Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1937-04-15

on the Constitutionality of Federal
and State statutes. the Supreme
Court has. by its W act. effectively
spiked the contention that Its men,
bers are not abreast of the times.
That is the way experienced Wash
ington observers interpret the
Courts rulings in the Railway Labor
Act case, the Washington State Min
imum Wage case. the Virginia Milk
case and the Frazier-Lemke Farm
Mortgage Moratorium case. This
new body of interpretations has
served to clarity the line between
the powers of the individual states
and those of the Federal govern
ment.
In the Washington case. the Court
reversed its own ruling in a case in
1922. At that time II was held that
no right existed to regulate working
conditions of women and to fix a
minimum wage for women workers.
The Court now holds that decision
was wrong. and that states have the
right, in the exercise OF their police
powers. to regulate working condi-
tons where the public interest is af-
fected.
In the Railway Labor case the
Courts ruling was definite that the
Federal Government has full power
to deal with labor conditions in in
terstate commerce, pointing out that
railway transportation Is clearly In
terstate commerce, and that all the
functions of a railroad, even shop
work performed entirely within a
state, are a part of the interstate
operation.
In the Virginia Milk case. the
Courts ruling went further in de-
ining the powers of states TO regu-
late industry. A state milk authority
may cross state lines 10 fix prices
and handle the marketing of milk in
order to protect producers. This is
regarded here as pointing the way
for agricultural regulation by state.
rather than Federal action.
In upholding the revised Farm
Mortgage Moratorium Act, the
Court demonstrated that ii was not
opposed to giving distressed farmers
leeway in which to take care of their
overdue mortgages. but only to the
provisions In the similar law. pre-
~viously declared unconstitutional,
which did not sufficiently protect the
rights of mortgages.
The sharp lines which the Su-
preme Court draws between the
powers delegated under the Consti-
tuition to the Federal government
and those reserved to the states are
not greatly to the liking of those of
the Presidents followers whose aim
is to enlarge Federal powers. The
decisions, moreover, are regarded
here as tending to weaken Congress
sional support of the President
proposal to enlarge the Court. They
have a bearing. also, upon the Labor
situation, which became the focus OF
Congressional attention when, in
both House and Senate. the "sit-
down strikes were officially no.
ticed.
Senator Byrnes of South Carolina
precipitated the subject by offerins
an amendment to the new Guffey
Soft-coal regulation bill, just as thai
was coming to a final vote in the
Senate. The amendment provide;
that any miner whose employment
has been terminated is guilty of q
crime if he remains upon company
property after being ordered off
That started a free-for-all discus.
sion. in which several Senators tool
occasion to denounce the whole
principle of sit-down strikes.
An echo of the Labor debate thu:
started was heard in the House
when Representative Dies of Texas
introduced a resolution calling for 6
Congressional investigation of or
ganized Labor. and its policies anG
practices. This, like the Byrnes reso