The cartoon refers to the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, frequently called the "court-packing plan". President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed this bill in an attempt to get favorable rulings on "new deal" legislation. The Bill ultimately failed after it was held up by the Senate Judiciary Committee by Democratic committee chair Henry F. Ashurst who managed to have the bill held in committee for 165 days. It is believed that the final defeat of the bill was due to the death of it's greatest supporter in the Senate, Senate Majority Leader Joseph T. Robinson. So President Roosevelt did lose the battle of the court packing, but ultimately did win majority control of the Supreme Court because during his 12 year tenure as President, he had appointed 8 of the 9 Justices.
