Salt Lake Telegram | 1935-02-23 | Page 3 | Rail Pensions, N R A Facing Court Test

Rail Pensions N R A Facing Court Test WASHINGTON Feb 23 AP Lawyers AP-Lawyers Lawyers for lor the new deal arc busily preparing for two morel more important te in the supreme court within a cw weeks On March 13 the cons constitutionality of the railroad pension act will willbe willbe be ar argued in the high tribunal The Th decision will have a direct bearing on social security legislation now ow before belore congress In the week of April 1 the justices will vill hear arguments on the constitutionality const const- t of the national recovery act This law Jaw expires June 16 but the president has asked its continuance ance for two years Both cases were brought directly to the supreme court from adverse decisions in district federal courts to avoid delay In the railroad case the govern gover government ment Is appealing from a decision of the District of Columbia supreme court holding Invalid the act acl of or June 27 21 1934 This act provided for a compulsory retirement and pen pension ion system for of oC interstate railroads The lower Jower court enjoined the government government gov gov- from collecting the first pension assessments due last November November No No- vember and from putting the pen pen pension sion slon into effect February 1 It held among other things that congress exceeded its power in making the act apply to all aU railroad instead of just those engaged engaged en en- in interstate commerce and that the act took pr property perty without due process of law because of retroactive retroactive retro retro- active provisions for pensions based on employment prior to the time the law was passed The governments government's brief briet was tiled filed by J. J Crawford Biggs solicitor i general gen gen general eral who contends the law is con con- Briefs have not yet been filed in inthe inthe the N R A case which involves William Wil WU- liam E. E Belcher an Alabama lumberman lumberman lum lum- berman who was Indicted for permitting permitting per per- to work longer than the minimum hours and for less wages than permitted by the lumber cod code Belchers Belcher's demurrers to the Indictments Indict Indict- ments holding th the N R A statute and code invalid on four grounds were sustained by Judge William I I. I Grubb of at the Northern Alabama district dis- dis court The lumberman contended that tha congress had exceeded i its power to regulate interstate commerce that tha it had delegated legislative powers that it had encroached upon rights reserved to the states and that the act took property without due process of at law The court recently held unconstitutional section C 9 of th the act under which the government was attempting to o regulate oil pro pro- but did not rule on general genera provisions of at the law