The times-news., 1936-02-19
THAT IVA DECISION

Consideration OF the. OhlIeu D'"'0' NV
preme Courts decision in the IVA case
iustifies the conclusion that 1t was Inn
tied victory for the national admlmStra-
lion which initiated the experiment. Inc
constitutionality of the IVA project as a
whole was not interpreted, and the court
plainly stated that the ruling was confined
to the questions at issue in the case brought
m from Alabama This leaves the way
open for other tests of the, constitutionahty
Of the experiment as whole, and IVA
will probably remain a bone of contention
for years to come and many conflicts IN
the future will be waged around it.
Norman Thomas, late Socialist candl-
date for President, is authority for the
statement that the IVA project is the most
perfect development of Socialism so far
seen in this country. Justice McReynolds.
who delivered the dissenting opinion in the
case which has been decided, must have
had something related to this view in mind
when he summed up his attack on IVA
and the majority court opinion in these
words:
''If under the thin mask of disposing of prop
erty the United States can enter the business of
generating, transmitting and selling power as,
when and wherever some board may specify,
with the definite design to accomplish ends
wholly beyond the sphere marked out for them
by the constitution, an easy way has been found
for breaking down the limitations heretofore
supposed to guarantee protection against aggres-
sion"
Justice McReynolds suggests that an
easy way has been opened up by the
courts decision for government aggression
in the field of business and industry and
for dictatorial and tyranical exercise o.
political power. 1t is to be accomplished
through the thin mask of disposing OF
property" belonging to the federal gov
ernment. There can be no questioning OF
the fact that as the project stands now,
and if it is allowed to proceed according to
the ideas and plans of those who, Ike
President Roosevelt and Senator Norris,
are insanely prejudiced in their opposltion
to the private power industry, the twelve
billion dollar power industry of the country
ers in these enterprises will find their III
veStmentS wrecked as the companies are
forced out of business, or forced to sell
their properties for whatever IVA or oth'
err government experiments may conclude
to pay for them.
Thus, if the experiment is allowed To
proceed unhindered, will be wiped out bl.'
lions of dollars in taxable values through
out the country; and millions OF stockhold'
ers, large majority of them people OF
very limited financial resources, VIII lose
all or large part of their investments in
the power industry. -. -. /.
Having previously decided that the fed
eral government has no constitutional auth
ority to enter into business IN competition
with its citizens, it is somewhat difficult fol
the average citizen to understand th'
grounds upon which the court based thu,
IVA decision If the federal government
can lawfully go into the power business,
can lawfully come to Hendersonville anC
90 into the business of publishing news
paper in competition with the Times
News; or it can go into the mercantil
business on Main street in competition witt
local merchants.
As matter of fact the federal govern
ment is now competing with the citizen
of this country in many lines of business
1t is doing billions of business through
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