Carolina watchman., 1935-10-18
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WASHINGTON
Three livliest questions in Was

Three livliest questions in Wash
ington:
l. What is the Supreme Cour
going to do about the four New
Deal laws, upon the constitutional
ity of which they will shortly hav,
to pass?
2. How effective will the Amer
ican neutrality policy be in keep
ing us out of trouble in the Eu
ropean war?
3. Can the potato control law
be enforced, and # so what will
be its political effect?
The first constitutional question
which the Supreme Court will pas.
on in its glittering new white mar
bic temple of justice is on thf
AAA. That is on the Courts dock
ct, test case raised by a New
England cotton mill, challenging
the right of Congress to impose a
processing tax on cotton. The real
question is not the right to tax
but the right to allot the proceeds
of the tax to benefit payments tc
the cotton growers, rather than
turn the money into the Govern
ment's general revenues. Washing
ton bettors are offering odds that
the Court. will throw the process
ing tax out of the window.
The other three questions, on
which petitions for review are
pending before the Court, concern
the constitutionality of the Bank
head cotton control law, the right
of the Federal Government to take
property by condemnation pro-
ceedings for housing and slum-
clearance programs, and the valid
ity of the TWAS plan for selling
electricity to municipalities.
Congress will meet again on
January 3, and in the intervening
three months it is expected that
decisions will be handed down
which may give the Senator's and
Representatives a lot of work to
do.
With war between Italy and
Ethiopia now an actuality, Presi-
dent Roosevelt has acted under the
neutrality resolution with two pro-
carnations. One of these lists all
kinds of military supplies and
equipment, which Americans are
forbidden to supply TO either of
the belligerents The other is SOL
emn warning to all American citi-
zens that if they travel on the
ships of either of the nations at
war or transact any business with
those nations they do so at their
own risk and our Government will
not concern itself if anything hap
pens to them. Since Ethiopia has
no ships, this merely means that
Americans are warned against
travelling On Italian ships.
If the war involves no other ma
tions it is quite possible nothing
of serious consequence to the Unit
ed States will follow these procla-
nations. But if the League of Ma
tions imposes economic sanctions
against Italy, which means that no
member of the League may legally
carry on any trade in any commod-
ity with that country, tough
question will be put up to the
United States.
We are not members of the
League, and would not be bound
by its action. Undoubtedly great
pressure will be brought by indus
trial and commercial interests to
take advantage of the trade oppor-
tunity which would be offered
But if other nations undertook to
enforce the Leagues sanctions by
blockading Italian ports, it is easy
to imagine a situation existing
which might bring the United
States smack into lot of trouble
And don't think the boys of the
State Department aren't worried
about that contingency. They are,
Potatoes are something else
again. Secretary Wallace announ-
ced the other day that he wasn't
going to make any effort to en-
force the potato control plan. 1t
wasn't more than "a hours after
that before representatives of the
big potato growing states, chiefly
Maine, Idaho and Utah, descended
upon the Agricultural Department
in body. The embattled potato
farmers demanded to know why
they weren't entitled to Govern