South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-03-07
MARCH 7. 1921
THE PASSING OF THE LEVER ACT.

At ast the supreme court has gotten to It and
the opinion Of Atty Gen. Palmer, conveyed TO con-
grees by ex-Prest wilson long ago asking for
amendment OF the Lever act making II applicable
peace times. Is upheld. Those congressional and
senatorial gentlemen. who refused to make the
amendments. and for campaign purposes maintained
they were not necessary. can be thanked for the
situation as It exists.
The rain. as has been noted "falleth alike upon
the just and the unjust" but not with laws. Too
often. they bear hardest upon the weakest. who
are not always the most unjust. the nvaldating OF
the late Lever act resulting in but one Of innumer-
able cases where equally guilty were not equally
punished
During the years when this so-called anti
proateering act was on the statute books Of the
ton certain labor men thought it to their
terests TO strike. For doing this Of them
arrested charged with violation Of the Lever act,
and imprisoned. All OF them hard pressed
to pay costs of defending themselves; their bust
nesses homes. and income suffered but being rela-
lively poor men and by reason of the fact that
could and did. their power to punish for
contempt. many of these paid the penalty OF
the Lever act Now that act has been wiped off the
books By a decision OF the supreme court
On the othe. hand. sundry persons and corpora
TONS indicted for alleged violations of the Lever
peaIs to higher courts The rower to punish for
contempt did not stretch to their cases. They now
go out of court. untouched Their costs of defense
much less than the profits they reaped.
The law is held unconstitutional If 1t is uncon-
sttutonal it was unconstitutional ali the time,
but until this was determined our legal machinery
made it necessary that should pay the penalty,
while others marked time that some should be pun
ished while others appealed
Possibly the remedy lies in a reconstruction of the
machinery Of the law. Or perhaps what we need
is a wiser congress; legislators who, themselves
can distinguish between constitutional and unconst-
tutional acts but this probably is much to
pect as only 2ss of the 43s congressmen-ss per-
cent-are lawyers.
Maybe what we need most is a judiciary
sIow-moying lower courts that keep their calendars
up-to-date and a supreme court that can out-dis-
lance the snail. It might help considerably 70
all Of those. Elus a federal department OF justice
which will. Immediately after a law : enacted, set
in motion cases intended constitutionality.
such happy solution Of the problem would aid
business labor. and the public. 1t would increase
respect for law and for courts-now a very low
eob.
Yes. at low ebb. and somewhat appropriately
It il such instances this that breeds anarchy IN
this country and it breeds it infinitely effective
" than the importations from overseas; not that
the supreme is wrong in its decision. however,
that supreme law making body-the con-
gress.-by negligence, if not intrigue in behalf of
the prohteers. should have made such decision
possible. is the fault of congressbut how about
the refund for those who have been punished under
a law which as applied to peace conditions, did
exist?