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Court. That is its real obje ve, and spokesmen for the Administration have frankly admitted it. An effort already has been made to la- bel this sudden move of the President as "judicial reform." Some of his defenders have used equally clever terms to conceal the effects of it all. It has been said that more judges would expedite litigation, but noted lawyers have denied this, for 15 judges instead of 9 would have to read all the cases, and only when all of the 15 had covered the subject could a decision be reached. It is my firm belief that the Ameri- can people will not be fooled by catch phrases or by efforts to confuse them about this vital question. The informed public already has seen through the proposal and knows exactly what is its real purpose. NATIONAL COMMITTEE FORMED A group of patriotic citizens was soa stirred with fear by the proposal to under- Mine the Supreme Court, by packing it with additional justices, that they induced me to head a Committee, national in scope, ab- solutely non-partisan, that would help to mobilize public opinion and promote a full wmderstanding of this threatening situation. Since I accepted this call, I have been amazed by the response. Hundreds of letters have been pouring in to me from all parts of the country, from people ask- ing what they can do to save our Constitu- tion and our Supreme Court. Besides cir- culating petitions and writing to their representatives in Washington, hundreds of citizens have sent me checks for small and moderate amounts to help carry out the fight for an informed public opinion. One farmer obtained 20 signers to a petition and $17 in contributions of 50 cents to $1.00 toward carrying on this National Com- mittee's work. All can help by distribut- ing literature and arranging meetings and debates and demonstrating to the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate how deeply the public feels on this great issue, I only wish I could read to you some of the letters that are pouring in on ev- ery mail. Across this broad land the sen- timent is rising to a tumult against the court proposal. One of th st courageous Democrats an the lower house of Congress, Represent- ative Samuel B. Pettengill of South Bend, Indiana, speaking at a citizens' mass meet- ing in Indianapolis, said: "Democrats are absolutely free to yote for or against the President's proposal as their consciences dictate. The President asks for more power than a good man should i eee eee Unless we are willing to discuss on its merits, free from partisanship, any propos- al to change the fundamentals of constitu- tional government, we shall be unworthy of the government for which Washington fought.” It is not to my liking to refer to party labéls. JI do se only to indicate that opposi-~ tion to the President's proposal is non-parti- san. Five out of the nine members of a com- mittee organized in Harding Township of Mor- ris County, N. J., to test public sentiment, voted for Mr, Roosevelt last November. Nemaeen — aA A Southern Democrat, railroad in North Carolina, write while he voted for Mr. Roosevelt, he feels that revision of the Supreme Court “is the last straw" he can stand; that it is "the a most flagrant disregard of orderly demo- cratic and constitutional government." In an Ohio protest meeting, a corre- spond ent writes eh ae | n Soe A great many Democratic leaders spoke against the President's bill and the resolution of protest was drafted by 9 Dendcrat, formerly President of the County Bar Association." Equally intense, and still non-parti- san, is the resentment among many minis- ters, doctors and teachers. The Rev. John Haynes Holmes, Minister of the Community Church and Forum in New York City, noted liberal, friend of labor and militant advocate of reform, writes me: “I am with you absolutely in your op- position to the President's proposal, An independent judiciary is vital to demos- racy, and if it is lost, democracy itself is lost. Count upon me to help in every way that may be possible.” From big churches and little, from congregations and parishes of the rich and the poor alike, have come enlistments in this cause. I have letters from Free Methodists and from "The Pillar of Fire."