Evening Star Newspaper, May 25, 1937, Page 11

NewDeal Won WhenItLost A A A, Upholding of Security Act Based on Same Decision. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. OME of us who insisted on Jan- S uary 7, 1936—the day after the Supreme Court handed down its 6-to-3 decision—that the “New Deal won and lost” that day, have found confirming evidence in the way the “general welfare” clause of the Constitution has just been re- alied upon to up- hold the social security law. What hap- pened this week is not by any means related to the President's public effort to : influence Su- preme Court de- cisions. Any such construc tion of what the Supreme Court has done ignores the true meaning of the decision writ- ten by Justice Roberts in the famous A. A. A. case, which now is quoted es chief reliance by Justice Cardozo in upholding, for example, the Fed- eral old-age benefits law. On January 7, 1936, this correspond- ent wrote a dispatch which said in David Lawrence. rt: xm"’I‘he New Deal won and lost in the A. A A case. True, tb~ administra- tion was reversed by a N.0-3 opinion in its attempt to use the taxing power as a means of regulating agriculture, but the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Alexander Hamilton con- ception of the use of the spending power of Congress for the ‘general welfare. “This judgment, rendered for the first time in American history, may well be considered to transcend in im- portance the ephemeral issues pre- sented in the matter of a processing tax or a particular scheme for regu- lating agricultural production. Right to Levy and Spend. “What the opinion means is that Congress is affirmed in its right to levy and collect taxes and to spend the s money for wha‘ever purposes it pleases, so long as, in the spending of the money, Congress doesn't at- tempt any regulatory schemes or en- act any laws that come into direct conflict with the powers of the Fed- eral Government or the several States as specified or enumerated in the Fed- 4 eral Constitution. * * * “Congress tomorrow could pa$ out all the money it wished to relieve un- employment in cities or to help farm- ers, but it cannot tie this expendi- ture up in any way with control of acreage. * * * “Broadly speaking. the opinion of Justice Roberts, speaking for the ma- Jority of the court, gives the New Deal & concession that its supporters had hoped for but hardly expected. Only the ballot of the people can now re- strain unwise expenditure, 8upreme Court says the words ‘to pro- vide for the general welfare’ have a “specific meaning just like any other enumerated power.” When the foregoing interpretation, written more than a year before the President announced his message ask- ing Congress to enlarge the Supreme Court because of their decisions, is compared with Justice Cardozo’s latest decision, it is to be seen that the New Deal in its outburst of disappointment had its mind focused on a single law— the A. A. A—and not on the broad principle and that a system of boun- ties to the farmers if included in some scheme that omits the coercion fea- «+tures which invalidated the A. A. A might be held constitutional. Decision Cited. Justice Cardozo's exact words yes- terday on the general welfare clause were these: “Congress may spend money in aid of the ‘general welfare.’ There have been great statesmen in our history who have stood for other views. We will not resurrect the contest. It is now settled by decision, United States vs. Butler, supra (the A. A. A. case). ‘“The conception of the spending power advocated by Hamilton and strongly reinforced by Story has pre- vailed over that of Madison, which has not been lacking in adherents. “Yet difficulties are left when the power is conceded. The line must still be drawn between one welfare and another, between particular and gen- eral. Where this shall be placed can- * not be known through a formula in advance of the event. There is a mid- dle ground, or certainly a penumbra in which discretion is large. The dis- cretion, however, is not confided to the courts. Dissenters See Coercion. The dissenting opinions this week, it will be noted, did not question the view of the general welfare clause which had previously been handed down, but did argue that the scheme of social security was as coercive in its effect upon the States as by an- alogy the A. A. A« scheme was held to be coercive upon the individual farmers. But the supreme law of the land to- day is the decision of Justice Cardozo, and it is significant that he shows where the line may be drawn in the future if Congress proceeds in an un- limited sense to levy taxes and then spend the money in pursuance of some regulatory scheme or_some object which cannot be constred to be “the general welfare.” > If it be said that the social security decisions rendered by the Supreme Court have tended to reduce the chances of passage of President Roose- velt's bill to enlarge the Supreme Court, it is not because the court has bowed to the will of the New Deal under pressure, as some mistakenly allege, but because the decisions of the court, begun long before the Feb- ruary 5 message was proclaimed, were clearly developing in progressive and liberal fashion in lawsuit after law- suit some points that never had been raised before because comparable cir- cumstances had never arisen. Thus the Madison-Hamilton controversy, settled in January, 1936, after 100 years of debate, furnished the basis for the decisions this week and Gov- ernment counsel frankly based their briefs and their arguments on those very points and won. Not since January 6, 1936, has there been any logical reason why the pres- ent administration should really be at odds with the Supreme Court. For on that day it affirmed the legality of the principal instrument of benevolence or political weapon—depending on the ~ point of view—which a Federal ad- ministration with its spending pro- .‘ln.m of billions has been applying in 3 for the | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. U, TUESDAY, MAY 25 1927. News Behind the News Garner Planning to Leave Congress to Own Devices During Summer Heat. - BY PAUL MALLON, R. GARNER, the Vice President, has been looking up the railroad time-tables to Uvalde. More than that, he has made a mental reservation to go home siround the middle of June and stay there 4 until the January session »f Congress. His planning has developed to the point where he is supposed to have received presidential permission. The understanding is he will delay his departure if it appears the SBupreme Court issue or any other hot subject may reach a tie, requiring his vote for a decision. But such a possibility is not now anticipated. This, of course, is far more than a social item. If a V. P. has ever pulled up and gone home under similar circumstances, the record books do not show it. Mr. Garner’s associates say his health is good. He wants to do what he can to further the President's program. But if it just comes down to a question of presiding over and listening to the Senate all Summer, he thinks he might just as well be home fishing. Mr. Roosevelt may want to talk him out of it later, but enough people at the Capitol know about the early vacation plan now to warrant the assertion that it is definite. The importance of Mr. Garner's present inclination lies in the fact that many Congressmen also seem to feel that way. Certain groups are interested in their own group issues now pending, such as farm, power, labor, etc. But, as a whole, the unspoken undertone in Congress is decidedly weak toward much of the presidential program. Few feel there is much sufficiently vital to warrant them slaving here through the Summer heat. At the same time, the leaders insist the President is determined not to permit a recess for the Summer and a resumption of business in the Fall. He naturally wants to keep Congress here because the heat is in his favor. As every legislative student knows, the time to push doubtful bills through is near the end of the session when all are impatient to get home. However, the incoming congressional mail does not indicate the country is very excited about many pending issues. Itels impossible to tell what the legislators will do when the heat starts shortly, X X K X Initial quiet preparations looking toward eventual adjournment were begun last week. The resolution continuing existing nuisance taxes was introduced. Arrangements were begun for a third deficiency appropriation bill. The leaders have an idea that, if they can get the Supreme Court issue out of the way, they will be able to trim the remainder of the program for adjournment in short order. Few noticed it, but House Leader Rayburn expressed his displeasure mildly the other day to the House, saying the court bill “has clouded the atmosphere” so that work done by the House has not been recognized. * kX % Outlook for legislation may be disclosed aythori‘atively as follows today. subject to trimming later: The anti-lynching bill, passed by the House, appears likely to be crowded out in the last jam by a Senate filibuster. Two other House bills likely to fail in the Senate are the Pettingill long and short haul and the Vinson stream pollution bills. No one knows yet what will be done about minimum wages and hours or the power planning program, but both probably will be passed under insistence from the White House. A flood control bill carrying only about $11,000,000 probably will be passed. The omnibus rivers and harbors bill will get through (Congress- men never fail to pass a rivers and harbors bill), but the Florida ship canal bill will not. Presidential advisers have been trying to get something started on the ‘White House Government reorganization program. Unobjected to minor features may be put through to appease the White House, but not the entire program. ‘The Supreme Court bill is, of course, dying on its feet, but they have not yet found a place to lay it. Railroad retirement legislation will pass. Sugar is stuck in a tussle between conflicting lobby interests and no one knows what will happen to it. The farm tenant bill is slated to carry only $10,- 000,000, but sponsors have lost interest in that amount and it may go over until next session. House members are working on another pure food and drug bill, which will be lost in the shuffie, as will the House Naval Committee bill to authorize $48,000,000 for a naval auxiliary ship program. ‘What this all means is that Congress wants to cut everything to bare essentials and go home, or vice versa, and Mr. Roosevelt has a problem on his hands, (Copyright. 1937.) | Yk ¥ ' GUN q'HE opinions of the writers on this page are their oian, not necessarily The Star’s. Such opinions are presented in The Star’s eflort to give all sides of questions of interest to its readers, although such opinions may be contradictory among themselves and directly opposed to The Star’s. Robinson Boom Dilemma . Roosevelt Embarrassment May Vanish if Second Vacancy Occurs. BY MARK SULLIVAN. HE situation of President Roosevelt's court proposal changes from day to day. It is affected by the Supreme Court’s action on the social security law. It is also affected by the resig- nation of Mr. Justice Van Devanter. The latter contains some implications which may be more apparent as - time goes on. The * effect of the ex-: isting vacancy is j especially fruitful of complications for Mr. Roosevelt. Hardly had Mr, Justice Van De- vanter's resigna- tion been an- nounced when there arose from the Senate an al- most unanimous suggestion that Mr. Roosevelt give the vacancy to Democratic Sen- ate Leader Robinson. So striking was the Senate’s informal recommendation that a newspaper man at Mr. Roose- velt's press conference got a happy laugh by humorously assuming it was formal; he asked the President if he was going to confirm the Senate’s ap- pointment of Mr. Robinson.” Mr. Roosevelt replied that he was giving no thought to the vacancy, that when- ever he should get around to consid- ering it he didn’t expect to give out news about his deliberations, and that anything printed about filling the va- cancy would be surmise. Thus it stands. The Senate has made it overwhelmingly clear that it thinks Mr. Robinson is the man for the place. The recommendation has gone so far that, by usual political standards, failure of the President to act on it would have the appearance of affront to Leader Robinson and to the Senate. And if the Senate were thus affronted, and if the affront were also personal to the Senate leader, what would be the effect on the atti- tude of the Senate toward Mr. Roose- velt's program, including his court proposal? Conservative Reversion Feared. On the other hand, what would be the effect of appointment of Senator Robinson on Mr. Roosevelt’s intimate circle of New Dealers? They don't like the idea at all. Though Senator Robinson, living up to his function of party leader, has faithfully piloted Mr. Roosevelt'’s measures through the Senate, nevertheless the true New Dealers don’t have confidence that he is one of them. They doubt if he really has the pristine faith. They fear that, if he were on the bench, he might re- vert toward the conservatism which used to be his political philosophy. The New Dealers want the court va- cancy filled by a true New Desler, preferably one of themselves. That is the way the situation is commonly looked at. But that point of view omits consideration of some corollaries. If President Roosevelt gives Mark Sullivan, the appointment to a New Dealer, the ordinary political point of view would expect that the Senate would show resentment. Not only would the Senate quietly resent the failure to appoint Mr. Robinson, not only would it turn chilly toward the President's legislative program, not only would it be less likely to pass the President's court plan or any modification of it. Not only all that; in addition, the Senate probably ‘would scrutinize with extreme care the individual New Dealer whom Mr. Roosevelt should appoint to the court. The Senate would be exceptionally punctilious about exercising its func- tion of confirmation. Suppose Roosevelt Accepts. But there is another aspect. Suppose Mr. Roosevelt gives the appointment to Senator Robinson and does so with generous promptness. In that case would he expect, and would the Senate expect him to expect, that the Senate ought to be generous in passing his legislative program? Especially, would Mr. Roosevelt expect that the Senate ought to accept his cor plan, or an approximation of it? If the President should appoint Senator Robinson, and if thereafter the pleased Senate should pass the President’s court measure or a com- promise of it, the spectacle would not look pleasing. Every compromise of the President’s court proposal (except those which propose constitutional amendments) is subject to the same fundamental objection as the original proposal. All contemplate ‘“packing” the court, and packing the court with two new justices, as most of the sug- gested compromises propose, does not differ in principle from packing it with six. Appointment of Senator Robinson to the Supreme Court, as an incident standing alone, would be one thing. But if it should come about that there was appointment of Mr. Robinson to the court and also passage by the Senate of the President's court plan | or a modification of it, and if the two should appear to have a relation to each other, the effect would be about as unfortunate as possible. Chance, which sometimes favors Mr. Roosevelt, may bring & condition which would point a way out. If a second vacancy should arise on the court, Mr. Roosevelt would have cause to feel fortunate. To one of the va- cancies he could appoint Senator Robinson, to the other a New Dealer. And the Senate could confirm both without appearance either of suffering affront from the President or being under obligation to him. (Copyright, 1937.) Rouen Museum Town. Victor Hugo called France's city of Rouen the “City of a Hundred Steeples.” It is situated on the main routes from the Channel ports to Paris, and the roads are good. It is a great museum town and has been called the “Florence of the North” because of its art treasures. We, the People Albanians Struggle in Vain to Keep Veil, Largely Due to Politics. i BY JAY FRANKLIN. THER people are funny. % They seem tc be having & revolution in Albania becauss King Zog has ordered the women to take off their traditional veils. To one who has seen the heauties of the Near East face to face, the Moelem veil has always seemed a singularly humsane device. It masks the grim realities of a civilization where a woman is rated only slightly better than a goat and is apt to show the consequences, But Ataturk Mustapha Kemal unveiled the women of Turkey and, after a slight shock and shudder and a few hangings, the Turks went bravely ahead into the bleak future, despite some muttering over the hubble-bubbles that the good old ways were best. In mod- ernizing Albania, Zog had to follow . the Turkish fashion and expose his subjects to the ultimate in human I oY i usionment: The Albanians are not people who take this sort of thing lying down and when a policeman tried to rip the veil from a Moslem woman in the streets of the capital, the rifles began to crack, the Justanellas began to swing more briskly, the little dervish drums began their intoricating tap-tap-tapping, the little fifes squealed like rudimentary bagpipes and the muezzing mounted the minarets ©0f their mosques and called the faithful to praver in no uncer- tain terms. Old Customs Preferred. What was good enough for our fathers is good enough for us! Are we dogs that we should allow our women to parade with naked faces in the bazaars? Allah! Where's my old scimitar, Abdullah? Fatima, my beloved bulbul, if any uncircumcised infidel dares to touch thy veil he shall dle the death! It's unconstitutionall So King Zog seems in for a little trouble, ©Other people are funny, aren't they? It is hard for our highly civilized Pprogressive people to understand all this bother over women's veils, It is as though President Roosevelt were to propose to profane the great Amer- ican mystery and urge the enlargement of the Supreme Court. Just think how our clergy and other leaders of public opinion would rave! Imagine how the corporation lawyers and the flannel-mouthed politicians would beat the drums and call on the founding fathers to prevent the sacrilege, if our Chief Executive were to tamper with the merciful veil which stands between us and the processes of the Federal courts! Concetye, if you can, how the professional praisers of the past would prove that our whole strength, wealth, prosperity and morale depend on maintaining the judicial mystery and how their furious clinging to the false whiskers of antique institutions would convulse and amuse the entire Nation! (As this is being written, White House “victory ex- tras” reach the streets. Van Dee vanter resigns!) ‘Wave of Deep Horror. Only by such a far-fetched {llustration can Americans under- stand the wave of deep and almost religious horror which inspires the Albania Tories in their homicidal filibuster against the proposal that their women shall allow their noses, cheekbones, lips and chins to be visible to the general public. Of course, we know that Albania will carry om, somehow, and might even prosper if her women are unveiled, and we can guess that much of the frenzy King Zog has aroused springs from mere polit- ical opposition to his program of modern reforms and not Jrom any real belief that all Albania is lost if the veil starts slipping. For what lies behind the veil is pretty well known to every man and woman in Albania and there are nations whose women are almost entirely visible, especially on the bathing beaches, without immedi- ately coming to a bad end. _Perhaps it will be so even in Albania. For once the veil is dropped, feminine wit can still employ rouge, lipstick, powder and cold cream to substitute an illusion of youthful beauty for the lost illusion of mystery. For love is as blind as justice and nobody demands that those who worship 8 lady or the law shall first themselves be blinded. (Copyright, 1937.) NEW GUARD COMPANY Motor Transport Unit Organiza- tion Is Begun. it was announced today. Prospective recruits are urged to apply to Pvt. Otto H. Gage at the National Guard Armory, Sixth street and Pennsyl- | vania avenue, between 5 and 10 pm. | The new company will be com- manded by Lieut. Henry M. Boudinot. Recruits may attend classes and study to become commissioned reserve offi- Organization of a new motor trans- port company for the 104th Quarter- master Regiment, District of Colum- bis National Guard, has been started, | cers of the U. §. Army. VEN a gal—if she’s a real beer drinker—may kid a guy about drinking sweet beers. That ill- advised taste came from the concoctions of prohi- bition. They had to be made sweet to hide their unpleasantness. But after repeal, some brewers, fol- lowing pre-prohibition standards generations old, began to brew a dry beery beer again. And all over the country wherever such a beer appeared it grad- ually became the favorite. ’ Here in the Baltimore-Washington market, Gun- ther’s outsells sweeter beers by a country mile. And you'll understand why when you try a glass. Made after the manner of the finest Bohemian and Bava- rian beers, only the best imported hops are used. It has as grand a taste as any premium beer. Yet it costs no more than other brews, because most of it is sold right here near the brewery, and that keeps the handling and transportation costs low. If we sold our beer in St. Louis or Milwaukee, we’d have to charge a big premium, too! Aad another thing: Gunther’s is light in body. It doesn’t fill you up the way heavier-type beers do. You can drink more of it and never lose your appe- tite for food. Its dry, beery flavor adds a zestful tang to any meal. Order a case of Gunther’s today and learn to be a real beer drinker. THERS - BEER An American You Should Know Influence of R. Walton Moore Has Been Quiet, Effective. BY DELIA PYNCHON. HE years have trod softly by Robert Walton Moore, recent- ly appointed counselor of the State Department. A tall, equable, courteous gentleman of the old school, Mr. Moore's influence le- gally, politically, personally has been quietly ef- fective. From his ances- tral home at Fairfax, Va, where he was born 77 years ago, activities, duties, public offices have followed him around. Since bis gradu- ation from the University of Vir- ginia, admission to the bar in 1880, Moore has served in the Virginia State Senate four years, was a presi- dential elector for Grover Cleveland, 1892; assistant counsel for the United States Railroad Administration, 1918; subsequently Representative for 12 years. Mr. Cordell Hull was in the House at this time. Their friendship resulted in Moore's appointment in 1933 to the position .ae now holds. Both before and after Moore's serv- ice in the House he practiced law, specializing in railroad cases. He found time during his congressional years to sponsor many Washington improvements, serve on many educa= tional boards. His hobby is the history of Virginia. He has written and lectured on Vire ginia's famous sons. He likes to re= call that once Virginia owned a vast northwest empire, ceded to the strug- gling young Nation in Revolutionary days. He is proud to recall that his own paternal grandfather was a Dis- senter in Colonial days, and spent some time in jail for “‘preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ without a license.” Friends call Moore “Judge." though he protests that he has never been one, never expects to be one. With characteristic humor he says that “down in Texas a handsome man is called “Colonel,” a less handsome one “Captain,” a homely man “Judge* Time and good health have been Moore's faithful servants. He says that in over three years he has only had two weeks' vacation, one day off for {llness. He has a flair for personal and international amity. In the thick of every fray at the State Department, he has handled legal matters pertain- ing to the neutrality bill, arms and munitions control, the recognition of Soviet Russia. He is chairman of the Interdepartmental Committee on In- ternational Aviation. Delicate, diplo- matic questions on routes have arisen Rivalries between “Air France” the “Imperial Airway “‘Pan-American,” with Germany and Holland tossing their hats in the ring, promises to be & memorable air-trade fracas. Moore will play a prominent part in pro- tecting American interests. R. Walton Moore,