Evening star., 1948-04-13
Prettymon Dissents;
Financial Reports
Upheld Unanimously
by the Associated Press

Splitting 81, special three
Judge Federal Court today ruled
constitutional the provision of
the Taft-Hartly Labor Act re-
quiring union officers to swear
they are not Communists.
The count was unanimous in up
holding another key provision
that requiring union to file financial
statements.
The provisions apply only to those
unions which want to make use OF
the National Labor Relations Boards
machinery. But unions which do
not 90 to NLRB cannot get legal
status as exclusive bargaining agent
in a plant.
It was the second major court
ruling on constitutionality of i'm
portant provisions of the Taft-Hart-
ley Act. On March 13, Justice Ben
Moore, sitting temporarily in Dis
trict Court here, ruled unconstitu-
tional a section forbidding spending
of union funds for political purposes.
The NLRB has appealed Justice
Moore's ruling to the supreme
Court.
Court Designed to Speed Action.
The three Judge court which
ruled today is a tribunal which Fed
eral laws provide for in order to
speed action on constitutional issues.
In effect, it takes cases at the
District Court level, but appeals
from it go directly to the Supreme
Court, by-passing the Circuit Courts
of Appeals. This also can be done
in some cases on regular District
Court decisions. 1t was done IN
the case of Justice Moore's ruling.
In today's ruling, Justices Will
bur K. Miller and Bolitha ]. Laws
upheld the Communist and
financial registration provisions.
Justice E. Barrett Prettyman dis
sented on the on-Communist pro-
vision, but agreed the financial
registration section is constitutional.
Justice Laws is chief justice OF
District Court and Justice Pretty
man and Miller are members OF the
Court of Appeals here.
Robert N. Denham, NLRB gen.
eral counsel, said the decision
strengthens the hand of the coun-
try in dealing with the Communists
in labor He told reporter that
every effort should be made to ex-
punge Communists from the labor
movement"
The case was brought by the C1O
National Maritime Union.
Appeal to High Court Planned.
In New York. a spokesman for the
unions attorney said the case Will
be taken @to the Supreme Court
the only court which can give final
decision on the constitutionality of
the provision.
Louis R. Harolds, member OF
the firm of William Standard, the
union attorney, said Mr.. Standard
will argue the case before the higher
court.
Many top labor union men have
been critical of the provision. Some
call it an insult" for Congress to
demand that labor men make such
q statement.
The three judge courts majority
opinion said;
Instead of being convinced be-
yond reasonable doubt that section
9 lH) of the statute is void for v1o-
lating the basic law (Constitutlon) :,
we hold the considered view that
the subsection is a constitutional
exercise of congressional power to
prescribe qualifications which must
be possessed by those who ask to
enjoy the extraordinary privilege OF
acting as exclusive bargaining agent.
1T would be unrealiStic to say,
in the light of all that appears, that
the presence of Communists in key
positions in labor relations does not
constitute a clearly discernible and
imminent threat to important ma
tional interests
Basis for Dissent.
In dissenting, Justice Prettyman
said this:
"A requirement as to political
belief, imposed upon the use of a
facility, is not mere condition
upon a privilege; it is, in fact, an
abridgement of political belief
Justice Prettyman said Congress
"cannot establish Government IA