Evening star., 1935-05-20

TIOill hoO oSCsJ
contended there must be something
less than candor, something less than
fortnight antagonism" in attempts
to clip the Blue Eagles wings.
Turning to the Senate's bar against
codes affecting intrastate commerce.
he described that as "a loose and
vague phrase" which "opens the door
to universal evasion Of code require
ments."
Furthermore, Richberg argued, the
Senate's limited extension resolution
effectively wipes out the Federal
Alcohol Control Administration and
denies to the Federal Government
any effective control over the liquor
traffic"
Turning again to this argument
for a two-year extension, Richberg
said:
The Congress can at any session
revise or repeal the law ..
There can be no possible injury to
the public interest in trying to i'm
prove the existing law today"
Richberg described as vague" the
Senate resolutions ban on price fix
ing. Presumably he said, that was
intended to prevent price fixing in
restraint of trade. That already Is
forbidden by existing law, he argued.
Wants Price Fixing Defined.
THE resolution should be re-
written" he said. IF it is the inten-
ton to prevent price fixing which
maintains artificial price levels, the
language should state that. The
N. R. A. would welcome such a def
milton.
Let not the Congress give us such
a vague, sweeping and unworkable
provision"
If Congress emasculates the act"
he asserted. then Congress would be
held responsible.
Il do not believe majority in either
House will vote for an unworkable
law merely to put the administration
in the hole" Richberg said. departing
from his prepared statement.
He cited the coal industry as an
example Of the impediments arising
out of uncertainty. He explained
that labor and other uncertainties IN
a large part of that business we're
giving no end of trouble to its men,
bers, who had to depend on making
contracts year ahead, and that this
was good illustration of what would
happen throughout If NJ r. A. were
extended only nine months.
Cites Record of Litigation.
The administrator also emphasized
that with litigation in process on
would be disrupting.
There has been considerable mis-
understanding through reports that
the N. r. A. was seeking to avoid liti-
CATION" he said I'm the first place,
it is impossible to avoid it, and in the
second place. the N. r. A. has ini-
tiated litigation. incidentally, our
score on decisions is enormously in
favor of the N. r. A., although the
have received wide publicity.
There has not been a single Cir
cult Court of Appeals that has ruled
against the N. r. A. as a whole.
Litigation is necessary and must
60 on, but is it to be permitted to do
so in an orderly fashion, or must the
program just go hobbling along?"
IF the Congress believed the N. R. A.
to be a failure and bad beyond re-
demption," Richberg said, "it should
accept the responsibility of killing it."
Fears Revival of Evils.
The Senate resolution. he argued
with obvious feeling, would make i'm
potent" the power of the Federal Gov
ernment to regulate interstate COM
merce despite tn fact that the Su-
preme Court has ruled in scores of
cases that the Federal power must
necessarily be extended over activities
wholly within a State which substan-
italy burden or obstruct the proper
regulation of interstate commerce"
He added:
This limitation of Federal power
would in effect revive all the evils of
the lack of Federal power which were
largely responsible for the constitu-
tional convention of 1887 and for the
drafting of the interstate commerce
clause of the Constitution.
This would be not merely a move
ment back to the Constitution It
would be proposal to 60 back to the