The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-03-02
RECEIVED WITH
MIXED FEELINGS
Comment on Lever Act de-
cision Depends on Point
of View
STARTLING EFFECT
ON JUSTICE DEPT.
Has Nothing on Which to Base Pend
ing Investigations and Suits-Senator
Capper Frankly Disappointed -
Thinks 1t Technical Ruling.

/ by DAVID LAW hEN1E.
| Especial Despatch to The Reformer.)
| Copyright 1921.
| WASHINGTON, March Few de-
cisions of the supreme court of the
United States in this generation have
had such startling effect on the work
lof the prosecuting branch of the govern
ment as the verdict declaring unconstitu-
tional the lever act under which profit
GERS were brought to court during and
since the war Not only does congress
| find itself in more or less confusion about
the status of the lever act itself, which
alone of the wartime legislation had
been purposely left on the statute books
either as an anchor to windward for
the new department of justice in pre-
venting future coal strikes or as means
of restraining the profteerS but the de-
partment of justice is wiped clean out
! of pending Investigations and suits
which have been begun under the Lever
act. In a sense the decision of the su-
preme court is timely for it gives At
Uorney General Daugherty and the Hard
| ing administration a clean slate and
throws out scores of pending cases
which would have been embarrassing to
the Republican administration.
The effect, moreover, upon business
mitted for many concerns which have
been suffering from reyerseS and Il lack
of profits also had hanging over them
prosecutions that bore a relationship
both to their prestige and credit.
Generally speaking, disappointment
and satisfaction were expressed In the
national capital depending upon the per-
sons interviewed. Men like Senator
| Oapper of Kansas, Republican, who has
| been fighting prOfiteering, frankly said
| that the decision was unfortunate and
would have a bad effect psycholOgically
| He hoped something could be done to cor
rect the situation by new legislation. On
the other hand, inquiry among lawyers
at the department of justice disclosed
! the viewpoint that congress probably
| would be unable at any time to draft
n law which would come within the linn
its prescribed by the supreme court as
constitutional. Indeed, some went so
! far as to suggest that since the supreme
court insisted that the law must state
definitely what is fair standard of
price so as to be able to inform an ac-
cused person of exactly what the
! charges are against him, it was certainly
doubtful what the supreme court may
say hereafter about the validity of the
| Sherman antitrust law since that stat
ute was just as vague and indefinite as
| the Lever act and made no more attempt
to define what is reasonable or unreason-
able restraint of trade any more than it
had been possible to say what reason
able or unreasonable profit would be-
Certainly a tendency of the supreme
court to permit the law of supply and
demand to operate without restraint of
| law is observed by many persons inside
and outside of congress who think the
! law making body should let business
alone at all times and that the consumer
| had his own remedy when prices went
too high. The other viewpoint. however,
| is expressed by Senator Capper. who
! said today: Yes. / am disappointed, and
/ believe the people of the country will
! he disappointed. | do not wish to crit
| iciZC the supreme court but it is unfOr
tunate that 4 technicality should be per-
mitted to thwart the purpose of Il law
| and give the people the worst of it. 1T
| comes at poor time too. for the morale
of our people is still disturbed by the
! fact that lots of persons made large pro-
| fits out of the war and will probably do
! it Scot free.
| "Of course there is not so much pro
| fiteering nowadays as there was but
there can be no doubt that the presence
of the Lever act on the statute books
acted as Il restraining influence. The
! psychology of the present decision is
| bound to be discouraging and I am go
ing to consult the lawyers in the senate
and see whether we cannot draft law
that will reach the profiteer.'
Many of the pending cases will still be
prosecuted by the department of Justice
under the Sherman antitrust law but it
was admitted that the effect of the de
! csiOn would be to drop the majority of
the pending suits and Investigations. In
! deed, the department to some extent
shares the view of Senator CappeF when
| he says that at present there is very lit
/ tie profteering and that Investigations
cannot do as much good now as formerly.
Il Officials are inclined to think that as n
4 deterrent. the Lever act has outived
i it's usefulness and that the economic laws
! of supply and demand are operating
again since sources of supply have been
i opened through the return of peace
| time conditions. 1t cannot be said that
! the department views with satisfaction
| however the release from prosecution of
i scores of individuals who were guilty of
/ profiteering but who cannot now be
reached because of the collapse of the
\ Lever law. 1t would not be surprising
| to find in the next congress a move
ment to reach those prOfteers by a re-
vival of proposals previously made to re-
cover war profits through taxation. On
the other hand, owing to the unsettled
condition of business and the need for
stimulus instead of restraint every
where, the chances of such a movement
being successful in a conservative Re-
publican congress are so slim as to be
hap Jlxr ii