Carolina watchman., 1935-06-07

Supreme CourtDece-
sion
The Bonus Veto
Case of Mr.. Holt

The unanimous decision of the
Supreme Court of the United States
that two of the essential assump-
tions upon which the New Deal
program was based, were invalid
and unconstitutional, has thrown
the Administration and Congress
into state of confusion which
makes the fate of much of the rest
of the Administrators program
doubtful. When the third arm of
the government, the Judiciary, de-,
cided that the Legislative arm had
no power to enact, and the Execu-
tive arm had no authority to ad-
minister, laws depriving persons of
their property without just COM
pensation, or to regulate working
hours, wages and trade practices
in business which does not cross
state lines, it brought to halt fur
ther efforts in the same direction.
The Frazier -Lemke Farm Mort
gage Moratorium Act was declared
unconstitutional in that it depriv-
ed creditors holding farm mortga-
ges of their property without due
process of law. The agricultural
bloc in the lower House is cropping
in the dark for some satisfactory
substitute to hold their constitu-
ents in line.
Belief that the same seasoning
which the Supreme Court used in
denouncing NRA, applies with
equal force to parts, if not all, of
AAA, has checked the progress
through Congress of the amend
ments designed to strengthen AAA.
The same decision, as it applies
to regulation of hours and wages in
intra-state commerce, has put the
brakes upon the progress of the
Wagner Industrial Relations bill.
These Supreme Court, decisions,
including the unanimous opinion
that the President has no right te
dismiss a member of the Federal
Trade Commission except for NAL
feasance in office came just at the
r,1oment when Mr.. Roosevelf,s per
sonal prestige had been greatly en-
hanced by his action on the Veter-
ans bonus.
The Presidents veto message on
the bonus bill is regarded by every
body but the Veterans lobby as
the most statesmanlike utterance
he has made since his Inauguration.
1t is also regarded as an extremely
smart political move. 1t gave all
of the boys on Capitol Hill a
chance to go on record as friends
of the veterans, chance Of which
they promptly took advantage, and
it unquestionably gained for the
President a great deal of conserva-
tive support. Every President
since the war has vetoed bonus
bill. The soldier vote is too widely
scattered over the country to af-
feet Presidents reelection, though
there are many districts in which
it might easily be strong enough to
re-elect or defeat a Congressman.
There is more dynamite than ap-
pears on the surface in the report
of the Comptroller General, John
w. McCarl, on the actions of the
Tennessee Valley Authority. The
IVA is asking for an extension of
its powers, and more money. Mr..
McCarl is the only official who can
tell truths without risking his job.
He cited many instances of expen-
ditures not authorized by law, i'm
proper bookkeeping, assumptions
of authority which the law did not
contemplate and other kinds of If
regularities. The most blasting
charge he made is that the IVA
deliberately wrote down. the
capital investment in its power
plants, in order to make it appear
that it could produce electricity
cheaper than it actually can pro-
duce it.
Mr.. McCarl's job is to audit all
government expenditures. He holds
office for a term of fifteen years
and cannot be removed unless he
commits a crime. He was ap-
pointed in 1921 by President Hard
ing so his term runs until the mid
die of next year. Some of his en-
thusiastic friends in Nebraska
where he used to practice law, are
talking about him as possible
Republican candidate for the pre-
sidency. Washington is most in
terested in him just now as math-
ematician.