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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 16, 1963)
n n SUNDAY. JUNE Jl. W3 MEDFOHD MAIL THIBUHE. MEDFOHP. OHESQ- : SUPREME COURT HAS WEATHERED AAANY STORMS Editor' Nolet The nor. mtl calm of the U.S. lu. preme Couri wu shattered recently whan on associ at justice publicly berated anothar tor a major dad tion which ha opposed. Doai lhii maan iha nation'! hlghait tribunal U split Irreparably by a personal itv rift? Tha court hai weathered many lueh tormi ai outlined in iha iollowina dilDltch b veteran UPI 8 u p f a m Court reporter. 'By CHARLOTTE C. MOULTON Wajhlngion . UPU If the angry words which ihattered the Supreme Court's Judicial calm recently meant another personality rift, the tribunal has survived them before bla and little. Veteran Justice Hugo L Black, one of the figures in the latest tiff, has played a major part in two previous clashes. He has shown an un common ability to ride out such storms a 1 w a y s with lips sealed. His adversary was another veteran justice William O Douglas. Courtroom specta tors were aghast to hear Douglas unleash a scathing criticism of both the content and style of Black's majority opinion in the 40-year-old California Arizona Colorado river water dispute, the big gest water lawsuit ever filed in 111 is country. Douglas' verbal onslaught on his colleague was more - pronounced because Black was presiding in the absence of Chief Justice Earl Warren, Black is senior justice In point of service and is 13 years older than Douglas. Read Opinion The 77-year-old Black had read excerpts from a 82-page opinion In which it was evi dent he took pride of author ship. The case was complex f W 111 . f X W JU8TICE8 The Supreme Court has weath ered many personality rifts. The most rec ent one was this month with the reading of Justice L. Black's (left) majority opinion on the Colorado river water dispute. He was criticized by Justice William O. Douglas (right). Two years ago another opinion of Black's triggered a clash between former Justice Felix Frankfurter and Chief Justice Earl Warren (center). (UPI) and he explored the issues carefully. The decision added uo to . California losing to Arizona but left some prob lems unsettled. Douglas was ready with a written dUsent, replete wi'.h fire and brimstone. He said the case would be marked In the future "as the baldojt at tempt by judges in modern times to spin their own phi losophy Into the fabric of the law In derogation of the will of the legislature." Critical References A common claim of the ju dicial minority is that the majority has taken over the function of Congress; that they fit a case to their ntvii Ideology rather than Into the law. And the sharpest dis sents usually are by Justices who themselves have very strong opinions which did not prevail. This could have been the case with Douglas. An out door enthusiast, he Is particu larly sensitive to water and conservation problems. His feelings were so strong, in fact, thai he departed from his text to make critical ref erences to the length of Black's opinion. "The advantage of a long opinion such as the one Jus tice Black has filed," he said tartly, "la that it is very dif ficult to see how it failed to reach the right result, be cause one gets lost in words." The nine justices have a happy practice of shaking hands all around each time they go into conference on cases. This time it was hard to see how the Black-Douglas handshake .could be so cor dial as, it had. been before if, Indeed, the cordiality had not been cooling for- some time. Where Individual liberties are concerned, the two have stood together for more than 24 years as Interpreters of the constitution. They see the court as an active force In se curing for every one free speech and other guarantees in the Bill of Rights. Personality Diffarancts But personality differences can mean Just as much in the Supreme Court as they do elsewhere. In fact, Black, over the years, developed a much closer relationship with Justice Felix Frankfurter College of Cardinals Has Varied in Size During Years; Now Chooses Pope By LOUIS CA88EL8 United Press International I Included In the worldwide I membership ot the Roman I Catholic church are some 860 million laymen, 425,000 priests and 2,300 bishops. But there ar only 82 cardl nals. The cardinals are known as "the princes of the church." They outrank every one except a reigning pope, Their pivotal position In the hierarchy is signified by the very name cardinal, which comes from the Latin word "enrdo," meaning a hinge. Next Wednesday all the cardinals who are physically able will gather at the Vati can to choose one of their number as the new pope, ' Electing pope has become the most Important function of the Sacred College ot Car dinals. But cardinals also have three other duties. They assist the pope at major lit urgical servient, counsel him in consistories and aid him in administration ot the church. Origin Noltd The term cardinal has been used In the Cutholic church for about 1,800 years. It was originally applied to about 28 priests in the Diocese ot Rome who were outstanding for their wisdom, seniority or the Importance of their par ish churches. They served in. formally as advisers and as iistants to the pope. But they were not regarded as "princes ot the church" nor did they have a special role in elect ing a new pope. Until late In in the 12th Century, all the clergy of Rome, and number of laymen, including emperors and noblemen, par ticipated in the election ot popes. In 1170. Pope Alexander III issued a decree vesting In the cardinals the sole right to elect a new pope, During the next three ten turlcs, cardinals gradually came to be regarded as being on a par with secular royal ty. Their status as "princes' of tha church was formally defined by Pope Leo X tn 1314. 81ia Varlad During this era. the site of the college of cardinals varied widely. Under Pope Alexan, der IV (1254 61) there were only seven cardinals. Pope Gregory XIII (1872-1988) en larged the number to 78. Pope Sixtus V In 1SS6 fixed tha number of cardinals at 70 -a total which was never ex ceed until Pope John XXIII raised it to 88. (Three of the cardinals have died since then, reducing the total to BZ.) The cardinals choose t h e pope, and the pope chooses the cardinals. New cardinals are named first at a secret consistory (the term consisto ry is applied to any formal meeting of the cardinals with the pope). Then they are in' ducted at a colorful public consistory at which they re ceive rea nils. The red hats which have become synonymous with the rank ot cardinal have low crowns and very broad brims. from which hang IS tassels. They are bright red. Working Cloth A cardinal after his Indue Hon wears a scarlet blrctta (three peaked clerical cap) or a scarlet zuchctto (skull cap) Many people have the erroneous impression that these familiar headpieces are "red hats" but to ,the cardi nals who wear them they are "working clothes" rather. than crowns. Forty live of the 82 pres ent cardinals were created by Pope John XXIII. In addition to expanding the college, he ended the traditional Italian dominance. Only 28 ot the present cardinals are Italians, The other 94 come from 30 different countries, with France supplying eight, Spain seven, the United States five, Germany three, Brazil three, Portugal two, Canada two, Argentina two, and 22 ether countries one each. They range In age from 49 (Cardinal Rlcketts of Peru) to 01 (Cardinal Morano ot Italy). The median age Is 74. There Is no canon law which says the cardinals must elevate one ot their own num ber to the papacy. Theoret ically, any male Catholic who has reached the age of reason, even a layman, might be elec ted pope. In actual practice, however, the pope has come from the college of cardinals in every election since 1378. who was at the opposite pole in legal philosophy. Black has said this term how much he misses the peppery little jus tice from Massachusetts, who was compelled to step down last year because ot . his health. These three are the last of President Franklin D. Roose velt's appointees. Black came to the Court in 1937; Doug las and Frankfurter in 1939. Black an Alabaman, is war m-heartcd, soft-spoken. His job as an associate justice is his life. He devotes him self to it almost exclusively. Douglas, on the other hand, has wide-ranging interests which are brought to public attention. He delivers count less speeches, goes prowling In remote corners of the earth, and has written some 17 books since becoming a justice. Some of these works are expressions of his views on censorship, religious free dom and the like. Others are travel books. Still others are about hiking, mountain climbing, fishing and life in the outdoors. Continuing Concern Douglas also has a continu ing concern with internation al affairs, particularly in the Arab countries where he has traveled. He has spoken out forcefully when he felt the United States was pursuing a mistaken policy with under developed nations. He has also advocated admitting Red China to the United Nations. Douglas was in the news recently when it was dis close that his wife, Mercedes, plans to divorce him this summer. They have no chil dren. He has two grown chil dren by an earlier marriage, which also ended in divorce, Douglas has denied rumors that he plans to leave the court next October when he could retire at full salary of $39,000 a year. He will no doubt always be remembered for granting a stay of execution to Atom Spies Julius and Ethel Rosen berg, who were finally put to death in 1983. Hight now, most persons probably associate Black with the historic opinion he au thored last term striking down New York's state-com posed school prayer. Nettled Warren It was an opinion of Black's that triggered a clash in open court two years ago between Frankfurter and Warren. Frankfurter started things by the manner of his dissent. He had the habit of making a little speech about his opin ions, rather than reading them. This practice had nettled Warren a time or two before. On .'this particular day,' Frankfurter pitched Into Black and the others who joined his opinion reversing a murder conviction. Frank furter accused them of "plucking out" an isolated episode from the record. He suggested that "judges are apt to find what the mind is looking lor." Warren, who had agreed with Black, leaned forward when Frankfurter finished. He informed the courtroom audience that Frankfurter's statement was more like a lecture on a prosecutor's clos ing argument than a Supreme Court opinion. "At I understand it," the Chief Justice said icily, '"the purpose of reporting an opinion in the courtroom is to inform the public and is not lor the purpose ot degrading this court. I assure you that if any written opinion had said those things, I would have had much to say myself." Frankfurter muttered some thing about leaving' the mat ter "to the record." Later the same day the two were observed in seemingly amicable conversation. Frank furter used to sit at Warren's left. POST-WAR FEUD The most savage court "feud" in post-war years was between Black and the late Justice Robert H. Jackson who was detached from his judicial post in 1946 to serve as Chief United States Prose cutor at- the War Crimes Trials in Neurnberg, Germany. That war broke into the open on the Issue whether Black should have disquali fied himself in case argued by his former law partner. There are no rules for dis qualification. Each justice de cides when he must withdraw and for what reasons. The law partner won a S to 4 decision, which allowed soft coal miners "portal-to-portal" pay. Black did not write the opinion but joined in it. Jackson's dissent ended in words remarkably similar to those of Douglas. "We doubt," he said, "iX one can find in the long lir.a of criticized cases one in which the court has made a more extreme exertion ot power or one so little support ed or explained by either the statute or the record in tha case." The ruckus died down and in later years so did the feud. MQTICE! Cupp's Furniture OPEN EVERY MONDAY & FRIDAY Until 8:30 p.m. Highway 99 at Central Point Phont 664-1794 Save . . . where you are paid more Now f am -LiZVU CTE Jackson County Federal IT Savings and Loan Assn. Horn. Offic-2 E. Main, Medford Ashland Branch-337 E. Main, Ashland 1 "Hi OOrJ'T MISS THE MEDFORD ACTIVE 20-30 CLUB 2Clh Year! o FUN FOR ALL Contests Music Drill Team Prizes mm sa j v-- " . '1.-'.' I 1 P.M. TODAY at TOU VELLE PARK 7t Add to the Fun with Mfffism hcje ctceam Registration for events at 12 noon. Berber Shop Quartet Accordion Music Navy Drill Team Band Music Governor's Combo Aborigines. FUN every minutel luscious Fiesta Ice Cresm-with Jorgensan'i exclusive nutrient NUTRIMIX-added-maket EVERY occasion real FIESTAI So, add to tha fun at tha 28th Annual Catfish Darby with YOUR fa vorita flavor of FIESTAI ... and Jorgensan'i congratulates the Madford Active 20-30 club for staging this fine yearly tventt For Fine Dairy Products Always Ash for 'Jorgensens9 mwsi Ns
