Evening star., 1935-02-27

by a clear preponderance of evil
dence this court finds that the plan of
employe representation in effect
among the employees of the defendant
affords lawful and effective organi-
zation of the employees for collective
bargaining through representatives of
their own choosing: that in all re-
spects 1t complies with the provisions
of section Ia of the national indus
trial recovery act and section /,
article 4. of the steel code; that in
all respects it is directly operated
and controlled by the defendants
employees and is not dominated or
controlled by defendant or its agents;
that in all respects it is satisfactory
to the great majority of the defend
ants employees; that the 40 repre-
sentatives elected in December. 1898,
are free from any domination or con-
troll of defendant or its agents, and
that the payment of compensation by
defendant to the representatives and
the payment by defendant of the ex-
penses of operating the plan are law
full and do not constitute acts of IN
reference, restraint or coercion"
Weirton Victory Clear.
In point of law, the Weirton Co.
won its case Clearly on the conten-
ton that its relationship with its en-
ployeS does not constitute interstate
commerce, and therefore any inter-
pretation of the section which would
regulate that relationship would make
the section void because Congress is
empowered only to regulate business
of an interstate nature.
In this respect the court also OBJ
served:
Power to enact IA was not con-
ferred upon congress by the general
welfare recital in the preamble to
the Constitution. nor by the welfare
clause article !, section 8 of the
Constitution.
The preamble confers no power
and the welfare clause is commonly
| considered as a specification of the
purpose for which money may be ap-
propriated and not as a substantive
grant of power.
The enactment of section IA
either is authorized by the commerce
clause of the Constitution or it is
unauthorized and therefore void"
Quotes Constitution.
The ruling then quoted article l,
section g.; The Congress shall have
power to regulate commerce with for
eign nations ana among the several
States and with Indian tribes"
Judge Nields asserted that "in a
number of cases the Supreme Court
has declared that the commerce clause
of the Constitution cannot be con-
Strued to bring within the regulatory
power of Congress the entire indus
trial life of the Nation"
The opinion further says:
The national industrial recovery
act requires that every industrial code
shall contain the provision of Sec
ton IA.
THE national industrial recovery
act provides machinery for the formu-
lation and enforcement of voluntary
or prescribed codes and agreements
relating to every branch of industry.
On October l9, 1884, there were 2.40O
lines of industry covered by codes then
approved, These codes include not
| only great manufacturing industries
such as the steel code. automobile
and textile codes, but also the bank
ers' code. hotel code, newspaper code.
undertakers' code and baby carriage
code. They bring within their score
the entire economic life of the coun-
try"
The opinion also says:
THE reductio ad absurdum process
of reasoning of the Supreme Court
that regulating manufacture involved
the regulation of all industry-was
held to demonstrate the conclusion
that the Constitution did not give to
Congress the power to regulate manu-
facture. The authority of these four
cases of the Supreme Court stand and