The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-07-28
THE BLAcK-coNNERY BILL


Defeated in the attempt to gain controi
of the Supreme Court, the Roosevelt ad-
ministration is pushing other bills Tor con-
gressional enactment which are as bad IN
any and every detail as the court bill The
hope is that if these bills can be made the
law of the country, Supreme Court which
the President now claims has been forced
by his fight against it to change its inter-
pretations of the Constitution, will sustain
them. The result will be the attainment. OF
practically everything the President and
the radicals have been attempting to do to
gain for him supreme control Of all depart
ments of government and to enable him to
set up in business with an iron-clad, air
tight dictatorship. .. -..-. ..,... .
If the administration can secure the pow
ers provided for in the government reor-
ganization BILL the Blaek-Connery bill and
several others which it is now attempting
to force Congress to enact, and if these
laws are allowed to remain in force by the
high court, all the Roosevelt and radical
aims and ends will be within the grasp of
the central government. r..... ......
That the high court would find these
measures constitutional is exceedingly
doubtful; but that the administration will
Immediately begin, upon the ENACTMENT OF
this program, campaign to bulldoze the
court into series of favorable decisions,
may be taken for granted.
The Black-Connery bill, or the wages
and hours bill, is as thoroughly and COM
pletely bad as the worst legislation here
tofore proposed under the new deal label.
This law proposes that a. commission of
five appointees of the President hold the
power of life and death over all industry
and business of the country except agricul-
ture. This commission would be response
BILE to no one except its master" It
would control wages and hours Of all work.
ers and through the powers thus conferred,
in the manner set forth in the bill, the COM
mission would be able to act as an absolute
dictator of the country's Industrial and
business interests ard structure.
AS has been clearly and forcibly point
ed out by some of the nations most dis
tniguished lawyers-Amos Pinchot is one
who has treated the matter in detail-the
BIaek-Connery bill is probably the clever
est of all the schemes concocted by the
new dealers to obtain complete control Of
the country. ..-, ., =. -. =.
The bill goes to the extreme OF placing
the administration in position to grasp
that power which President Roosevelt has
so greatly desired and, so persistently
sought ever since he deserted the Demo-
cratic party and its platform and his cam
paign promises and started on his new deal
rampage-that is the power to control the
press OF the nation. SEA-, .sr
Under the provisions of the Black-Con-
merry bill the freedom of the press would
become dead letter and dead issue.
The President and his ,fye-man commission
could put all the newspapers in the coun-
try out of business; and the same state
ment applies to radio broatcasting.
The only. hope of the nation, facing this
menace of radicafisn, is that aroused pub
lie sentiment will induce, the Congress to
resume its constitutional prerogatives and
take action to Kill this proposed bill and
similar iegislstion. -i wet r,,l
However, if any influence of public opin-
ion is.to be brought to bear it must be- done
promptly, as it is predicted the Black-Con-
merry bill will be acted on within q weeks or
ten days. :. -:
The provisions of the Black-G onnery bill
are particularly inimieal to, the South and
DANGEROUS to- the indistrisi and business
interests Of this section-which, in general
application, means to all the interests Of