◆ SpookStack

a ° “The Strong, Central Role| mt mo, . ; tr for ~~ Kemaaly, ° thers ng O'? | mun ‘be. fair balnaed Pare Bi . of Simple Fairness” . | erty and suthorty im 2 gpvecament , . of lewe 2. Ee ‘ r By JAMES RESTON ted, nama set th wp in Mi ant WASHINGTON, June 22 -~— “I tense aguinst a gharge of big tzen \ Sometimes think,” said Mr. Justi “God. Majesty ee Cardoso in 1671, “that we worry | 0% 141i *M nae ourtelves overmuch about the en- during conmequewces of our error They may work a little confusion for a time, In the ond they will he Say omer 2 CRE Ren] 64. This was written in « day when reflective men were more confident than they are now about the evitabllity of progress, and yet the stabilizing influences in American lite have been at work this week. In the generation since the de- pression of the early thirties, the executive and legislative branches of the Government have combined, often with the acquiescence of the Judiciary, to strengthen the author- ity of the central government in dealing with the anxieties of war and economic distress. This has been done often at the individual Hbertles, but now the Bupreme Court has stepped in to redress the balance and to us of what Mr Justice wishes | ) . & . I nal deposit of our moral life: its CAPPin 2 history is the history of the moral 10 De Do) ; development of the race.” nade f ‘ In the series of opinions handed pM Mh TAL down this month, and particularly 1 this week, the high court has sim- Holmes proclaimed in 1807: that “the law is the witness and exter- Make ply been serving once more ax the moral conscience of & people drugged by the uncertainty, ‘per- Piexigies, prosperity and diversions of the past two decades, Some Simple Rules Tt is not saying that the repre- sentatives of the people cannot use the investigative power of the Gov- ermment { gather information and lawa in defense of the Repub- dic, It is merely saying that these things should be done with due spect for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, It ia reminding us of what we are and what we stand for, and despite the torrent of legal language, it is really anying some very simple things. It is reminding Government offi- ciala that Government empioyes are | | | ae ( ar eno 44 JUL 16 1957- teachers must not be by —_—— oe “| the state just because sore officials —— - or legislators don’t bike teach- . s ing. It te questioning Gov t's fi wi ¥. THES Fight to compel men te squeal on UN 23 195 other men and te convict them on a la SSS, SE anf, elaine Clark's dissents this month itu trate, but as Bernard Schwarts has Pointed out in an excellent book on “The Bupreme Court,” published thie week, it ia the high court that is entrusted under the American system with securing that “just poize.” The central question is whether, in the light of the trend toward economic centralization in the United States and in the face of the clear and present danger of the Soviet menace, the pendulum hag mwung too far in recent years Neate the side of Governmant au- thority. Mr, Justice Jackson went ta be grave in 1954 believing It had “In this anxiety-ridden time." he wrote just before his death, “many are ready to exchange some of their liberties for = reel or fancied in- creases in security against external foes, internal betrayers or criminals, “Othere are eager to bargain awny local controls for q Federal subsidy. Many will give up indi- vidual] rights for promise of collec- tive advantages, The real question! ** * ia whether, today, liberty La re- d garded by the masses of men as’ thelr most precious possession." The court, this week, has reflected Justice Jackson's parting anxiety.: Tt has not only revived the ancient traditions of the sanctity of reputa-' tion, and the rights of privacy and academic freedom, but has mum- moned the reat of the Government to fedeem Chief Justice Hughes’ prom ise that “in thé forum of conscience, duty to & mi power higher than the state tas are been main. tained.” . . Whathar that ante SSS? GS. out