The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-12-28
PRESIDENT HAS NO
 POWER ID SEIZE
 CABLES-HUGHES
Says Congress Never h. tended That Seizure Could Be Made After War
 Had Come to End

New York, December 27.-lr authorizing President Wilson to take over the nations cable lines, Congress intended such seizure to be made "only in case of impending danger tc the national security" and not lat any time during the exist e.of a mere technical state of war; declared Charles E Hughes, counsel of the Com mercial Cable and Commercial Pacific Cable companies, in federal court here today.
 MT. Hughes made this contention while arguing before Judge Hand. on the motion of the United States gov ernment to dismiss the bill of com piaint in a suit brought by the two companies to enjoin Postmaster Gener- al Rurleson and Newcomb Carlton from merging their lines under federal con- trol with those of the Western Union Telegraph company, of which Carlton is head.
 At one point in reply to question of Judge Hand as to whether the se- curity of defense of the nation does not depend on achievement of the ob- jects for which the war was fought" and not on the mere termination Of fighting, MT. Hughes said
 T think what may be achieved, in the sense of the final results of the war, will probably not be determined during our lifetime. I think that Con gress had no reference to the national security in the sense of the absolute establishment of some conditions. Con- gress had in mind an actual state of applied force"
 Previously counsel for the govern ment, who contended that the United States is the vital defendant and can not be made party to the suit, had challenged that part of the bill of complaint in which it is asserted that seizure of said cables on the ground
  the national security or defense, was and is mere pretext without sub stance or basis. in fact"
 IMPUTES DECEPTION
 This imputed deception to the Presi- dent. declared Edward F McClennon, special assistant to Attorney General Gregory.
 .x~,.t.,- b;e .r1,,r,anf Mir Hughes recited that on November Is MT. Burle- son had seized not only IS Atlanfic cables. but 10000 miles of Pacific ca bles .all cables, without distinction, operated by American companies"
 Mr. Hughes, continued MT. Hughes. had given as his only authority for that action the joint resolution of Congress adopted on July Is, which, he added, was Ca limitation as we'll as grant of power
 Tt defined the emergency in which alone that power was to be exercised" Mir Hughes asserted. Tt did not, on a reasonable construction of that au- thority, empower the President to seize the cables at any time during the existence of mere state of war In law as affecting relations between peoples of countries
 Tt was power that had direct re- lation to the existence of danger to
 the national security
 QUOTES PRESIDENT
 After asserting that when the ca bles were seized there was mo mem ace to the national security" MT. Hughes said that he had been pres ent when President Wilson had told Congress that the armistice actual ly signed the conditions 1t imposed reduced Germany to state of abso- lute helplessness
 Quoting the President as saying that the war had come to an end, Mir Hush asked: What did he mean? He knew that the war had not ended in a technical legal sense. but he knew that the potency of that war had gone so far as 1t was directed against the peace and security of our people"
 Here again Judge Hand interrupted to say that if the security of the na- tion is to be measured by the incor poration of Americas conditions In the terms of peace, "surely all means necessary to the achievement of that final end are necessary.
 Then followed an argument between Judge Hand and Mir. Hughes as to who asserted that Germany will have to accept the terms of the peace con ference as she did those of the armi-. stice. asserted that security means safety and that the wo0l was used in direct reference to war powers, but the court maintained that such was Ia pretty limited interpretations
 
 Esrn E,1 nsr,oc Clash