Evening star., 1952-05-28
Supreme Court Asked to Act
|QuickIy in Dollar Shipping Case

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Iout-of-court settlement of the
controversy.
In Court Since 1945.
The litigation has been in the
courts since 1945. It grew out of
Ia 1888 transfer of stock by the old
Dollar Steamship Line to the for
mer Maritime Commission. The
Dollars contended the transfer
was merely a pledge for a loan
later repaid to the Government,
The Government said 1t was an
outright surrender Of control of
what now is the American Presi-
dent Lines. operated by. the Gov
|ernment.
The case, from one angle or
another, has gone through District
Court and United States Court of
Appeals and through the Federal
courts in California. The new
petitions in the Supreme Court
resulted from the California de-
velopments. But they are closely
tied in with appeals court orders
here a year ago against Govern
ment officials.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Ap-
peals in San Francisco. two weeks
ago, reversed a Federal judges
ruling that the Dollars were en-
titled to the stock. The appellate
court ordered that the Govern
ment's claim to the stock be sub
mitted to trial in the lower court
on questions of fact and law.
Review Asked.
The Dollars this week formally
asked the Supreme Court to re-.
view and overturn the appeals
court decision. The Justice De-
partment, at the same time, pc
titioned the Supreme Court to
grant a rehearing on its refusal
in 1850 to interfere with a Court
Of Appeals ruling here against the
Government.
The Supreme Court already has
agreed to review judgments by the
Court Of Appeals fast year. The
court ordered Secretary
Sawyer and other Government
officials to give the Dollar group
effective possession of the APL
stock. 1t also found Secretary
Sawyer and others in contempt
for failure to carry out that order.
The Justice Department has
urged the Supreme Court to bum
die those 1851 and 1850 District
cases for immediate argument.
Such "expeditious action" accord
ing to the departments petition,
would pave the way for decisions
on all phases of the controversy
and make it unnecessary to have a
trial in Federal Court in Cali
fornia, as ordered this month by
the Ninth Circuit Court Of Ap-
pealS.
Attack Abandonment Of Case.
But the Dollar group charged
that the Justice Department seeks
to sideStep its recent setback in
California. It accused the Depart
ment Of attempting to deprive
the Dollars Of an opportunity to
petition the Supreme Court for
review Of the Ninth Circuit Court
Of Appeals by abandoning the suit
In California and persuading the
Supreme Court to reopen q Dis
trict Court Of Appeals Judgment,
which has long been final"
The California phase Of the case
should go through the orderly
judicial procedure specified by the
court there, the petition
said.
1T is astonishing to find, in the
Government petition, "the Dollar
petition declared, "a plea to the
Supreme Court to end the Cali
fornia litigation, which the solic-
itor general insisted upon insti-
tuting and maintaining in the face
Of injunctions in the courts in
the District. The suit in Cali
fornia cannot be dismissed at the
request Of one party. It is a suit
for title and can be dismissed only
by stipulation Of all the parties"