Evening star., 1937-01-01
SUPREME COURT
FACES BIG TASKS
Wagner Act Decision Will
Be Biggest Judicial Job
in 1897.
BY JOHN II. CLINE.

Sh<ANEs
Two vital questions-one social and
the other personal in nature-are con-
fronting the Supreme Court today ~
that august tribunal moves into Z
new year after . busy 1896, In which
the justices announced decisions In
half . dozen cases Of national i'm.
portance.
The biggest judicial job awaiting the
justices in 1887 Is that of deciding
the constitutionality Of the Wagner
labor relations act, q ruling Of sreai
importance to worker and employer
alike. OF almost equal interest is the
question whether Associate justice
Harlan Fiske Stone, now seriously Ill
will be able to participate in any case,
during the early part Of the new year
Justice Stone, generally classed with
the so-called liberal members Of the
bench, has not been able to attend q
court session since October IS. He left
his home here for the South shortly
before Christmss, however, and THU
was generally regarded A. an indica-
tion that his health Is improving.
A. A. A. Ruled Invalid.
The first important decision Of the
1885 term came early in January, when
the agricultural adjustment act. q New
Deal measure designed to improve con.
ditions on American farms, was de-
clared unconstitutional by . 6-to-3
vote.
OF fundamental importa nee in this
case was the further delineation OF
the boundary beyond which the Fed
eral Government may not 60 without
invading the rights reserved to the
States by the Tenth Amendment.
In addition to ruling that this set in.
yaded the rights of the States, the
court held 1t was not . proper exercise
Of Federal power under the general
welfare clause Of the Constitution
This clause, empowering Congress to
legislate for the general welfare. ha,
been cited frequently BY New Deal
lawyers. although little considered in
the past
Amendment Talk Revived.
The A. A. A. decision. coupled with
the adverse ruling in the Guffey Goa
act case, revived talk OF a constitu.
tionsl amendment abridging the power
OF the justices to declare an act oi
Congress unconstitutional. During
the presidential political campaign
numerous Democratic speakers at.
tackled the court for blocking the aim.
of the New Deal. while the Repub.
licsns acclaimed the justices as the
saviors of the country's institutions
but the question OF the proposed
amendment was never brought forth
as a political issue. President Roose
welt, since his overwhelming re-elec.
ton. has not indicated whether III
contemplsdes any steps TO facilitate
judicial approval Of the New Deal,
legislative ventures.
The Government first big consti.
tutionsl victory of the year came
February II, when the court gave
qualified APPROVAL to the vast electric
power experiment in the Tennessee
Valley
In substance. the effect of the T. v
A. decision was to uphold the right Of
the Government TO lease transmission
lines for the sale Of surplus power
generated at Wilson Dam In its lega
fight TO win this point the Govern.
ment contended the dam was bull
as a step in the ns stionsl defense pro.
gram and that the project was cal.
culated 10 improve the naVisa bility o
the Tennessee River. From the court.
limited approval it was assumed the
entire project would be sanctioned or
the latter ground.
Gnffey Act Ruled Out.
The Guffev act, entitled the "littl,
NJ r. A. of the soft coal industry
and enacted TO regulate the hours ant
wages OF that field OF industry, wa.
declared unconstitutional on May Il
by & 5-to-3 vote Here again th'
court held the Federal Government
had invaded the legislative field re
served to the States.
On the lst of June the justices b.
5-to-4 vote. threw out the Nev
York law fixing the minimum wage
of women and children. holding tina
it deprived those 1t was designed Il
benefit of their right 10 contrac
freely with their employers. This de
cision was met with the criticism tina
! the court had mapped out 4 n,
mans lsnd' in which neither tn
State nor Federal Government coul'
legislste TO improve social conditions
Just before taking their Summe
recess. the justices held that the Sc
curities Exchange Commission coul'
! not compel q New York stock broke
to appear for examination after b
had withdrawn q registration OF sc
clrities.
Recovering in the Fall, the court
in an unusual 4-to-4 ruling. uphel
the New York unemployment insur
snce law. Justice Stone did not par
tiCipate because of his illness. Thi
decision did not pass on the FeGera
social security act, although the Stat
Laws are part Of the national sst-up.
Right 10 Sit on Juries.
On the first opinion day in Decem
ber. the justices ruled that Govern
ment employees weer eligible to serv
on juries In criminal cases. Q dut
from which they had been barred II
the past Although this ruling hal
little importance nationally, 1t was o
considerable value here, since it mad
avsilable the services Of some 1000
additional prospective Jurors
The Duke power case, involving tn