¢ to spying on these tien, how can you feel con fident that the spies won't take advantage o = -_ oes ss a TO thelr information? And the court, liself, cowid mardly call on the FRI for this service because all the members would haye to know about it and you can’t catch a leak if you warn him that you ate watching him. Moreover, it just ouldn't be nice. |] DON'T see just what the judiciary committee could do, either, and Mr. Summers has no sug- gestions. You could call every one of the justices and every secretary and other employe of the court and the guilty one would be sure to say he never dunnit and there you would be, right where you began. And there is no profit in calling on anyone who desis in soch information because you would only advertise him or her, and the tradi- tional defense a person cannot be compelled te betray a confidence would be invoked even though the informant who gave the confidence broke confidence himself in doing so. It might do some good to havé a speech or two in the House and Senate about it and # pub- He airing of a specific instance in which the mathematical probabilities against an accurate Buess @re #0 great as to discredit a guess as the ‘explanation. Anyway, such stuff is not presented as guesswork, ¢ : Well, anyway, my language is plain and my ning just as plain, when I say that th Dk Gited “states ‘Bupreme Court has sprung e | a) . + | j (Copyright, i946, King Fogiures Syndicate) { ee! | adn NOT KHOOR DD Pie wf : 87 SEP 20 1946 a aad MG py That INGTON, TIMES-HERALD Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr, Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Li- SF £)/- ——l To E Cle’ _ Coffey | Glavin_ Ladd _¢ . Nichols Rosen __ Tracy _ Carson |. Egan Hendon __ Penningt &-