Evening star., 1936-12-06
NEW DEAL RULINGS
LIKELY TOMORROW
Supreme Court May Decide
Five-Tie Votes Would
Aid U. S. in Two.
~ the Associated Press.

~ the Associated Press.
Five disputes involving New Deal
legislation-a record number for any
one time-may be decided tomorrow
by the Supreme Court.
The controversies involve:
1. Whether P. w. A. can provide
money for publicly owned hydro
electric projects. The Duke Power
CO. is attempting to halt a project
Ut Buzzard Roost. S. c. =
2. The right Of Congress to author
lze President Roosevelt to impose an
embargo on sale of munitions for the
recent Chaco war between Bolivia
and Paraguay. The Government
contends its neutrality legislation is
at stake.
3. Whether thu Government can
postpone decisions Of lower courts on
constitutionality Of the public utility
holding company act until the Su-
preme Court rules on a test case 1t
has brought against the Electric Bond
and Share Co.
1. Constitutionality of the Ashurst-
Summers act forbidding transportation
Of prison made goods into States that
prohibit their sale and requiring that
the products be labeled as convict
manufactured.
5. Constitutionality Of the 50 per
cent tax on profits made by silver
dealers during passage of the 1884
eilver purchase act.
Tie Votes Would Favor U. S.
Should the decisions of lower courts
be affirmed by tie votes-as was done
November % In upholding the New
York unemployment insurance act,
the Government would win the P.
W. A. and prison goods cases, lose
the others.
The evenly divided decision in the
New York case was due to the illness
Of Justice Stone, who has been con-
fined to his home with dysentery
since October 49, He will be unable
to attend court this month but can
participate in deciding any of the
cases if he so desires.
Twenty-eight cases, including the
five New Deal disputes. have been
argued. Decisions in most of them
are expected Monday. Some undoubt-
edly will be deferred, however, to a
later date
Among the pending cases is a con-
troversy over whether the Associated
Press is entitled to enjoin Radio Sta
tion KVOs Of Bellingham, Wash,
from broadcasting the press associa-
tons news until 1s hours after pub
i1cation.
Another involves constitutionality
Of the California and Illinois fair
trades" acts which prohibit sale Of
standard products for less than price
fixed BY producers and dealers
The court also. will announce
pealed from lower courts. These in
clude two by members of the Chicago
Board Of Trade and the Chicago Mer-
camille Exchange challenging con-
etitutionality of the 1886 act broad
ening the regulation of commodity
exchanges. A similar case fled by
the Kansas City Board Of Trade
probably will be acted on the next
Monday.
new arguments TO start.
After handing down decisions and
orders the justices will start listening
to another two weeks Of arguments.
One case to be heard late next week
involves whether the 1888 resolution
abrogating payments Of obligations in
gold applies to rental contracts
The Holyoke, Mass, Water Power
Co. Is seeking to collect in gold, or
its equivalent in devalued currency.
on contract leasing water power
rights in sthe Connecticut River to the
American Writing Paper Co.. of Mas
sachusetts.
A brief filed by the paper company
eontended its obligation was only to
deliver the value of gold" and that
the power company had not proved
any damage and hence should not re-
cover more than the face value IN
present day money.
In It's brief filed recently, the water
power company contended 1T should
receive more than the face value be-
cause the purpose of the gold con-
tract was "to provide against the
effect Of an appreciation or deprecia-
ton Of the currency"