The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1934-12-28

CHI ance to know
NetU Deal how many laws and
D,,hl.c.s. executive orders is-
sued Hereunder have
come out of the New Deal in its TWEEN
ty-one months Of life. President Roose.
Welt has determined upon publication
In an official manner as the means OF
informing Mr.. Average Man what he is
not supposed to do under the New
Deal. 1t has not been determined yet
whether there will be an official gov
eminent newspaper for publication or
all of these laws, executive orders,
codes, regulations and other means OF
official expression, but everything points
that way.
Courts have always said that igno-
rance Of the law excuses no man. 1t
remained for the Supreme Court OF the
United States, however, to say that
when the average man was deluged
with hundreds Of orders Of inhibition
and prohibition from washington, he
was or is quite likely to be unable to
comprehend what 1t is all about.
u
1t was almost unprecedented for
criticism to come from member OF
the Supreme Court of the United
States. But Associate Justice Bran
deis, one Of the outstanding liberals Of
the highest tribunal, made no effort to
conceal his grievance when, In the
course Of presentation of an NRA case
to the court, he learned to his amaze
ment that there had been no publica-
ton Of the numerous orders, regula-
lions or rules In a manner that could
conceivably reach the country as
whole. OF course, the newspapers
have attempted to keep the country
Informed but there seems to be no
doubt that the number of official pro-
nouncements was too great for any
newspaper, however large, to keep
track of and publish them all. Conse-
quently, the Associate Justice gave
voice to feeling that has prevailed
among newspaper correspondents In
Washington for long time, namely,
that the bulk of the citizens of this
country were uniformed concerning
the vast number of new regulations
Forthcoming under the New Deal.
1t is a regular practice for congress
to enact legislation and include in such
laws a phrase to this effect:
Authority to issue regulations car
rying out the terms Of this law is here
by extended"
That phrase whenever 1t is included,
as it is almost invariably, gives to the
rules and regulations, proclamations
and announcements, the full force and
effect Of the law itself so long as the
administrative promulgations are with
in the terms of the law itself and with
in reason. In other words, these be-
come law and they can be sustained
by any court that can find the law it.
self constitutional.
The magnitude of the problem with
which the President has now deter
mined to deal was
Weighty suggested recently by
Problem a committee of the
American Bar asso-
citation which estimated that in the
first year Of the NRA alone more than
ten thousand pages of such Flaw" were
written by executive authority with
out adequate provision for notifying
the public.
"The total legislative output by or
in connection with this one admins
trative agency" the committee de-
clared, actually staggers the magma
tion."
The committee added that any cal
culation involved guess-wOrk and 1t con-
cluded after something more than a
superficial investigation that between
four thousand FIVE hundred and five
thousand methods of business conduct
were prohibited by the codes and sup
Elemental amendments to codes pro-
mulgated by the National Recovery
Administration in its brief period Of
life.
The Brooklyn institute in study
of the situation has found that in the
federal government there are sixty diff
ferent administrative tribunals which,
as the Institutes statement said, are
making judicial decisions affecting
private rights" The institutes state
ment added that these do not pro-
coed according to any single form, do
not follow any uniform procedure and
. do not fit in as integral parts Of CO.
herent or intelligent system"
During the World war there was an
official publication issued by the COM
mittee on public information which
was designed to acquaint the general
public with the myriads Of orders from
the White House, orders from the War
and Navy departments. orders from a
score Of other places, in the hope that
public understanding would simplify
the administrations problem. That is
the only time. as far as | have been
able to ascertain, when the produc-
ton Of rules and regulations and adj
ministrafi6n-made '9aw" was so great
that other than normal press channels