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", & gpffplete about-face om. he" veries’ of ‘out of the activitids and co its decision of three 1 ease, became spokesman for the minority. The diligence and sincerity with which he searched his mind and conscience on this - fsaue is apparent in the reasoning he ad- vanced. Yet one sentence of his carefully worded opinion'\cannot fail to evoke curi- osity. “It is se elusive,” he declared, “to helieve that the Wliberal spirit can be en. forced by judicial invalidation of illiberal legislation.” Is it not, in fact, precisely the function of the Court on which Justice Frank- furter sits to guarantee protection to the Uberal spirit, as it is defined in the Con- ae. mitution, against tegislative acts whith would undermine or corrupt it? | = . oe >.> + Heense taxes’ on the sale of religions Htera-! ' "ture. On Monday, in an opinion by Justice Jackson distinguished for its éloquence as ~ well as for its legal logic, the Court reversed , C years ago in the Gobitis “ .""giay Rot be compelled-to salute the flag in deflance of their conscientious scruplea A. majority of the justices decided, in effect, that the constitutional treedom is unqualified. che : No smal! share of credit for this judicial @hange of mind belongs to Chief Justice Sione. His dissenting voice Was alone in protest against the Gobitis decision of 1940. Three of his associates, Justices Black, Doug- Jas and Murphy, who at that time had differed from him have now come to accept his view, This emergence of a dissenting opinion to Majority acceptance is one of the real testa sf judicial stature. _ _* On Monday, Justice Frankfurter, who had written the majority opinion in the Gobitis guarantee of religious _ “ee Me. Traey 7 Mr. Carson ee “Mr. Coffey: Mr. Hendog::-... Mr. Eram Mr. MeGuilfli ‘Me. Quinn! Mr. Nease.. ;The Jehovah's Witnesses cases, to be sure, . all @f the West Virginia Board of Education requiring ‘their participation in this cere- mony. As Justice Jhckson observed, “To believe that patriotism’ will. not flourish i patriotic ceremoniey are voluntary and spar taneous instead .of a comp routine to make an unflattering estimate of the ap- peal of our institutions to free -minds,” P Certainly the majesty of the United States & on ‘ uw unlikely to be subverted by the refusal ; 5 he ot a few children to pay obelsance to it. tr / . : In its conscientrous and careful delibere- nmramea Court hae * i tions on these cases, uk Supreme Court - j probed to the bedrock x our freedom. | . xt erred in its earlier deéjsion,:- we can con- gratulate ourselves on the judicial processes and the qualities of mind which have made a reevaluation possible. i Court ae brought” itself back ints cynsistency th the great tradition that the netity of the individual conscience is superior to the ey , * pewer of the state. OL. been e Court hla OO + Sane 2 EX ~ 9 WASHINGTON POST un 16 ne xe Page [7