Evening star., 1936-01-07
GAIN TO NEW DEAL
SEEN IN DECISION
Power to Spend for Welfare
Held Bigger Principle
Than A. A. A.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

as q means OF regulating agriculture,
but the Supreme Court unanimously
upheld the Alexander Hamilton con-
ception of the use of the spending
power Of Congress for the general
welfare"
This judgment, rendered for the
first time in American history, may
we'll be considered to transcend in
Importance the ephemeral issues pre-
sented in the matter of a processing
tax or a particular scheme for regu-
lating agricultural production.
What the opinion means is that
Congress is affirmed in its right to
levy and collect taxes and to spend
the money for whatever purposes 1t
pleases, so long as, in the spending
of the money, Congress doesn't at
tempt any regulatory schemes or en-
act any laws that come in direct
conflict with the powers Of the Fed
eral Government or the several
States as specified or enumerated in
the Federal Constitution itself.
Gift Must Be Unconditional.
Thus, for example, Congress can
nav out as a subsidy to shipping or
to the coal industry or to farmers
any amount it wishes, so long as 1t
doesn't condition the gift upon some
action by the recipient or some COM
pliance on his part with some action
sought in return by Congress.
Congress tomorrow could pay out all
the money it wished to relieve unem-
ployment in cities or to help farmers,
but it cannot tie this expenditure up
in any way with control of acreage
or any other action by the farmer as
a compensation for the gift. Likewise,
the P. w. A. can presumably make
grants to cities for power plants, but
cannot condition it on the filing OF
a particular schedule Of electric light
rates by the city or some other In
cident of regulation.
Broadly speaking, the opinion OF
Justice Roberts, speaking for the ma
jority of the court, gives the New Deal
a concession that It's supporters had
hoped for but hardly expected. Only
the ballot Of the people can now re-
strain unwise expenditure, for the
Supreme Court says the words Ito
provide for the general welfare" have
a specific meaning, just like any other
enumerated power There is hint
that the court might some day pass
upon the scope of this power, but it
is difficult for such case to get into
court technically. Again and again,
interested taxpayers have been ex-
cluded from questioning the purposes
for which Congress spent money.
Guffey Ruling Predicated.
The defeat of the whole scheme of
agricultural production is, Of course, a
terrible disappointment to the New
Deal. Also, the courts opinion clearly
indicates that the Guffey coal act is
unconstitutional. that the Wagner
labor law is equally invalid, that the
Bankhead cotton control law Is un-
constitutional and that the Kerr
Smith tobacco control law is a vio-
lation of the Constitution.
Not SO clear, but probably invalid
will be the Walsh bill, if enacted into
law. This is the measure whereby the
Government may try to force compli-
ance with certain labor standards on
public work. There is every reason to
believe that the grants by P. w. A.
to cities. conditioned upon certain
action by the cities, is unconstitution-
al and that perhaps the Reconstruc-
ton Finance Corp. may have exceeded
its powers in requiring, as a condition
of its loans, various things in the
management Of private companies,
such as the limitation of salaries.
The score against Mr.. Roosevelt on
the ground of violating the Constitu-
ton is mounting It stands today in
comparison with his Repuelican pred
eceSsorS, since the World War, as
follows:
Signed by. Declared Invalid.
HarO1ng
COOIluge .-------.-------
hoover
r. D. Roosevelt 9
Thus. Mr.. Roosevelt, in less than
three years, has had more of the laws
he signed declared unconstitutional
than did Messrs. Harding, Coolidge
and Hoover in all the - years they
were in Office
Figures Called Inaccurate.
It is a matter of much regret that
Secretary Ickes, in speech last week
at Rochester, and Robert Jackson,
general counsel of the Internal Reve-
nue. Bureau, in speech in Buffalo re-
Gently. gave their audiences inaccu-
rate figures. Where they made their
mistake was to add up decisions that
happened to be rendered during the
Republican administrations. But, as
often happens, the Supreme Court
may pass, as it did, on three or four
acts while Mr. Hoover was in the
White House, but these were laws
with which he had nothing to do.
The cases before the court arose un-
der laws signed by his predecessors,
IN one instance going back to an act
signed by President Grant and passed
by the Congress of that period.
The above table is an accurate
statement Of the total unconstitutional
laws signed by the Presidents since
1921. It Is taken from the court
records.
Now Mr.. Roosevelt will have more
than nine laws counted against him;
In fact, the decision this week clearly
fogeshadows that at least three and
possibly four others will be held in
valid. President Roosevelt, therefore,
will easily attain the record of being
the one President of the United States
who violated the Constitution more
times In q single term of Office than
any other President in the entire
history of the United States.
(Copyright. 1936)
WANDERING MLION" HIT
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