Evening star., 1937-05-30
Courts Most Vital Session
In IS Years to End Tuesday,
Return of Justices in October Will See
Revised Concept il, Rulings of
High Bench.
BY JOHN H. CLINE.

BY JOHN H. CLINE.
The sharp tap Of bailiff's gavel
in the stately Supreme Court cham
Der Tuesday afternoon will mark the
end of vital chapter in American
history
There will be nothing unusual about
the closing session of the court itself
AS usual, the justices will meet at noon
and announce decisions in some or all
Of nine comparatively minor cases re-
naming on the docket Then they
will reveal whether reviews will be
granted in six suits attacking admin
istration laws. With these duties out
of the way, Chief Justice Hughes will
nod to the bailiff and this session.
the most momentous in rs years-will
be over
When the justices come back in Oc-
tober the form and procedure will be
unchanged, but they will shape their
rulings to conform to a revised con-
cept of the Constitutional liberal
philosophy of Government expounded
during recent weeks in three opinions
that spelled fnis to unregulated in
dustry.
In many respects this session CT
the court has been comparable to the
closing stages of the Civil War. Both
marked the climax Of social revolu-
tions. The surrender at Appomattox
heralded the triumph of Industrial
ism and the last two months have
witnessed its defeat.
Revolt Won in 1882.
The so-called revolt of the forgot
ten man" began years ago and regis
tered its first major victory at the
polls in 1882. The election of Frank
lin D. Roosevelt came when indus
trial capitalism was at its lowest ebb.
The stock market crash and the mil
lions of unemployed walking the
streets in search of jobs that didn't
exist furnished the evidence with
which industry was tried and found
wanting.
With the advent of the New Deal,
Congress undertook to impose a va
riety Of regulations on the far-reach-
ing industrial empire, believing shorter
hours, higher wages and the banish-
ment of unfair trade practices would
lead to solution of depression ills.
The industrialists, however, resorted
to the courts and the esta bnshed pro-
lection of the Constitution As a re-
suit the N. r. A., the A. A. A., the
railway pension act and the Guffey
coal act-to mention a few-fell be-
fore the twin barriers of the COM
merce and the due process clauses.
For while 1t looked as if legislative
program overwhelmingly indorsed at
the polls were to be blocked by strict
interpretations Of the Constitution
founded on a political philosophy
adapted to pioneer days.
Rulings Change Picture.
Both State and Federal Govern
ments were denied the right to fix
minimum wages for women and chill
dren. The vague terminology of the
commerce clause was invoked to con-
fine the regulatory moves Of the Ma
tional Government in narrow field.
Due process was interpreted to cover
the substance of laws as well as the
procedure under them. The distinc-
ton between the respective powers Of
the States and the Federal Govern
ment was drawn so fine that Congress
could undertake no remedial legisla-
ton and the States were left helpless
to deal with the multitudinous activi-
ties Of the big industrial corporations.
Industry, meanwhile, would not or
could not rectify conditions. Strikes
became the order of the day and
general industrial paralysis seemed
not too-distant possibility. The ma
chine age, it seemed, had developed to
such degree of efficiency that there
were not enough jobs to go around.
The future apparently held little hope
for the human victims Of disordered
economy.
Into this gloomy picture came three
epochal decisions from the Supreme
Court.
Whether these rulings were the re-
suit Of pressure from the Presidents
efforts to reorganize the court, more
carefully drafted laws or q more lib
eral outlook on the part of the Jus
tices Is not Of great consequence The
significant fact Is that the court gave
the New Deal the go signal. For the
few times in our history the national
Government has been given wide lee
way In its efforts to cure social ills.
Whether 1t can do better job on the
capitalist system remains to be seen,
but the effort will be made.
The Tree Decisions.
The first Of these rulings squarely
reversed the position formerly taken
BY the court on minimum wage legis-
lation. From now on this will be
proper subject for regulation by the
States, and many believe by the ma
tional Government in industries In or
affecting interstate commerce.
The second came In the Wagner act
cases when the court affirmed the
right Of collective bargaining. Re-
ftAns to deal with modern industrial