The Nome daily nugget., 1935-12-07

about in stormy political seas
 u during the last few months in it's
 struggle to gain the shore of economic security, and has at last run aground on the Constitution of the United States from which not even the throwing over of billions of dollars in ballast seems likely to be able to lift it.
 Court decisions have been failing thick and fast, now that New Deal leg iSlation has had a chance to get into application, and claims against it have had a chance to find their ways to the tribunals At one time approximate ly 400 cases involving New Deal legs. lation were pending in the courts.
 Many of these have already been de- cided upon, some by the lower courts and a few finally by the Supreme court. There are about IT of them which the concensus of the press has imbued with more importance than all of the others. Of these cases 15 have been decided against the present ad- ministration and two for it. All de- ciSions but one were rendered since the beginning of the year; eight of them were Supreme court decisions, leaving the others to be appealed.
 Most important of all such decisions was that which threw out virtually the entire structure of the NRA, knocking the props from under New Deal plan ming. This left the President with three courses of action open: To build new and better NRA, to sim ply suspend action for while and ''let 'em see how they like it." or to campaign for an amendment to the Con stitution which would further cen traliZe legislative power to aid the ad- ministraton in coping with changing social and economic conditions.
 For while it looked IS if the Presi. dents policy was to be co2:bination of all three, but of late weeks the third has emerged more and more clearly. What has led up to the pres. ent state may be followed through resume of the important cases which have been decided by Federal District courts and the Supreme court.
 est New peal Legislation.
 The first judicial straw which indl. cated the way the storm winds were blowing was the decision of the Su- preme court on January of this year, when It declared unconstitutional Sec tion 9c of the National Industrial Re coyery act, It was the first real test of the legitimacy of New Deal legisla. ton and blasted high hopes held out by administration leaders that it would be upheld.
 The court ruled that the Executive had been given Legislative powers which were uncalled for, that proper rules had not been laid down for his guidance. The section had conferred upon the President the power to pro- hibit the transportation over state lines of oil which had been produced in excess of state quotas; the power was denied.
 Hailed as a victory for the New Deal was the decision 0 to 4) of the Supreme court in upholding the gold clause cases, rendered. February IS. While the decision upheld New Deal action of denying the gold payment obligation the opinions of the justices were in several cases severe rebukes.
 Tn this instance there were three issues at stake. The first resulted from congressional action in setting aside the obligation in private con tracts to pay interest or principal in gold, or other specific coin or currency. The action was sustained by the ma. jority of five, who confirmed decisions of lower courts that congress had power to adopt the joint resolution with respect to these obligations of railroad companies and hence that the gold clauses could not be enforced and the bonds were payable in legal tender 
 From the court of claims came the