For the Faithful

Brooklyn's Democratic Congressman Emanuel Celler put it bluntly. "The Democratic leadership gambled and won," said Celler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. "A new Administration will make the appointments."

The Democratic gamble was known to everyone in Washington: time and again since 1955 the Democrats had rebuffed Dwight Eisenhower's pleas to create more federal judgeships and thus ease the burden on the U.S.'s courts. Last year, the Democrats even turned back Ike's offer to split his appointments 50-50 between both parties if Congress would only approve 40 new judgeships. Last week, with a Democratic President in the White House, the Democrats created not 40 but 70 new judgeships. Manny Celler explained why: "We did not like putting Democratic eggs under a Republican hen to hatch. I want the greater number of these judgeships to go as prizes to honest and good and faithful Democrats."

Republicans inevitably roared in their wrath. Cried Michigan's George Meader: "When judicial office becomes a public grant, it attracts those who seek a political plum rather than those who aspire to the heights of the legal profession." Ohio's William McCulloch noted that the 70 new judgeships, plus 19 vacancies, add up to 89 judges whom President Kennedy could appoint in his early months in office--more than Franklin Roosevelt or Harry Truman had appointed in their first four years.

All to no avail. Every Democrat on the floor voted for the bill, and it sailed home, 336 to 76. The Senate had already approved a similar bill calling for President Kennedy to name 73 new judges. Nobody expects that the Democrats from both branches will have any trouble in compromising the final number of prizes at 71 or 72, mostly for good and faithful fellow Democrats.

Other congressional action in the New Frontier's most successful legislative week:

P: The House passed, 399 to 14, the Administration's social security bill to 1) boost minimum monthly benefits from $33 to $40, and 2) permit men to retire and collect 80% of their usual benefits at 62 instead of 65, as women are already allowed to do. If the Senate, as expected, approves, the bill will boost social security benefit payments by $750 million in its first year of operation, raise social security taxes for employees and employers from the present 3% each on the first $4,800 of income to 3 1/8% next year and to 3 5/8% in 1963.

P: By voice vote, the Senate passed President Kennedy's bill to grant some $289 million in federal funds to more than 1,000,000 children of unemployed persons. The House, which approved the bill last month, now gets it back to consider some Senate amendments. Chances are that payments of matching federal-state funds will begin in May.

P: Senate-House conferees agreed to finance the Administration's depressed areas aid plan by direct borrowings from the Treasury instead of annual congressional appropriations. The bill provides up to $394 million in federal loans and grants.

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