The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1936-05-19
AMENDING OF
CONSTITUTION
May Be GOAL
Would be Injected Into the
Presidential Election
Campaign
WILL REVEAL COURSE
IN CONFERENCE TODAY

WASHINGTON, May 19. CUP
Supreme court invalidation of the
Guffey coal control act challenged
President Roosevelt today to carry
the issue of constitutional amend
ment to the people in the presi-
dental campaign. The decision
pointed toward political and eco
nomic consequences.
Mr.. Roosevelt may reveal New
Deal strategy at his regular press
conferences at a p. M, E. S. T.
Labor leaders already were
planning pressure for campaign
year showdown on constitutional
limitations defined by the courts
prescribing federal regulation Of
hours, wages. and industrial COM
petitive conditions generally.
There was talk in the capital
today of possible trouble in the
mine fields. Congressional leaders
doubted time would permit patch
ing the Guffey bill at this session.
Lawyers believed the court blast
ed beyond repair the "litle MIRA"
theory of federal Observation-Disclosures
try control. There were EXPIRES
sions of hope, also, that coal con-
troll can be- achieved voluntarily.
Scrapping of the Wagner labor
relations act on the Guffey prece-
dent was judged to be only nat
ter of time. Down with the Cuff
fey bill went most of the hope Of.
those who projected legislation to
regdlats: other individual indus
tries or who believed a federal
3O-hour work week program could
be bomb-proofed aainst high court
attack. ...
The New Deal money-raising
program took another jolt in the
Guffey decision. Mr.. Roosevelt.
had budgeted for $18,900,00O
from coal taxes during the next
fiscal years. The sum involved is
small compared with the wealth
denied the treasury when agricul-
tural adjustment was outlawed
but it moves the budget out Of
balance q little more.
So far $674,s33 has been col
lected in coal taxes. The treasury
is studying the decision to deter
mine whether this sum would be
legally refunded to mine opera
tors. Secretary of Treasury Nor
genthau, Jr., testified recently
that New Deal expenditures, the
cost Of the bonus and failure to
collect AAA processing taxes
probably would boost the budget
deficit to a new high.
Bolstering belief Mr.. Roosevelt
might make constitutional amend
ment a campaign issue was the
precedent of the child labor act
decision. Reasoning in the child
labor and Guffey cases were iden-
tical on some points. Congress
conceded its inability to prescribe
child labor by legislation but in
1924 submitted an enabling con-
stitutional amendment to the
states. II still is pending.
The long time required to ratify
a holly contested amendment was
a factor in dissuading Mr.. Roose-
welt from making that approach
to his problems earlier in the ad-
ministration. He expressed conf
dence in his inaugural address
that the fundamental law was suf-
ficiently flexible to permit all nee
essary emergency legislation. In
his "horse and buggy" criticism
of the NRA decision the presi-
dent emphasized that changing the
constitution usually was process
of several years. But there is the
precedent of repeal Of the 18th
amendment for which Mr.. Roose-
welt got a. mandate in the 1892
campaign.