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Show U.S. WINS HIGH -COURUESTOII , GOLD PROGRAM Ruling on Legality of Sitdown Strikes Is Avoided WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (UP) The government today won a Hew test of its gold devaluation program when the supreme court ruled against payment of interest on called gold bond coupons. cou-pons. At the same time the court vacated an injunction against a Philadelphia sitdown strike which ended last summer but avoided ruling on legality of sitdown or injunctions against them. The gold decision was presented by a court divided 8 to 3. Justice James C. McReynolds, speaking for his colleagues Pierce Butler and George Sutherland, voiced a bitter oral dissent in which he "Charged the government's gold action "violated "vio-lated the ten commandments." Four Opinions Four opinions were presented by ths court in ths new gold tests brought by Robert A. Taft, Cln-' Cln-' cinnatl and H. "Vernon 0ney, youthful youth-ful Baltimore attorney. The majority ma-jority opinion was written by Justice Jus-tice Benjamin N. Cardoso but read by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes because of Cardoso's absence ab-sence due to an attack of grippe. Concurring opinions were submitted sub-mitted by Justices Harlan F. Stone and Hugo L. Black. Black's terse opinion noted his belief that the government had full right to call its gold clause bonds and refuse further interest payments on the basis of contract conditions printed on the bonds. He, therefore, said he was expressing no opinion of legality on the new deal's gold legislation of 1933 and later. Black'a opinion, it waa noted, placed him on record as not participating parti-cipating in any decision of constitutionality con-stitutionality of new deal legislation legisla-tion which came before him as a member of the aanate. Was Constitutional Stone's concurring opinion noted his belief that the 1933 gold clause resolution was constitutional. Other actions of the court today Included: Refusal by the court to undertake under-take a test of constitutionality of an Atlanta board of education regulation regu-lation that public school students must salute the American flag. A decision vacating an injunction againat sitdown strikers in the Philadelphia Apex hosiery plant because be-cause legal issues have become moot due to aettlement of the strike. The brief verdict avoided any consideration of legality of sitdowns or injunctions against them. The court ruled that redemption calls issued for the bonds by the treasury in 1934 and 1935 were valid despite the treasury's refusal to redeem the obligations in gold as specified on the face of the bonds. The court held that interest in-terest ceased running on the re- demptlon data set fourth in the cells. The decision was presented in response re-sponse to two suits brought by Robert Rob-ert A. Taft, Cincinnati attorney and son of the late president and chief justice, William Howard Taft, and another suit filed by H. Vernon eney, 28-year-old Baltimore attorney. attor-ney. The ruling was regarded as clearing clear-ing the way for further savings to the government in interest on the public debt. |