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Show INSIDE STUFF SfflftSzjF'.. WASHINGTON Many an Impartial Im-partial lawyer who heard the Wagner labor arguments would not be surprised to see another t-te-0 decision against tha government govern-ment on the most Important phases involved. They suspect also that If President Roosevelt had already stacked the court with alx more Judges, the decision might be IS to 0. Interstate Commerce Judges frequently do not rule aa lawyers expect but a fair con-sensus con-sensus among Informed observers now outlines the prospect about like this: Five case are Involved in the I decision, and the main question is whether the five defendants are in interstate commerce. It la the same old constitutional question ques-tion behind all the current court agitation, and highly important in connection with Mr. Roosevelt's proposed court reorganisation. His addition of six more judges will do him no good unless two or three who are now on the bench side with his broad interpretation in-terpretation of Interstate commerce. com-merce. Of the five defendants, three are manufacturers, one an interstate in-terstate .bus line and the fifth a newa dispensing organisation. As the lawyera aee it. the bus line is the only one which was clearly ahown to be In Interstate commerce and therefore possibly subject to the regulations of the Wagner labor board. The news service may or may not be. but the manufacturers (the ones Mr. Roosevelt la trying to reach with hi wages and hours plans) are irobably not. under the estab-Ished estab-Ished precedents of the court. Thus they expect the government govern-ment to win the bus rase, and poasibly tha newa case, but not the three moat important caaes unless all five are thrown out under the due proreaa clauae under a close decision. Difficulty There was nothing wrong with the presentation of the government govern-ment case this time, they aay. Mlaa Perkins' protege, 36-year-old Charlea E. Wyaanakl, handled brilliantly what argument he had, as d the other government attorneys. at-torneys. (Mis Perkins cam up to hear him.) But they were on a very email spot They seemed to be a little leery of the manufacturing manufac-turing cases themselves, obviously obvious-ly because the precedents of the court bold that manufacturing is not interstate commerce. The established position of the court hae been that activity prior to the ahlpment of goods across state lines and after It has stopped at its destination is not interstate commerce and hence not aubject to government control. The government gov-ernment wa able to ahow that one defending manufacturer had a plant in Richmond, a aalea office of-fice In New York and did aome refinishing in New Jersey, but this seemed not to fit the court's established definition. The decision will come In a month or six weeka. Note The story Is abroad that the Justices waited until ill Justice Jus-tice Stone returned to the bench because they want a unanimous unani-mous court This seems to be pure deduction without much reason. rea-son. There seems to be far more basis for the supposition the judges just considered it an extremely ex-tremely Important case, or. In fact It might more logically be assumed that the court might be closely divided. Ambitions Both aldea cheered the auto strike settlement. Ordinarily, this would be the best possible indication indica-tion that it waa a good settlement In this case, however, the cheering cheer-ing may have obscured the underlying under-lying situation. John L. Lewia just want on .thing, organisation of the automobile auto-mobile industry, under hi command. com-mand. The settlement gave him a foothold, a weak and unsure one, but nevertheless a foothold. General Gen-eral Motors also wants just one thing, to prevent Lewis from gaining gain-ing control of Its labor. The settlement set-tlement conceded Lewia a slight foothold, but Implied he would have to fight to make It atronger, undar rulea to be applied by the referee. Governor Murphy. No labor authority here was fooled into accepting the settle- ment as anything more than a truce. It settled the strike, but did not settle the issue. In fact, all Lewia cohorts will tell you privately the fight on their lasue has just begun. One thing Is certain. Michigan's Governor Murphy is in the most precarious political position of any man in the United States. Even while he was negotiating this current truce, authorities hsre heard aubrosa talk from the atrike front about a movement to impeach im-peach him. If he ia able to referee ref-eree the developing atruggle without with-out getting killed politically, he will be a miracle man. Few think . he can be. Competition A reason why General Motors was anxious to settle wa apparent appar-ent in auto production atatistlcs. Ford and Chrysler were, at last beginning to get the General Mo-tors Mo-tors business. Cram's estimates ahow General Motora production fell to practi-I practi-I cally nothing during- the week ending February . Previously, it had been little to brag about but the flooda had held up Ford and the glass shortage hurt Chrysler, preventing these competitors com-petitors from gobbling up the General Motors deficiency. Both Ford and Chrysler got over their flood and glaaa difficulties the first week In February and began atepping up production. The figures show Ford's January Janu-ary production waa 25 par cent above January last year and Chrysler's about 15 per cent Plana No one knows how the strike settlement will turn out eventually, even-tually, but the best guess is that Mr. Lewis will continue biting off a little at a time, and may yet be able to organise the induatry within the next three to five years. That is, the odds seem to point slightly thst way, unless he is stopped by aome developments, now unpredictable. It Is, of course, no mere guess that he will now move to Pittsburgh Pitts-burgh and atart In on steel. Copyright 1MT, for The Telegram. |
