Show ECONOMIC ITS HIGHLIGHTS Happenings s that thit affect the dinner pails p dividend checks and ta bills ta bIlls of evry cv ev ry individual Na- Na National National Na National problems and international lems inseparable from local isel el welfare fare fareI I fareA A fe few weeks ago Light eight ht black blach robed figures walked slowly ly into an ancient chamber in Washington D C They sank ink do down dorm n in age po leathe leather chairs while a his gravel ravel and Oyez O ez oye oyez All persons having business ess before the Honor Honor- Honorable Honorable Honorable able the Supreme Supreme court of the United Slates States are admonished to draw near and give their atten attention God tion-God God sable cave save the United States and this IIo Honorable court These eight the men men the ninth wa was absent for opening op opening day due to ill illness nes represent ness represent the highest hest power m in the land T ens is Je the court of last theirs resort reSOl tl t-tl is the po power er to settle finally end and for all time al arguments concerning the constitutionality constitutionality of laws las and Jud judgments ments TheIr combined age comes close to yet years scars yet according to ob observers sel servers verso all of them including famed 88 year eal old Mi Mr Justice BrandeJs Brandeis patriarch of the court since the retirement of the vener vener- venerated venerated Mr Justice Holmes red appeared to be in excellent health he Ob eis l- l ers elS also ilso said that normally two or 01 three of the olde oldest t Ju Justices would voluntarily retire but but c-but but none ap will do that for the present session of the Court prom promises promises to be one of oC the most and most Del haps the most Important most important m in living memory memory On its docket me awe awesome some cases of which about 1300 will probably be eliminated on JUl jurisdictional J l grounds Among the hundred remaining lem are arc three cases which will destroy or revitalize some of the most extraordinary legislative e judicial acts in m Amer inn n history T Two 0 of these cases 11 1101 nn oh 01 e a the of oC the Recovery Act to I restrict production The thud will te test t the constitutionality of the law pigment payment pl ment of contracts in 11 gold In addition it JS is possIble that other cases now m in 10 lower el courts which involve New Deal legislation will Ill come before he justices before the sessIOn loses It seems tint that every ery Washington correspondent con is JS speculating on what the attitude of the Court will Je e No one but knows knows but there are grounds for foi making m guesses The Court docs does not deal l Ith ordinary evidence as do courts of inferior JUriSdictIon JUriSdictIon-It jurisdiction deals only with whether or not a ahw aliw hw or ruling is constitutIonal Four members of the court have in the past st shown chon themselves to tobe tobe tobe be instinctively ely Conservative Consel Justices Sutherland Butler Mc- Mc Reynolds Mc-Reynolds Reynolds Van Devanter rout Foul lean leanto leanto leanto to the Liberal side Justice Brand Brandeis els eis Stone Roberts Robel ts The mOl mote e 01 or less unknown n quantity IS Mr Chief Justice Hughes who ho ha has sometime been with one group sometimes with the other othel Many believe ho hoe however e er that he is more Liberal than and Conservative Conservative and Jf if that is true New Dell Deal laws laves are re lively to stand the acid test Dur Dur- Dur- Dur During During ing recent years ye more and more Supreme Court decisions have pie pie- pic fh five e justices on one sIde Ith the othel other lout fOUl dissenting dissenting-a dissenting shift of but a single member could the general trend hend of decisions Whatever the results decISIons of the court will be and flail and they will not be questioned Senators congressmen and governors gO are damned and 1 reviled even pI presidents eSl- eSl dents are arc subject to strong shong criticism cism But the Supreme COUl Court Court- t- t whose hose members in m the words of Mr 11 Justice Holmes Tikes Takes the veIl is above such mundane ne mat mat- matters mat No other institution pos possesses possesses I the almost unqualified ad I adI respect and faith of the i American n people Shortly after opening the court made a decision while it dil not 01 or den deny constitution constitutionality allty of any major administration measure is JS of wide interest It threw out the case of an air aJr line whIch held that the government had illegally abrogated au an all mall mail contI acts and refused to revIew the decisions of 10 lower er tribunals h s So far as business is concerned the vear ear 1934 has been disappoint disappoint- disappointing the mg-the ing the great gleat hopes that were held for recovery hav haven't nt mater mater- materialized materialized by comparison ai last year yeal our commercial of af offa affairs fa s are in m much better order During the first si siv months of 1933 according to a survey made by the National City Bank representative b businesses earned In an a average of but 1 17 7 per cent on then m investment estment During the same period this y sear ear return was 57 5 7 per cent In the year vear car 19 1927 7 whIch IS considered normally prosperous industry's profits were ere at the rate of 8 87 7 per cent All business of course are arc not up to the the average the 57 figure JS is largely made possible by the fact that certain industries are earning great gleat profits During the last half yeas yeal foi fOl for example automobile manufacturers earned 12 2 per percent percent percent cent Aut Auto parts and accessories makers received 1 ecel ed 12 8 per cent household equipment 10 1 per cent I chemicals 10 per cent By way ay of contrast 11 non on and ind steel makers earned only 04 per cent coal pro producers 23 per cent an and building material makers 0 08 8 per cent Even in m these cases howe however el the thebus bus businesses messes are doing better than last year when hen they took tooh loses As for recent trends the influence influence ence has been downward O and prof prof- profItS prof- prof profits profits its now tend to be smaller than thye were ere during the first SIX months of the year Past exper exper- experience experience Jence indicates that there thele will be a pickup when the elections al aie e over ovel oveland and some come financial authorities are arc saying that business leaders feel more |