Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-08-23
COAL BILL ACTION
RAISES ARGUMENT
Taft Stand on Bill Under
Similar Circumstances
: Is Cited.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

by the Supreme Court should be ig-
nored in the passage Of legislation.
The Guffey-Snyder coal bill pre-
cipitated the controversy. President
Roosevelt had advised Congress to
pass the measure irrespective of any
doubts members might have as to
constitutionality. The Attorney Gen
eral had declined to say publicly that
he believed the bill constitutional.
Much stress was laid during the de-
bate on an argument which this cor
respondent first emphasized, namely,
a message from President Taft to
Congress in February. 1918, in which
he argued that Congress should not
pass the buck to the courts, but should
decide for itself whether bill was or
was not constitutional.
It so happened that Mr.. Taft be-
lieved the measure then under con-
sideration - the Webb-Kepyop bill,
regulating interstate traffic in intoxi-
eating liquors-was not constitutional
and he submitted a carefully thought
out opinion by Attorney General
Wickersham to support his view. The
Congress passed the bill over Mr..
Taft's veto and subsequently divided
Supreme Court-Justice Holmes and
Justice Vandevanter dissenting-up-
held the constitutionality of the act.
Likelihood of Reversal.
Unfortunately. the members Of Con-
eress and the administration spokes-
men stopped here when they related
the episode They did not refer to
the fact that the decision was gen.
orally regarded as likely TO be reversed,
and when it came to the writing of
new constitutional amendment to re-
place the eighteenth so great was
the doubt among constitutional law
yers as to the correctness of the Su-
preme Courts Interpretation Of the
Webb-Kenyon law that Congress by
two-thirds vote of both Houses decided
to incorporate in the repeal amend-
ment provision which put into the
Constitution the very terms of the
webb-Kenyon act which had peen
questioned.
Thus, the tWenty-flrst amendment
today contains this section:
THE transportation or importation
into any State, Territory, or possession
Of the United States for delivery or
use therein of intoxicating liquors in
violation Of the laws thereof Is hereby
prohibited"
President Taft INDICATED.
Mr.. Taft was thus vindicated and
incidentally it was a Democratic
President of the United States, Frank
lin Roosevelt, who had more 20 do
with the adoption of that amend
nent than any other man in public
life.
When the twenty-first amendment
was under consideration in Congress
It was given intensive study by the
Judiciary Committee of the Senate.
The late Senator Blaine. chairman Of
the committee. in reporting the reso-
luton to the Senate. said:
THE committee felt that since
Congress had acted and had definitely
1egislated upon this question de, the
Webb Kenyon sct), and while that
legislation had been sustained by the
Supreme Court, yet it was sustained
by q divided court and that we could
well afford to guarantee to the So
called dry States the protection de-
signed by section q"
Now as to the Guffey bill, the prece-
dents of the Supreme Court are clear,
the latest being the decision in the
Schechter case. which was delivered
not by a divided court but by a unan-
imous bench. Every issue contained
in the Guffey bill has been passed
upon either in the Schechter case or
in the second Child labor case"
which was an Stool decision Of the
Supreme Court.
Guffey Eli Action.
In the face Of such a preponderance
Of Supreme Court utterances, Congress
passed the Guffey bill, and the pre-
sumption is that many members felt
they would meet punishment either
from the labor groups or from the ad-
ministrati0n at the polls If they did
not vote TO pass the act.
The Supreme Court unquestionably
will hold the GtIffey bill invalid. Every
important and competent legal au-
thority outside of the political realm
which has expressed an opinion on
this question indicates that the meas
ure goes beyond the Constitution IN
several respects. The mere fact that
the Department Of Justice refused
even privately to 60 on record as be-
heving the bill constitutional Is
suspicion enough that even the ad-
ministration knows the bill is of
doubtful validity.
But the coal unions are threatening
strike and Mr.. Roosevelt has Yielded
TO their coercion and has put the full
weight Of his Office behind the pro-
posed law. What MFR. Taft advised
when he was President was that Con-
gress should not transfer its >respon-
sibllity TO the Supreme Court. The
fact that Mr.. Taft's view on the case
In question happened at the time to
be reversed by a divided court does
e3OV cASotA NV OAiC iOId pfln-
aple he expressed to a Congress which
at that time was acting at the behest
of the dry organizations and not on
the merits Of constitutionality as it
then construed them.
Support OF Constitution.
Shall Congress bow to group pres
cure even when 1t knows an act Is
likely to be declared invalid? The
oath Of ofiice requires q member to
support and preserve the Constitution,
which means the clearly expressed de.
cisions Of the Supreme Court. There
might have been some justification
for what Congress did In 1918, rs no
precise case involving the same de-
tailed points had been previously de-
cided. even though there were some
cases approximating it. Today the
schechter case and the second child
labor cases are absolutely identical
with the points raised by the Guffey