COPY
April 22, 1937
My dear Mother:
I am delighted with yours of the 20th.
Your courage is my courage, of course. I will carry out your
advice in letter and spirit. There will be no compromise on
the Court proposal. What I may be willing to do with re-
spect to an amendment of the Constitution must be entirely
independent of the defeat of the President's Court bill.
I am very much encouraged by the count as we make it now.
Confidentially, we count fifty votes against the bill, if
it remains in the form that it is now in, but we put a question
mark against the names of eight of these fifty if the bill is
proposed to be amended by reducing the number from six to two.
This will be unfortunate if it occurs, but the threats we
hear lead us to believe that it may not occur because the
President repeatedly insists that his bill is going through
as it is.
Mildred and I are going to the Peninsula of Virginia with
the Military Affairs Committee of the Senate as guests of
the Virginia Peninsula Association, leaving tomorrow night
at six and returning Monday morning.
In the meantime, we have a telegram from Bob saying that he
will arrive tomorrow noon. We are sorry that we have to be
away while he is here.
Best love.
Your affectionate son,
Mrs. Chauncey G. Austin,
St. Albans,
Vermont.