Show 0 national topics interpreted by william bruckart washington Washing tonIt it Is seldom that in i the short abort space of 0 a few weeks there have been two court two important decisions of s such u c h decisions tar ar reaching c 0 n s e quence as the so called coal agency case decided by the supreme court of 0 the united states and the determination by the united states district court for or virginia that the federal water power act Is constitutional in each instance the court finding appears on its surface just to be a mine run opinion but it happens however that each of the opinions directly affects you and me besides that result the coal agency decision Is of vital importance to business with respect to the coal agency case the facts are that a group of coal mine operators banded together in the appalachian coals inc for th the purpose of distributing their output it Is a sales agency purely its purpose Is to reduce the cost of marketing the product also it appears likely that formation of such a selling organization may have the effect of controlling production to some extent at least although that phase of the busl business did not show up in the organization program it would appear on the surface that such an arrangement would be in violation of the antitrust anti trust laws but th the e supreme court found otherwise by the stamp of approval which the highest court in the land gave to the organization iza tion it can be classified almost it not quite as of the same type as a farmers operative cooperative co but the ruling gives rise to broader significance other industries based base d on natural resources of the country are expected to follow in the same pathway la in order to accomplish reduced selling costs lumber gas oil iron steel copper and fertilizer interests r are said to be looking longingly at the plan as one which will enable t them era to operate with some assurance of a return on huge investments tile the supreme court considered that the plan maintained the necessary elements of competition and it if that construction st be proved in practice then you and 1 I as a natural result should receive some direct as well as indirect b benefit e ne fit I 1 mean we would be benefit ted it if we lived in the territory where coal furnished through the selling agency Is distributed by somewhat cheaper prices on the same grades of coal from the standpoint of business the coal operators have worked out the first important program that is acceptable to the courts when viewed under magnifying glass of the antitrust anti trust laws and at the same time permits of that operation cooperation co which agriculture so long has contended was vital to it other industries probably will follow the lead it if they do not abuse the privileges we have entered upon a new era in industry it if there are abuses then industry will have killed the goose that laid tile the golden egg the decision by the united states slates district court at norfolk va which held the federal water power act to be constitutional opens the way to coln complete federal regulation of utilities we will hear for some gome years to come that the new river case affords the basis tor for many pieces of legislation of direct benefit to the users of electricity tor for power and light of course it Is yet to be decided by the supreme court of the united states where the litigation will be carried without doubt but the majority of constitutional lawyers entertain no doubt as to its validity to the electric user therefore the deci decision siou stands of broadest importance by holding the low law constitutional the court removed a serious ob stacle to effective government control over many of the tricks to which mach great corporations devote themselves to establish a cost basis for their product which warrants the highest possible rates I 1 make no comment as to the legall legality ty or illegality of these practices it remains as a fact howe however er that every industry subject to regulatory powers of government whether national or state seeks to protect its investments by creating crea for its product a book basis of high cost this Is done obviously la in order to meet the ever continuing demand from utility commissions for rate reductions lons there Is another angle to the new river case superficially it appears likely to be of some come interests value to investors in investors stock companies engaged in development of water power for electricity it works out in this way the corporation po ration which has established establish pl a high cost basis for its electricity quite naturally issues its stock on that basis consequently it Is seeking a return on an investment that in too many instances la in not ju stilled by the facts in other words it results in watered stock having watered the stock beyond sound judgment the corporation fights every move that appears if the result Is a lowered schedule of electric rates hence it Is fighting directly at tile the users of electricity whether for lighting purposes in a small home or for power purposes in a gigantic factory ot of course this decision applies only to hydroelectric hydro electric plants it does not affect the plants producing electricity by steam there are those however who say the decision will have a bearing on those rates too for the reason that unless the steam plants maintain reasonable rates water powered plants will find openings to enter that field if water Is available anywhere near this latter possibility Is cited because it shows better than anything else how far reaching a dry old court opinion may turn out to be the opinion in each of the cases mentioned was written in the usual style etyle but each one may be looked upon ten years from now as a landmark 0 0 0 it Is actually ridiculous how every part and parcel of a national program rara develops a camp fol unemployment lowing of new ideas program to tor r expansion of that plan most host of th them e m a are re J just ils t like ke a parasite te they adi acim paradie a are r e pu put t for forward w a by y some one with w an n ax as to grind they see a peg upon which they can hang their pet hope and proceed to spread all kinds of argument in support of that hope or idea such Is the case with president Roosevel ts unemployment program he as everyone else obviously wants to provide work for men who must have food and are willing to work to obtain it washington has seen a dozen proposals offered to expand the unemployment program most of them are actually silly in the view of observers here but the proponents of the several additions to the relief policy seem to take them seriously whether they deserve that consideration or not the latest proposal and it has become a demand of some proportions Is to go ahead with expansion of the united states navy davy as an unemployment relief measure that I 1 may not be misunderstood permit me to say that I 1 favor a much larger navy na vy than we now have it Is necessary as I 1 conceive the situation that the first line of defense be made into a powerful unit there are plenty of authorities in washington who aho are not too optimistic concerning world relationships construction of the navy to the limit allowed by the london naval treaty therefore appears to many as being justified and necessary but the point sought to be made however Is that a pr program for development of the navy should stand on its own merits it has no place in the unemployment relief pro program ram and adoption of it as such according to to the best judgment I 1 can obtain would cheapen the ideal of a great defensive organization and make it susceptible later to unjustified attacks from opponents of a big navy davy tor for the nation in other words demands for naval expansion as a part of the program for putting men to work makes it hard to decide the question of naval defense on its true base namely tile question of whether a need for it exists and results in confusion of the issues of relief and naval expansion 0 washington observers and some of the faithful democrats as well have been having a patronage quiet laugh at the as a club di discomfiture of patronage seeking members of the senate and house who have bare been held in line by the fast political thinking of president roosevelt the president having said he would do little about major patronage the real plums until he had been able to solve some of the great financial and economic problems was in a fine position to swing the political lash on any member of the legislative branch who showed signs of stubbornness and it may be added he has done so while maneuvers of this sort obviously are not made the subject of public pronouncements certain facts have developed showing that on several oc cassons ambitious senators or depre senta tives hare deemed it decidedly advisable to stand hitched to the presidents programs they may or may not have liked ills his proposals but they went along with him just like good little boys they heard the masters voice in a way that made them decide quickly what they should do of course some of the major appointments point polut ments have had to be made cabinet selections are what are known as personal selections by the president such Is not the case however with what is known as the little cabinet that long list of undersecretaries assistant secretaries and the like these jobs are used ordinarily to help some of the individuals nall nail solid planks on their political fences in the home corn com such appointments might help in another election you know and consequently they are much sought after by the falth faithful ful there have been some of the little cabinet posts filled and there are others for which the appointments are near but the president and jim far ley who runs the democratic party from his job as postmaster general have not overlooked any bets it Is my conclusion that they obtained what they wanted in the way of support be fore lie e selections were deGni definitely tely con eluded ca 1111 1933 western Vt ro newspaper union |