Evening star. [volume], April 12, 1937, Page A-2, Image 2

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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Discovery Opens Way to
Production of Substances
Non-Existent in Nature.
BY THOMAS R. HENRY,
Staff Correspondent 01 The Star.
CHAPEL HILL. N. C.. April 12 —
A chemical discovery which opens the
way to production of hundreds of
thousands of new substances which
do not exist in nature was announced
before the American Chemical Society
here this afternoon by Dr. Claude S.
Hudson, professor of chemistry at the
National Institute of Health in Wash
ington.
Due to its possibilities in the crea
tion of new medical and food products
—none of which. Dr. Hudson em
phasizes, have yet been realized—the
discovery is considered likely to be
revolutionary in the whole field of
organic chemistry.
The Washington chemist long has
been recognized as one of the world’s
foremost authorities on the chemistry
of sugars and starches, the basic food
materials which are “burned" in the
body and thus provide the fuel for
animal life. Most of those now known
exist in nature.
Makes New Discovery.
In the past, Dr. Hudson emphasized
In an interview, it has been very
difficult to get sugars and starches
to combine with anything else. They
are naturally rather inert substances
from which it. is difficult to build
up new materials. In the Washing
ton laboratory, however, he has found
a new way, in Itself extremely com
plicated and understood only by or
ganic chemists, by which certain
sugars can be combined with oxygen,
so that they are broken down into
very reactive chemical substances
known as aldehydes. By a further
step in oxidation he produces various
acids.
These aldehydes and acids have not
hitherto existed. The aldehydes
especially. Dr. Hudson says, will com
bine with hundreds of substances
with which the original sugars and
starches could not be persuaded to
fraternize.
The chemical structure of these
aldehydes is known precisely. The
chemist can hang on other molecules
at different points, each combination
constituting a substance hitherto
unknown in the world.
The aldehydes and acids. Dr. Hud
son stresses, are quite different in
their chemical structure from the life
fuels out of which they are derived,
but these contain everything included
in the new products, with the addi
tion of oxygen.
Have long Sought Way.
Organic chemists the world over
have long sought a way to synthesize
such aldehydes as building materials
for more complex substances, but.
Dr. Hudson said today, their quest
probably has been impossible. They
can be obtained only by the new
oxidation process.
The chief interest of the Public
Health Service. Dr. Hudson said, has
been in the possibility of creating
new medicial preparations containing
the basic elements of the sugars and
starches, in all sorts of combinations.
There is also the prospect of creat
ing new foods, although nobody
knows at present how they might
react- in the body.
A new method of chemical analysis
by w’hich it is possible to detect
metals in water in concentrations of
only one part to half a billion was
announced by Dr. Irving Langmuir,
vice president cf the General Electric
Co
The method consists in placing on
the surface of the water a drop of
stearic acid, ar, oil-like material de
rived from animal fats. This has the
property of spreading over the water
jn a film only the diameter of one
molecule—or about one ten-millionth
of an inch—in thickness. Then this
oil-like film is skimmed from the
water and light reflected against it.
The presence of the mo6t in
fmitestimal amount, of a metal, Dr.
Langmuir finds, produces a detectable
difference in the reflected light, which
varies specifically with the sort of
metal with which the water is con- j
taminated. This finding, organic
chemists attending the session said,
may give a clearer understanding of
the basic mechanisms of life. It is
known that very minute amounts of
metallic elements in the body have
very far-reaching effects. Many be
lieve that the walls of cells, of w’hich
the body is composed, are oil-like
films much like that of stearic acid
on water. Hence, there may come a
new understanding of the ways metals
permeate into cells, sometimes with
highly poisonous effects.
nr HELD LACKING IN DIET.
Chemist Cites Vitamin Theory Before
Chemical Society.
CHAPEL HILL, N. C„ 'April 12.—
Vitamin B hunger may be sapping the
vitality of modem civilization.
The possibility that diabetes and
nephritis, two of the scourges of
modern civilized life, are associated
with the deficiency of this elusive sub
stance was stressed before the Ameri
can Chemical Society here today by
Dr. R. R. Williams, research chemist
of the Bell Telephone Co.
Dr. Williams, who first isolated and
synthesized this vitamin, which is best
known in connection with the Oriental
disease ben-beri, pointed out that the
bran coats of grain which commonly
are destroyed in the manufacture of
most cereal foods, are the chief sources
of vitamin B in nature.
Recent experimental work, he
stressed, has indicated that the de
ficiency may be a significant factor in
both cancer and the widespread mental
disease, dementia precox.
Our knowledge is yet meager," he
said, "but I venture to call attention
to the fact that although grain eating
is older than history, the practice of
decorticating and degerminating
grains for human food is a product of
the machine age. It is reasonable to
suppose that modern trends in daily
habits have much to do with modem
trends in disease and physical defect.
I am thinking particularly cf the rise
of such diseases as diabetes and
nephritis.
"Experience indicates more and more
that the physiological function of
vitamin B is required for the growth
and well-being of all living things,
both plants and animals.”
Aside from grain hull. Dr. Williams
said, the chief sources of vitamin B in
diet are ripe peas, beans and lean pork.
With the customary methods of boil
ing vegetables, he indicated, much of
their vitamin content may be de
stroyed. ,
—-- --•
Poor crops in the Asst year have
halted Tunis’ recovery .vom depression.
Washington
Wayside
Tales
Random Observations
of Interesting Events
and Things.
GONE WITH THE WIND.
\-v yHEN we were very young we
' / were taught that a news
l J paper man never violates
’ a confidence, but no one
said anything about one newspaper
man's violating another newspaper
man's confidence. There’s honor
among thieves, but among us boys
no secret is sacred. This brings us
to the revelation of the sin of E. de
S. Melcher, former drama critic (Time
style) of The Star. In the newest
installment of "My Life in Holly
wood and How it Grew,” which seems
to have been running serially in this
column, Eddie confesses that he has
succumbed to the popular Hollywood
practice of lf-your-name-doesn’t
sound-right-change-it. What has he
gone and done but dropped out the
middle part, and the distinguished
family name of de Selding has gone
down the drain. His reason: "Too
tough out here."
Then he has the nerve to beg for
mercy and that his deed be hushed
up!
REVIVED.
rpHE people who make stickers for
automobiles—and who seem well
on the way to becoming America’s
wealthiest family as a result—have
jumped into the Supreme Court
squabble. Moreover, they’ve done it
in a way that gives new life to those
old Roosevelt stickers which have
been looking pretty pointless since
last November.
One of our intelligence corps reports
having seen the new’ and old stickers
in the following juxtaposition:
ROOSEVELT
HANDS OFF THE SUPREME
COURT.
Put that way, the old sticker seems
to take on quite a new flavor.
* * * *
SAMENESS.
Perhaps for convenience or per
haps it is by coincidence, but at
any rate Judge Eugene Octave
Sykes has the same phone num
ber as house number—Cleveland
3202, 3202 Cleveland avenue.
* * * #
TRAFFIC
on* of those antique ’ model T’s”
which are fast becoming museum
pieces rattled down Massachusetts
avenue with the rush-hour traffic the
other morning, battered, muddy,
smoky and noisy. A tall and scowling
farmer sat hunched over the wheel.
I He choked his engine when he halted
for a traffic light. The farmer alighted
with his crank and glared at a taxi
driver eyeing him from a sleek cab
which had pulled alongside.
’’Well, what have you got to say
about it?” demanded the farmer.
"Mister,” grinned the hacker, "I
haven't said a word!"
"But you're thinking plenty,”
shouted the farmer as he bent over
the crank. "-1 saw you when you
thought it!”
* * * *
RIDICULOUS!
Heard in the press room at the
Treasury.
Newspaper man "Have you a
release on something about simpli
fying the income tax'”
Prrss contact man, in shocked
tones: "Simplifying the income
tax? You must be mistaken.”
GAME.
JOYING close to the curb at the cor
ner of California and Twenty
fourth streets beside an overturned
bicycle about 1 inch from the front
wheel of a parked automobile, two i
little girls presented a horrifying scene
to passing motorists and pedestrians
one recent afternoon Traffic stopped!
Passers-by were frozen in their tracks.
Here were all the aspects of a tragic
accident.
Your Wayside scout happened by at
that moment, and sensing disaster
rushed to the aid of the child “vic
tims." He was greeted with a burst
of laughter.
"We’re playing accident," said one
of the little girls, much to the relief
of the breathless crowd which had
begun to gather . . . "and we're waitin’
for the ambulance."
First aid w-as promptly rendered.
But the victims refused to give their
names and addresses.
-»..
A. A. A. DEFENDS TREES
Opposition to the uprooting of any
Japanese cherry blossom trees around
the Tidal Basin in construction of
the Jefferson Memorial was expressed
today by the American Automobile
Association. Such an act would be
"unpardonable and unwarranted van
dalism," a statement of the associ
ation declared.
"The tremendous crowds that
poured into Washington over the week
end." said Russell E. Singer, A. A. A.
general manager, “prove beyond ques
tion that the cherry trees are Wash
ington's No. 1 tourist attraction."
Congress in Brief
TODAY.
Senate:
Considers routine business.
Judiciary Committee hears Texas
opponents of Roosevelt court bill.
Commerce Committee considers
Maritime Commisison nominations.
House:
District day.
Decides whether to take up anti
lynching legislation tomorrow.
Labor Committee considers Senate- -
approved resolution condemning sit
down strikes.
TOMORROW.
Senate:
Program uncertain.
Education and Labor Committee
hearing on bill to make C. C. C. per
manent, 10 a.m.
Judiciary Committee continues hear
ings on President's court bill.
House:
Considers Gavagan antMynching
bill.
Subcommittee of the Appropriations
Committee resumes hearings on War
Department supply bill, 10 a.m.
Education Committee meets, 10:30
am.
Public Lands Committee meets, 10
a.m.
Post Office Committee meets, 10:30
a.m.
Judiciary Committee meets 10:30
a.m.
Special subcommittee of District
Committee begins stody of Collins tax
bills, 10:30 a.m. ^
_
Accident or Suicide is Ques
tion as Police Probe
Shooting.
In the strange fascination firearms
held for Byrne T. Burns, brilliant 18
year-old pre-medical student—a fasci
nation that gripped him in childhood
and grew stronger every year—homi
cide squad detectives today sought an
explanation of his death with a bullet
through the forehead.
The youth's body was found yester
day by his father. Dr. William P.
Burns, prominent diagnostician, on the
floor of a locked bath room in their
palatial home at 3100 -Ellicott street.
At his side was a 38-caliber revolver,
a World War trophy from his large
collection of firearms.
"It must have been an accident—
it couldn't have been anything else,”
said Noel F. Rosasco, vice president of
Rudolph & West Co., a close friend of
the Burns family. “Byrne had every
thing to live for—everything a boy
could desire.”
Last Seen Alive Saturday.
Byrne was last seen alive by his
father Saturday night. Before leaving
to visit friends. Dr. Bums chatted
with his son. who seemed in excellent
spirits, Rosasco said.
"Byrne told his father he had a
grade of 93 in zoology and laughingly
remarked, ‘They'll have to make
grades higher than "A" for me to
shoot at,' ” Rosasco said.
Yesterday morning a maid told Dr.
Burns his son's bed had not been
slept in, and when he investigated he
found the door of the private bath ad
joining the bed room locked Crash
ing in the door, Dr. Burns found his
son's nude body.
In the bed room were a 22-caliber
rifle, a cleaning rod and a can of gun
oil. The death gun had been newly
cleaned and oiled.
Mrs. Persia Burns, mother of the
youth, was aboard the S. 6 California,
returning from a cruise to Cuba and a
radiogram notified her that he only
son had been "seriously injured.” She
arrived here by plane this afternoon,
unaware that her son was dead.
Although a precocious student,
friends of the family said Byrne was a
"regular bov.” He played foot ball at
Western High School and won a let
ter. he was runner-up in the golf
championship at Congressional Coun
try Club last year and had won
numerous honors in swimming meets.
Had No Worries.
The youth drove his own smart
convertible coupe, was well supplied
with pocket money and had no wor
ries, Rosaseo said He accompanied
his mother to New York when she
sailed last week and stayed to see
a number of new shows. He had
already purchased his ticket for the
opening base ball game.
Scholastic difficulties were unknown
to the youth, his family pointed out.
He completed his courses in junior
and senior high school in three and
one-half years and was a member of
Phi Beta Rho, honor fraternity at
Western. He would have completed
his pre-medical course at George
Washington University, where he was
an honor student and a member of
Phi Eta Sigma, honor fraternity, this
Spring. His application for admission
to medical school next Fall already
had been accepted. Last year he re
ceived congratulations from the Na
tional Honor Physics Society for his
scholastic attainments.
Byrne's interest in firearms dates
back several years. Rosaseo said, and
recently became almost a passion.
The youth was an expert marksman
and his parents had a shooting gal
lery built In the basement of their
home for him.
Keep* Guns Spotless.
"I’ve known him to use a thousand
rounds of ammunition in one after
noon on the range at Congressional
Country Club.” Rosaseo explained.
Byrne loved his guns and always
kept them spotless. His father be
lieves he was preparing to clean the
revolver when it accidentally ex
ploded.
Dr. Burns was prostrated with grief
over the death.
Ironically, the family had planned
a party for tomorrow to celebrate the
return of Mrs. Bums and Dr. Burns'
birthday.
Judiciary
j
'Continued From First Page 1
Defense Association represented here
today.”
Senator Logan. Democrat, of Ken
tucky. a supporter of the bill, said the
election “ought to serve notice on
some of those in opposition that they
are not following the popular course.”
Senator Van Nuys, Democrat, of In
diana said in reply that some
opponents, like himself, "would rather
sacrifice personal ambitions than suc
cumb to a popular movement which
strikes at the very fundamentals of
our Government."
John H. Crooker, Houston law
yer, told the committee that Supreme
Court decisions have been overwhelm
ingly in favor of labor's rights.
“Any one who follows closely the
decisions dealing with human rights,
social problems and economic ques
tions,” his prepared statement said, |
"should know that practically all those
decision are well abreast of the most
modern trend of our times.
“Indeed there are but very few de
cisions that even the most progressive
among us are out of harmony with—
while there are literally hundreds of
strong and important decisions which
form the very mud-sills of our cher
ished rights.”
Dr. C. P. Patterson of the University
of Texas called the bill "unconstitu
tional in spirit and in fact, if not
in law. inadequate if there is a court
problem, and dangerous as a prece
dent.”
mates Rights Question.
Contending the plan would violate
States' rights, he said the Supreme
Court "has already stretched the Con
stitution to the 'nth degree in favor
of the National Government.”
"To force it to go further bv con
trolling its powers,” he added, “would
destroy the court as a judicial body,
would make it a party agent and would
lose the Nation's respect for it.
"Moreover, it would threaten the
integrity of the judicial branches of
the 48 State governments and under
mine the political and social order of
the Nation. In fact, this is already
a fait accompli.”
Patterson said he had heard talk
of revolution unless Roosevelt consti
tutional concepts prevail, and asked:
"Is this propaganda to frighten the
American people ^into accepting a
radical change lithelr Constitution
Shooting Probed
BYRNE T. BURNS.
by an act of Congress dictated by the
President?”
"Some people think this would be
revolution!" he exclaimed.
Patterson advocated a constitu
tional amendment to fix the court
permanently at its present number,
nine Justices, and set an age or term
of service for compulsory retirement
of future appointees.
Senator Hatch. Democrat, of New
Mexico announced meanwhile that he
would introduce two amendments to
the Roosevelt bill.
One would make the proposed in
crease in the size of the court tem
porary. with the membership going
back to nine, as older members retired.
The other would limit appointments
under the bill to one a year.
I* Dinner Meetings.
John P. Devaney, president of the
newly formed National Lawyers' Guild,
announced that simultaneous dinner
meetings In support of the court bill
will be held in at least 28 cities on !
April 30.
Meanwhile, the Wagner labor rela
tions act, now before the Supreme
Court, was attacked last night in a
radio address by James A Emery,
general counsel of the National Asso
ciation of Manufacturers.
Blaming prevalence of ait-down
strikes on interpretations of the act i
by the National Labor Relations
Board. Emery said:
"No criticism of the union has come i
from the board in all the sit-downs in '
which it has been ignored, but em- |
ployers who pursued the pathway of
the law to ascertain their rights and
duties have been rejected * * •
Hits Lawless Srixure.
' It was interpreted as a license -
to coerce In consequence, the coun- ]
try has witnessed widespread syste- j
matic intimidation and violence, ulti- !
mately assuming the form of a law- ;
less seizure of plants retained in pos- j
session by strikers, in many instances !
! in contemptuous defiance of the order
of a court directing their evacuation ."
a<»e
■
c Continued From First Page i
problem to Attorney General Cum- j
mings, who adopted the latter view, [
and it is pursuant to that theory that j
the plaintiff in today's suit seeks to
recover.
It was thought probable that many j
similar suits would be brought in the i
near future by employes under the
old law.
Miss Ruth Cornett. 1717 Seventeenth 1
street, a waitress employed at "Dick's
Grill.'* 1219 E street, was the plaintiff
in the Municipal Court suit.
Through Attorneys Warren E Miller 1
and C. L. Dawson. Miss Cornett told !
the court she worked in the cafe for |
55 weeks at a salary of $6.80 a week ;
and two meals a day. each valued at \
30 cents, making a total compensation
of $10.40. The minimum wage for
waitresses established under the mini
mum wage law was $16.50 a week, she
stated, asking to be reimbursed for the
difference, which, she said, amounted
to $335.50. The young woman said she
w'as employed at the restaurant from I
January 13, 1936. to last February 13, !
except for one week.
-•—
Minority
(Continued From First Page.)
and such intercourse is commerce
within the meaning of the Constitu
tion. Interstate communication of a
business nature, whatever the means
of such communication, is interstate
commerce regularable by Congress,
under the Constitution.”
Strike Effect Cited.
Referring to the claim of the peti
tioner that editorial employes such
as Morris Watson, a member of the
American Newspaper Guild, are re
mote from any interstate activity and
their employment or tenure can have
no direct or intimate relation with
the course of interstate commerce,
the majority declared:
“We think, however, it is obvious
that strikes or labor disturbances
amongst this class of employes would
have as direct an effect upon the ac
tivities of the petitioner as similar
disturbances amongst those who oper
ate the teletype machines or as a
strike amongst the employes of tele
graph lines over which petitioner's
messages travel.”
Directing himself next to the issue
of freedom of the press. Justice Rob
erts declared flatly that the majority
holds the opinion that the statute
does not abridge the guarantees of the
first amendment.
A. P.’s Contentions Outlined.
Reviewing the contention of the
petitioner. Justice Roberts continued:
"It is insisted that the Associated
Press is in substance the press itself,
that the membership consists solely
of persons who own and operate news
papers, that the news is gathered
solely for publication in the newspa
pers of members.
"Stress is laid upon the facts that
this membership consists of persons
of every conceivable political, economic
and religious view, that the one thing
upon which the members are united
is that the Associated Press shall be
wholly free from partisan activity or
the expressions of opinions.
"The conclusion which the peti
tioner draws is that whatever may be
the case with respect to employes in
its mechanical department it must
have absolute and unrestricted freedom
to employ and to discharge those who,
like Watson, edit the news, that there
must not be the slightest opportunity
for any bias or prejudice personally
entertained by an editorial employe to
color or to distort what he writes.”
So it is said that any regulation pro
tective of union activities, or the right
to oollectiggly bargain on the part of
such emplspes, is necessarily an In
TRAPPING OF DOG
WILL GO TO COURT
Hearing Ordered on Right to
Protect Lawn in Plant
ing Time.
A Police Court hearing was ordered
today to test the right of a Chevy
Chase resident to set rat traps on his
lawn to discourage canine trespassers
during the Spring planting season.
The hearing was set for Wednesday
by Assistant Corporation Counsel
George D. Neilson after he received a
complaint from Christopher W. Duffy,
3215 Jennifer street, a dog owner.
Neilson ordered summonses issued
for George W. Wells, 4221 Jennifer
street, who is alleged to have set three
traps to protect his flower beds, and
for various neighbors acquainted with
the circumstances. Wells contended
the traps were not dangerous and, in
addition, had been removed.
A policeman from No. 8 precinct,
who investigated Duffy's complaint,
told Neilson he had "advised” Wells
against setting the traps, and had
returned again to find them still in
place. The officer said when he re
turned a third time the traps had
been sprung, but were still on the
lawn.
valid invasion of the freedom of the
press.
We think the contention not only
has no relevance to the circumstances
of the instant case, but is an unsound
generalization.
"The ostensible reason for Watson’s
discharge, as embodied in the records
of the petitioner, is ‘solely on the
grounds of his work not being on a
basis for which he has shown capa
bility ‘ The petitioner did not assert
and does not now claim that he had
shown bias in the past It does not
claim that by reason of his connection
! with the union he will be likely, as the
, petitioner honestly believes, to show
| bias in the future. The actual reason
for his discharge, as shown by the un
attacked finding of the board, was
his guild activity and his agitation for
collective bargaining.
"The statute does not preclude a
! discharge on the ostensible gTound for
the petitioner's action; it forbids dis
charge for what has been found to be
the real motive of the petitioner. These
considerations answer the suggestion
that il the petitioner believed its pol
ity of impartiality was likely to be
subverted by Watson's continued serv
ice, Congress was without power to
interdict his discharge. No such ques
tion is here for decision. Neither be
! fore the board, nor in the court below
nor here has the petitioner professed
such belief."
Watson Still May Be l>*seharred
Justice Roberts next emphasized
that the act does not require reten
tion of incompetent or unfaithful
employes.
The restoration of Watson to his
former position," the majority opinion
continued, "in no sense guarantees
his continuance in petitioner's employ.
Tne petitioner is at liberty, whenever
occasion may arise, to exercise its un
doubted right to sever his relationship
for any cause that seems to it proper
save only as punishment for, or dis- !
couragement of. such activity as the
act declared permissible ”
Emphasizing the fact that the As
sociated Press and its member news
papers are subject to such regulation
as laws of libel, taxation and anti
trust statutes. Justice Roberts con
tinued. "the regulation herein ques
tioned has no relation whatever to the
impartial distribution of news The
order of the board in no wise circum
scribes the full freedom and liberty
of the petitioner to publish the news
as it desires it published or to enforce
policies of its own choosing with re
| spect to the pditing and rewriting of
i news for publication, and the peti
| tioner is free at any time to discharge
Watson or any editorial employe who
falls to comply with the policies it
may adopt."
Other Claims Answered.
Other contentions of the petitioner
as to invalidity of the act were an
swered in a concluding paragraph of
the majority decision, which follows:
"The contentions that the act de
prives the petitioner of property with
out due process, that the order of the
board deprives petitioner of the right
to trial by jury, and that the act is
invalid on its face because it seeks to
regulate both interstate and intrastate
commerce, are sufficiently answered in
the opinion in Texas and N. & O. R.
Co. vs. Brotherhood of Railway and
Steamship Clerks, supra, and in Na
tional Labor Relations Boards vs.
Jones <fe Laughlin Steel Corp. No.
419. decided this day. and need no
further discussion here."
Conviction that freedom of the press
is endangered by the national labor
relations act marked the dissenting
opinion of Justices Sutherland Van
Devanter. McReynolds and Butler.
"We shall confine ourselves to that
question," Justice Sutherland said in
presenting the dissent, “the gravity of
which is evident; but we do not mean
thereby to record our assent to all that
has been said with regard to other
questions In the case."
Turning then to pronouncing the
rights of freedom of speech and of
the press, as set forth in the first
amendment to the Constitution, Jus
tice Sutherland continued:
"No one can read the long history
which records the stern and often
bloody struggles by which these cardi
nal rights were secured, without realiz
ing how necessary it is to preserve
them against any infringement, how
ever slight.
"Experience should teach us," Jus
tice Sutherland quoted from another
decision, “to be on our guard to pro
tect liberty when the Government’s
purposes are beneficent. Men born to
freedom are naturally alert to repel
invasion of their liberty by evil-minded
rulers. The greatest danger to liberty
lurks in insidious encroachment by
men of zeal, well meaning, but with
out understanding."
Closing the quotation thus, the
minority spokesman continued;
"A little water, trickling here and
there through a dam. is a small matter
in itself, but it may be a sinister men
ace to the security of the dam, which
those living in the valley below will
do well to heed.
Would Halt "Least Approach.”
“The destruction or abridgment of
a free press—which constitutes one of
the most dependable avenues through
which information of public and gov
ernmental activities may be trans
mitted to the people—would be an
event so evil in its consequences that
the least approach toward that end
should be halted at the threshhold.
"Congress has no power to regulate
the relations of private employer and
employe as an end In itself, but only
if that be an appropriate and legiti
mate means to a constitutional end,
which h£. is the regulation of inter
In “Dog-Trap” Case
Ogden (Sonny) Duffy, son of Christopher W. Duffy, with his
Irish setter, Paddy, for which a neighbor is alleged to have set
rat traps. —Star Staff Photo.
state commerce. Assuming that the
statute upon its face satisfies this test,
does the present application of it
satisfy the requirement that the free
dom of the press shall not be abridged?
Freedom is not a mere intellectual
abstraction; and it is not merely a
word to adorn an oration upon occa
sioas of patriotic rejoicing. It is an
intensely practical reality, capable of
concrete enjoyment in a multitude of
ways day by day. When applied to
the press the term freedom is not to
be narrowly confined: ar>d it ob
viously means more than publication
and circulation.
“If freedom of the press does not
include the right to adopt and pursue
a policy without governmental restric
tion, it is misnomer to call it free
dom. And we may as well deny at
once the right of the press freely to
adopt a policy and pursue it. as to
concede that right and deny the lib
erty to exercise an unscored judgment
in respect of the employment and dis
charge of the agents through whom
the policy is to be effectuated.
Fairness. Accuracy Stressed.
"In a matter of such concern, the
judgment of Congress—or. suli less,
the judgment of an administrative
censor—cannot, under the Constitu
tion. be substituted for that of the
press management in respect of the
employment or discharge of employes
engaged in editorial work The good
which might come to Interstate com
merce or the benefit which might re
sult to a special group, however large,
must give way to that higher good of
all the people so plainly contemplated
by thp imperative requirement that
‘Congress shall make no law
abridging the freedom ... of the
press.’ ”
Emphasizing the bulk of labor-in
dustry' news, the minority stressed
next the importance of "fairness and
accuracy'’ in such coverage
"Strong sympathy for or strong
prejudice against a given cause of
the efforts made to advance it has
too often led to suppression or colora
tion of unwelcome facts. It would
seem to oe an exercise of only rea
sonable prejudice for an association
engaged in part in supplying the pub
lic with fair and accurate factual in
formation with respect to the contests
between labor and capital, to see that
those whose activities include that
service are free from either extreme
sympathy or extreme prejudice one
way or the other."
Reviewing the newspaper service of
Watson, whose discharge by the As
sociated Press led to the case. Justice
Sutherland cited the findings of the
National Labor Relations Board that
Watson was active in the growth of
the American Newspaper Guild and
"his sympathies were strongly en
listed in support of the guild's policies,
whether they clashed with the poli
cies of petitioner or not."
"We do not question his right to
assume and maintain that attitude.
But, if petitioner concluded, as it well
could, that its policy to preserve its
news service free from color, bias or
distortion was likely to be subverted
by Watson's retention, what power has
Congress to interfere in the face of
the first amendment?
"And that question may not be de
termined by considering Watson only;
for the power to compel his continu
ance in the service includes the power
to compel the continuance of all guild
members engaged in editorial work,
with the result that the application
of the statute here made, if earned to
the logical extreme, would give oppor
tunity for the guild to exercise a high
degree of control over the character
of the news service.
"Due regard for the constitutional
guaranty requires that the publisher
or agency of the publisher of news
shall be tree from restraint in respect
of employment in the editorial force.”
"To hold that the press association
must await a concrete instance of
misinterpretation of the news before
it can act is to compel it to experiment
with a doubt when it regards certainty
as essential,” Justice Sutherland con
tinued.
Rights Not Jeopardized.
“Affirming then that the rights of
employes to organise, bargain collec
tively and otherwise protect them
selves is not jeopardized by their in
terpretation of the first amendment,
the minority concluded:
“The conclusion that the first
amendment is here infringed does not
challenge the right of employes tc or
ganize. to bargain collectively with
thier employers about wages and other
matters respecting employment, or to
refuse to work except upon conditions
they are willing to accept. Nor, the
first amendment aside, does it chal
lenge the act in so far as it is an allow
able regulation of interstate commerce.
All affirmations in respect to these
matters may be fully conceded with
out prejudice to our very definite view
that the application of the act here
has resulted in an unconstitutional
abridgement of the freedom of the
press,
“Do the people of this land—in the
providence of God, favored, as they
sometimes boast, above all others in
the plentitude of their liberties—desire
to preserve those so carefully protected
by the first amendment: Liberty of
religious worship, freedom of speech
and of the press, and the right as
freemen peaceably to assemble and
petition their government for a redress
of grievances? If so, let them with
stand all beginnings of encroachment.
For the saddest epitaph which can be
carved in memory of a vanished lib
erty is that it was lost because its
possessors failed to stretch forth a
savtngnand while yet there was time.”
Court
_'Continued From First Page t
den Harriman. mentioned for appoint
ment as Minister to Norway; Mrs. Gif
ford Pinchot. wife of the former Penn
sylvania Governor, and Mrs Mabel
Walker Willebrandt, former Assistant
United States Attorney General.
The Jones and Laughiin case opin
ion reversed a ruling by the Fifth Cir
cuit Court of Appeals, which had held
the activities of the steel corporation
constituted intrastate commerce and
therefore were not subject to regula
tion by Congress.
The Jones & Laughlin Corp. ac
cording to findings by the Labor Re
lations Board, had been guilty of un
fair labor practices in discriminating
against employes belonging to a union
affiliated w-ith the Amalgamated As
sociation of Iron, Steel and Tin
Workers.
The labor board had found that the
steel corporation, although having its
two principal plants in Pennsylvania,
used the instrumentalities of inter
state commerce in shipping raw ma
terials to its mills and in transporting
its finished products to various sections
of the country The Supreme Court
opinion pointed out that these findings
by the board were not in dispute so
k as the challenge of the v alidity
of the act was concerned.
The steel corporation challenged the
Wagner act in its entirety as an at
tempt to regulate all industry-, thus
invading the reserved powers of the
Stales over their local concerns.
The company also argued that the
legislative history of the act showed
an essential universal purpose in the
light of which its scope cannot be
limited by either construction or by
the application of the separability j
clause This clause permits the court ;
to sustain valid features of an act I
while declaring unconstitutional pro
visions invalid.
Chief Justice's Word*.
Referring to these contentions, the
Chief Justice said.
' If this conception of terms, intent
and consequent inseparability were
sound the act would necessarily fall by
reason of the limitation upon the Fed
i eral power w hich inheres in the con
stitutional grant, a* well as because
| of the explicit reservation of the tenth
amendment.
‘ The authority of the Federal Gov
; eminent may not be pushed to such
an extreme as to destroy the distine
I tion. which the commerce clause itself
j establishes, between commerce among
several States and the internal con
’ cerns of the States. That distinction
between what is national and what is
local in the activities of commerce is
vital to the maintenance of our Fed
eral system.
‘ But we are not at liberty to deny
effect to specific provisions, which
| Congress has constitutional power to
enact, by superimposing upon them
I inferences from general legislative dec
! larations of an ambiguous character,
j even if found in the same statute.
“The cardinal principle of statu
j tory construction is to save and not
to destroy. We have repeatedly held
that as between two possible interpre
tations of the statute, by one of which
it would be unconstitutional and by
the other valid, our plain duty is to
adopt that which will save the act„
Even’to avoid a serious doubt, the rule
is the same."
>een Kepiy lo President.
This language by the Chief Justice
was construed as a direct reply to the
President and those of his supporters
who have charged that the Supreme
Court, in passing on the validity of
acts of Congress, had failed to follow
the rule that the law should be pre
sumed to be constitutional until the
contrary is clearly shown. He added:
"We think It clear that the national
labor relations act may be construed
so as to operate within the sphere of
constitutional authority.”
Discussing the avowed purposes of
the act, the opinion pointed out that
"the grant of authority to the board
does not purport to extend to the re
lationship between all Industrial em
ployes and employers.”
"Its terms.” the opinion continued,
"do not impose collective bargaining
upon all industry, regardless of effect*
upon interstate or foreign commerce,
j It purports to reach only what may
j be deemed to burden or obstruct that
I commerce, and, thus qualified, it must
| be construed as contemplating the
i exercise of control within constitu
| tional bounds.
“It is a familiar principle that acts
j which directly burden or obstruct in
j terstate or foreign commerce, or its
| free flow, are within the reach of the
j congressional power. Act* having that
effect are not rendered immune be
j cause they grow out of labor disputes.”
Combining their dissenting opinions
I in the cases of the Jones & Laughlin
Corp., the case of the Fruehauf Trailer
Co. and the case of the Frledman
Harry Marks Clothing Co., Inc., the
four justices declared “It seems clear
to us that Congress has transcended
the powers granted.
"The right to contract is funda
mental and includes the privilege of
selecting those with whom one is
willing to assume contractural rela
tions. This right is unduly abridged
by the act now upheld. A private
owner is deprived of power to manage
his own property by freely selecting
those to whom his manufacturing
operations are to be intrusted We
think this cannot lawfully be done in
circumstances like those here dis
posed.”
™ After terming the decisions by three
Circuit Courts of Appeals in the above
cases as "terse, well considered and '
sound " the minority expressed the
view that the Supreme Court "dp
parts from well-established principles''
followed in the Schechter and the
Carter Coal Co. cases.
"The three respondents," the minor
ity said in reference to the present
cases, "happen to be manufacturing
concerns—one large, two relatively
small. The act is not applied to each
upon grounds common to all.
‘'Obviously what Is determined as to
these concerns may gravely affect a
multitude of employers who engage in
a great variety of private enterprises— .
merchantile, manufacturing, publish
ing. stock raising, mining, etc. It puts
into the hands of a board power of
control over purely local industry be
yond anything heretofore deemed per
missabif
During the argument of the case,
counsel for the Government had asked
the court to hold that labor disputes,
even though their effect on commerce
be indirect, resulted in such substan
tial obstruction to the free flow of
commerce that they should properly
be within the power of Congress.
Counsel for the steel corporation, how -
ever, had expressed confidence the
court would follow its former rule
that the effect must be direct before
coming within the scope of congres
sional power
Effect of Labor Dispute*.
After asserting the right of em
ployes to bargain collectively with '
their employer, the court then laid
down the rule that the determinin';
principle in deciding the validity nf
the act in this case must be the nature
of the effect of labor disputes on inter
state commerce, not the character nf
work in which a particular employe
may be engaged.
"Although activities may be intra
state in character when separate!-'
considered,” the Chief Justice said,
“if they have such a close and sub
stantial relation to interstate com
merce that their control is essential or
appropriate to protect that eommerr e
from burdens and obstructions. Con
gress cannot be denied the power
to exercise that control."
The opinion then proceeded to hold
that discrimination against workers
because of their union affiliations and
the refusal of employers to bar
gain collectively with representatives
cho6en by the employes tended to re
sult in strikes having a substantial
effect on the free flow of interstate
commerce
Of the five cases involving the Wag
ner act. three manufacturing case*
concerned a question of fundamental
importance to the New Deal and the
Nation—namely, whether the Fed
eral control of interstate commerce
-an be extended to intrastate mat
ters indirectly affecting the flow of ,
commerce between the States
Constitutional Provision.
The Constitution provides merely
that Congress shall have power to
regulate commerce among the States.
The Supreme Court has interpreted
this to mean that congressional con
trol extends only to matters having
a direct effect on this commerce.
Arguing that the tremendous in
dustrial development in the country
must now be taken into consideration
in interpreting the commerce clause,
attorneys for the Government argued
during the hearing of the Wagner
cases that Congress should be given
control of any industrial activity
which affects commerce indirectly, if
that effect is a substantial one
Under previous definitions announced
by the high court, a big steel plant is
an intrastate business But even if this
be true, the Government lawyers
argued, a strike shutting down the
plant must necessarily have far
reaching effects on interstate com
merce. They pointed out that most
of the big industries operate their
own transportation systems and also
employ the regular channels of inter
state commerce in hauling vast quan
tities of raw materials to their plant
from all parts of the country, and
repeat this process in shipping their
finished products to buyers in vir
tually all the Slates.
In such a situation, they contended,
the courts should not applv hair
splitting definitions in upholding a
j conception of commerce that was
evolved during the "horse and buggy ’
era.
Argument on Strike*.
The position taken by attorneys for
the companies was that a strike is
the direct result of labor trouble,
and that the eflect on commerce is,
therefore, secondary or indirect. This
has been the attitude adopted by the
court in the past.
These suits have been treated s«
test cases, the court having rejected
several subsequent petitions to review
similar employer-employee contro
versies.
Law in Effect in 19,75.
The challenged law went on the
statute books July 5, 1935. after a
slow trip through Congress in which
its constitutionality frequently was
challenged. It guaranteed workmen
the right to select representatives for
collective bargaining with their em
ployers on wages, hours of labor and ,
working conditions.
The National Labor Relations Board
was created to administer the law
President Roosevelt, In signing the
bill, said the measure “should serve
as an important step toward the
achievement of just and peaceful la
bor relations in industry." William
Green, president of the American
Federation of Labor, said the law was
"labor's magna charta."
In August, 1935, the President ap
pointed a three-man board to admin
ister the act. it was made up of J.
Warren Madden of Pittsburgh, a col
lege law professor; Edwin S. Smith of
Boston, former State labor commis
sioner, and John M. Carmody. an in
dustrial engineer.
Carmody resigned after a year’s
• service and was replaced by rvjn*}i
Wakefield Smith, a Washington at
torney.
Since its creation the board has
handled 2,072 cases of industrial dis
putes, involving 745,702 workers.
Among these it listed 378 atrik*
cases, involving 67,932 workers. The
board said 249, affecting 35,805
workers, were settled, and that 101
threatened strikes had been averted
Of the 2,072 cases handled, the
board said 1,579 had been closed,
leaving 493 pending on March 1.
Agreements between employes and
management were reached in 737
cases, involving 97.919 wor> There
were 230 rases dismissed bv the board
and 470 withdrawn by the petition
ers
i nr Doara saia mat. in 7M rases
employers were charged with discrim
inating against workers because ol
their union activities, and in 63B
employers were alleged to have re
fused to bargain collectively.
The Majestic Flour Mills, of Au
rora, Mo., brought the first court
action against the board, asking Fed
eral Judge Merrill E. Otis of Kan
sas City to enjoin the board from
holding a hearing on a complaint thai
the company had interfered with it!
employes’ collective bargaining rights
*In his decision December 21 Judst
(hi* 4'anted the injunction and h^t
the wkgner act unconstitutional, w