Evening star., 1935-12-19
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
FOR DATA UPHELD
Business Urged to Fight in
Courts to Secure Pub
IiCity Protection.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

The right of privacy-long guaran-
teed by the Constitutions appar-
emily to become a relic of the past.
Nobody has arisen to challenge in the
courts the fragrant action of the va
rious New Deal agencies in making
public data filed with them as con-
fidential.
Specifically, the right of the Sc
curities and Exchange Commission to
make public data about corporation
salaries and thus to provide the
racketeers and kidnapers with their
best prospect lists has not yet been
questioned in the courts. Maybe it
never will be.
Likewise the Federal Government is
about to make available duplicate
copies of all Federal income tax re-
turns to all State and city agencies.
The process of virtual blackmail and
extortion which so often attends the
levying of assessments under threat
of criminal proceedings may now be
extended widely into the several
hundreds of taxing units in the
country.
Philadelphia Case Cited.
When a citizen files his income
tax return he has a right to have it
kept confidential. Congress may make
laws requiring publicity, but the con-
stitutionality of such laws may well
be doubted. Thus, within a fort
night, a decision by the Circuit Court
of Appeals in Philadelphia held that
a certain company had a right to
have its trade data kept secret by
mission.
The opinion was brief and oral and
no comment was made as to the
reasons for granting the injunction.
Reference, however, to the brief filed
by the petitioners shows that the
complaining company argued about
the damage that might be done to its
interests by a revelation of statistical
data with reference to gross volume.
In principle, there is no difference
between one kind Of data and another
if it is likely to be damaging to COM
pany to have it made public. Thus
the company in question argued that
competitors could figure out its prices
If gross sales and other items of ac-
counting were revealed. Certainly
any corporation with large number
of executives could prove conclusively
that friction within its organization
and other damage might ensue if it
we're required to make public list Of
salaries and those receiving them;
that its expenses would be conceivably
increased as consequence.
Data Can Be Classified.
It so happens that the public inter-
est actually can be served in another
way, assuming that it is important to
know what amounts of money are
being spent by a management of
given concern for salaries, bonuses and
commissions. Many a company which
filed recently with the S. E. c. offered
to have the data made public in a
compilation which would show how
many individuals received salaries of
a given sum and the total amounts
paid to each class of salaries.
The public interest and the interest
Of stockholders are readily served by
such compilation because the stock
holders, who alone could legally ques-
tlon the wisdom of spending such
amounts, could enter suit in a State
court if they differed with the man
agement as to its alleged extrava-
gances.
Likewise, the names of the officers
and directors are known to the stock
holders and they can at any time ask
for their removal on the ground that
the total salaries paid to subordinates
are excessive.
Withholding the names of the re-
ciplents in these days of kidnapers
and extortionists would not hurt the
cause OF the radicals one bit, for they
would have just as much ammunition.
But a few families might be spared
the cruel hardships of being exposed
to racketeering. 1t would be unfor-
tunate if the public were to infer that
the New Deal is pursuing a campaign
OF vindictiveness against its opponents
IN the business world,
Congress Groups Conflict.
There is a group in Congress who
insist that all salaries of all corpora
tions and all income-tax returns shall
be given the widest publicity. There's
another group which opposes it be-
cause one step will lead to another of
more drastic character.
Supposing the public, for instance,
would demand to know just what in
come is received from outside invest
ments by the members of the House
and Senate, the cabinet secretaries
and the President and the members
of their families? Would these Off
cials feel that their private affairs
should thus be subject to public curl
osity? Still, this is the logical out
come of the present drive against
privacy which is being made, and when
such data are published unjust infer
ences will be drawn against public of
flcials that may undermine confidence
in government, irrespective Of party.
(Cn0yri1ht 1Q25