Evening star., 1933-09-01
Court Move Against Oil Code
Arouses Strong Criticism

Action in the courts with the purpose
OF testing the code for the oil industry
has been sharply criticized by the
press. Judgment of the leaders of the
administration is widely accepted in
this and other acts under the recovery
law. and the ruling by the Supreme
Court of the District of Columbia,
which upheld the constitutionality OF
the code on the ground of national
emergency. is in harmony with public
opinion. The acceptance of price fix
ing under this code is conceded to be
contrary to the original purpose of the
Government. but is laid to special con-
ditions under which oil is produced.
Justice Cox raises the curtain on
an impressive drama" says the Gin
cinnati Times-Star, Of the District of
Columbia Supreme Court decision, as
the United States Supreme Court. The
Times-Star rejects the prospect of any
"legalistic interpretations of the Con-
stitution and the law, if the acts of the
National Recovery Administration. how
ever unusual its powers. are in the
spirit of American traditions and are
effective The Minneapolis Tribune,
recognizing that "the administration has
not been anxious to provoke a court
test of its powers" adds that this atti-
tude has been dictated by the desire for
speed and finds it Ito the credit of
business groups that the general re-
sponse to the N. R. A. campaign has
been an act of faith in which persua-
sion has played small part
The judge of the District of Column
bia court" remarks the Fort Worth
Star Telegram. handed down a decree
hi or, ~atr r,rt,, ntvNlo
that crisis in the affairs of citizen
ship is larger than any other provision
Of government-up to and including the
presidential prerogatives in time of
war. The assumption is broad that the
Chief Executive is commander-in-ch
of capital and labor exactly as he con-
stitutionally is declared commander in
chief of the Army and Navy. 1t may
require little elasticity and resiliency
to fit the innovation to the 150-year-
old Constitution, but the Messrs.
Justices can do it exactly as the people
can make the Blue Eagle successful
by saying so unanimously and putting
it into effect. We suggest the thought
that We are a long way removed from
the probable menace Of adverse Su-
preme Court decisions. When those
capable deltberators receive something
branded with the Blue Eagle they are
as apt as the least of us to dwell on the
Eagle and its significance rather than
on some obscure translation of con-
stitutional right that so easily can have
lived So long and so orthodoxy as to
have grown into a citizenship wrong.
There is where the present accent lies
< :; ::
"It may be doubted according to the
Akron Beacon Journal, IF any Ameri-
can tribunal will care to balk a Gov
ernment effort so freely demanded by
the mass of the people" The Hart
ford Times declares that "even the
highest court may be expected to be
sympathetic with the contention that
the preservation Of the Nation itself and
its relief in ruinous situation are fac
tors which weigh above all else"
Justice Cox's statement, "All laws,
including the Constitution, should be
read In emergencies in the light of ne
cessity," is quoted by the Philadelphia
Evening Bulletin with the comment
that "if the Presidents program is to
be sustained, it ought to have the full
and final Endorsement of its constitu-
tionality at the very start The
Asbury Park Evening Press advises
that those who believe in the sanctity
of the Constitution will not insult it
by pointing to 1t as barrier to con-