New-York tribune., 1920-05-27
True Bills Are Returned
Against Two Companies
and the President for
Alleged Profteering
Fourteen Separate
Counts i'm Bill
Lever Act Is Upheld by
Appellate Court; U. S.
to Demand Highest Bail

An Indictment containing fourteen
counts charging profitecring in the sale
of woolen goods, was returned before
Federal Judge Augustus N. Hand YES
terday afternoon, against the American
Woolen Company, Massachusetts cor
poration, the American Wooden Com
pany of New York, and William NJ.
Wood, president of those concerns.
The Indictment was found by the
grand jury on evidence submitted by
Assistant United States Attorney Cen
eral Herbert Smythe, almost concur
rently with the filing Of an opinion by
the United States Circuit Court of
Appeals in which the three judges of
that tribunal unite in affirming the
constitutionality of the Lever act "as
a war measure" within the plenary
powers Of Congress-
Lever Act Upheld
Just before the opinion was filed the
American Woolen Company sought an
injunction against Federal authorities s
in this jurisdiction from proceeding
against it under the Lever act, on the
ground that the act was unconstitu-
tional. The filing of the opinion
caused a withdrawal of the proceed
ings and the Indictment was formally
presented.
The indictment charges various acts
of alleged profteering against the de-
PENDANTS, each of the fourteen counts
dealing with a separate transaction in
which the woolen company sold cloth
to talors and other dealers in New
York at. prices which are alleged to
be grossly excessive. All of the trans
actions upon which the indictment is
based took place in January.
The first count alleges that the de-
PENDANTS manufactured a 79-yard piece
of cloth at 1925 a yard, or $177.75 for
the piece, and sold it to William Jer-
rems Sons at S3.6712 a rard or 1920
for the piece. The second count alleges
that the defendants manufactured a
749s- yard piece of cloth at $1.62 a yard
and sold it to Isaac Rosenbaum for
1925 yard, The third count charges
that the defendants manufactured a
piece of cloth containing S51 yards
at $19O and sold it to Simon and Peter
other counts contain similar alega-
tions.
The decision by the Federal Court
of Appeals upholding the constitu-
tionality Of the Lever act of August
10, 1917, as amended October %, 1919,
is the first Federal appellate decision
to be handed down anywhere in the
United States. The "hying SQUADRON
of the Department of Justice, under
Armin w. Riley. will now redouble its
efforts to arrest all profitecrs, It was
announced.
Hughes Brief Reviewed
The decision of the court was rem
dered by Judge Martin j. Manton and
reviews the brief submitted by Charles
Evans Hughes, as a friend of the cour4
and as counsel for the National Asso-
citation of Retail Clothiers. After
stating that C. A. Wood & Co., Buff
falo clothiers, had been indicted March
9, 1920, on twenty counts charging
violation of the Lever act and that
the company had filed a bill n equity
to restrain Stephen T. Lockwood.
United States Attorney for the West
ern District of New York, from pro-
ceeding in the criminal action, the
opinion takes up the contentious of at
torneys opposing the act on the ground
that 1t sanctions a deprivation of prop
erty, that it is too vague and indefinite
to be enforced that it is class legisla-
tion and a delegation of legislative
power to the judiciary and disposes
of all objections against the act
Among other tn ngs, Judge Manton
says: THE first section Of the act Of
October %, 1919, refers to it as the
food control act. An emergency for
legislation of this character, which
makes the statute a war measure, has
been held by the Supreme Court still.
to exist lHamilton VS.. Kentucky Dis
tilleries Company, 251 U. s., 1907. The
passage of this act by Congress and
the failure of the Senate to ratifv the
peace treaty with the German govern
ment indicate that Congress treats the
war AS continuing and demobiization
as incomplete.
"lt must be said that this act, passed
by Congress and approved by the
President, indicated an intention to
support the army and navy as well as
provide a remedy for the evils result
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