The daily independent., 1937-04-16
TRADE MARR


Killed NRA; New Deal Sees
Hint In Hughes Opinion That
Mildcr NRA Would Be o. KID;
Liberal Bloc Left All The Work
To Mind Changing Hughes And
Roberts; Decision SOcked Lib
erty League; Forces Large Pay
ment Of Back Wages.
acknowledgements legal
experts have been putting the mi
croscope on Supreme Court opin-
ions ever since the deluge of them
in the Wagner Act cases, and have
unearthed some highly significant
points.
Most important is that Chief
Justice Hughes opinion in the
case was not so very far off from
the government brief in the
Schnechter Sick Chicken Case.
Lay the two side by side, and
you find that Hughes cited the
same precedents for decreeing
steel in interstate commerce and
therefore subject to the Labor
Board, as government attorneys
cited in claiming that chickens
were interstate commerce and
therefore subject to NRA.
With the same precedentS, the
Court declared NRA unConStitu-
tional but the Labor Board o. K.
Apparently Mr.. Dooley was right
after all. The Supreme Court does
follow the election returns.
Modified NRA
Mr.. Hughes went further than
this. He threw out what New Deal
legalistS consider to be a subtle
hint that were the NRA to come
before the Court again it would
be OK'd too. For Hughes pointed
out that besides interstate COM
merce there were other reasons
for multiplying the NRA, among
them the improper delegation Of
power" by Congress to the Presi-
dent.
The hint seemed to be that If
this delegation of power were
made more specific, instead OF as
sweeping as during General john
sons heyday, the Court would tol-
crate a less ferociouS Blue Eagle.
Note.-New Deal legaliStS be-
lieve Hughes went out Of his way
to throw into his opinion a lot OF
things which he didn't have to
say. in order to make II absolutely
plain that the Wagner Act was
valid.
1t was the Court majority'S ans
wer to criticism that it had tied
Roosevelt'S hands on Sit-down
strikes.
Landon'S Uncle
Incidentally. the Jone3-Laughlln
Company which the Supreme
Court stepped on, hires Governor
Alf Landon's uncle as its high
powered publicity mogul. Uncle
William was credited with per-
suading Alf to be evasive in his
first labor pronouncement last
summer.
Irwin B. Laughlin, part owner
of the steel company, was a
Coolidge-noover diplomatic ap-
pointee. When Ambassador tc
Spain. he insisted on taking pre-
cedence at dinner over the Span
ish vice president, was so critical
of the new Spanish Republic that
the Madrid Government inform
ed Roosevelt they would not care
to have him reappointed.
Told You So
Don't overlook the CleverncSS oi
the Court liberaiS-Brandeis
Stone and Cardozo-in making
Hughes and Roberts do all the re-
verSing.
Both of the latter had then
hands full. There were five I'M
portant opinions, and the liberal!
didn't he p them out with one
Roberts handled the Associated
Press and Virginia bus cases
while Hughes took the other three
-Jone3-Laughlin steel, Friedman
Marks clothing and Fruchau
trailer.
The liberals sat by LOOKING
pleased. as much as to say: '4ol
two were the gentlemen WhC
swung the Court the wrong wa!
on a lot of New Deal legislation
and now you can swing it bacl
again"
Roberts, usually absolutely SUR
of himself and the most forcefu
of nine in delivering an opinion
was nervous and uncertain Whel
he launched on the Associated
Press decision. He has taken SOM
stiff editorial comment in tn
press for changing his mind.
Freedom OF The Press
McReynolds surprised everyon
by being calm and dispassionat
when he read his dissent. In tn
past he frequently has lost hi
ADpI