Evening star., 1935-12-08

sumers," was made by the Farmers
Independence Council Of America.
Their briefs brought TO IA, total
ing approximately 275,000 words. the
number of written arguments in the
case brought by receivers of the
Hoosac Mills Corp. Of Massachusetts,,
challenging the validity Of the taxes.
The Federal District Court for
Massachusetts, upheld the levy, but the
Circuit Court Of Appeals at Boston
ruled that the entire act was uncon-
stitutional. Money raised by the tax
Is used to pay farmers who curtail
acreage planted In basic farm prod
ucts.
The Government win be represented
tomorrow by Solicitor General Reed.
who expects to talk two hours In con-
tending the legislation Is necessary
to promote the general welfare" Of
the United States.
George Wharton Pepper, former
Republican Senator from Pennsyl-
vania, will lead the attack for Hoosac
Mills, arguing among other things
that the legislation constitutes an In
valid delegation Of power and does
not directly affect interstate CONF
merce.
The oral arguments will start late
in the day. after the court announces
decisions in some Of the "A cases that
are ready for final action.
Bankhead Case Next.
After the Hoosac case Is submitted
the court will hear Tuesday argu-
ments on validity Of the Bankhead
act through which the Government
taxes the ginning Of cotton produced
in excess Of allotment quotas.
The petition of Louisiana rice mil
lers for q permanent injunction
against paying processing taxes under
the amended A. A. A. will be argued
Dec .mber 16 and case involving
validity Of the Tennessee Valley act
December 19.
The Bankhead litigation was
brought by Lee Moor, . Texas planter,
to compel the Texas & New Orleans
Railroad to transport his cotton with
out the tags that would show he had
complied with the act. Lower courts
dismissed his petition.
The legislation Is intended to cur
tail cotton production by imposing a
prohibitive tax on the amount ginned
in excess Of a quota fixed by the
Secretary Of Agriculture.
Cites Power Of Congress.
"There can be no doubt" Reed as
serted, in his brief opposing Moor's
position. that Congress has very
broad powers to select some subjects
for taxation and to omit others, to
tax some subjects at one rate and
others at different rates, to grant
exemptions to one class of taxpayers
and not to another.
THE sole restriction on that power
is that the classification shall not
be arbitrary or capricious. The diff
ference sufficient to justify classifica-
ton need not be great but there
should be some reasonable basis for
the distinction.
THAT reasonable basis, however,
may be founded solely on social, eco
nomic or moral policies entirely unre-
lated to the production Of revenue"
Reed said the purpose Of the Bank
head act was ito reduce the abnormal
ly large and, therefore. economically
undesirable annual carry-over of cot
ton and to equalize the burden Of such
reduction by preventing those who
would not voluntarily cooperate in
the reduction program of the A. A. A..
from profiting unduly, through in
creased production. to the disad-
vantage Of the cooperating pro-
ducers."
Power of Justices Cited.
Along with the heap Of puzzles that
have been piled before the Supreme
Court in the A. A. A. test case has
come statement to the nine justices
that their power to void acts Of Con-
gresS comes only from liberal inter-
probation of the Constitution:
Vernon A VrOOrnan general counsel