Show f Judges Best Guessers I IBy fr By CHARLES P P. P STEWART N NEA EA Servi Service e Writer Aug 10 Con Con Congress gress passes a lot o of laws its it's Impossible Im- Im Im Impossible impossIble possible to understand They can be read read in two or more different nt ways Or the they contain conflicting clauses or conflict with th other laws Or nobody's able to figure out Just what they do mean What would seem to be bo the natural natural natural nat nat- ural thing thing to do when one of ot these mixed up laws gets on onto o the statute statute stat stat- ute ito books Why to ask congress about it of ot course Congress pass passed it Sf It anybody Jf knows what congress congress' idea was In doing it it certainly must be congress con con- gr gress ss Itself S So o why when the executive branch of ot the government runs up against one Otle of ot these incomprehensibly sibly worded enactments doesn't I i it go to the legislative branch and say This thing doesn't make sense what what in heck were you trying to get at at Then it could be explained or fixed S But no Th That t isn't the system at atall all an Instead the puzzle either is passed on on up to the courts for an Interpretation or turned over t to one of ot the g governments government's numerous ad administrative administrative ad- ad administrative bureaus or commissions commis commis- to be guessed at Now a Judicial decision on a question ques ques- question tion of ot constitutionality is one thing If It congress attempts somethIng something some some thing the fundamental code forbids foz then doubtless its it's some courts court's business to point o out t that it cant can't be done But Interpreting and guessing laws into shape is different different it it amounts to making them The Judges do their interpreting with such straight faces their faces their faith in their own infallibility is is so well grounded that grounded that the bystander watching them at it it isn't apt to realize how ridiculous It is is How lIow do they know what meaninglessness means better any than anybody else The Tho executive officials however dont don't all take their guessing quite so seriously The fact Is Is a high functionary of f the so-and-so so bureau told me rec re re- re c We been able to dope out how congress Intended the Such-and-such Such act to work but weve we've agreed on what we thought perhaps it meant and that's the way we enforce the tho law People go to Jail and pay big fines fineson on n the st strength of or It too Judicial interpretation is pretty well Some little fault Is Is' Is found with It by radicals but It suits conservative purposes and the conservatives Just now v. are po po- po- po on top Executive guessIng guessing guess guess ing however may overdo Itself if the guessers guesser's arent aren't careful Maybe the federal trade commis sion ha has overdone matters already Its defiance of the senates senate's orders for investigation of the electrical In Industry v the thA flour no u VL market t cn oper co o no u VL market t cn oper co o farming and a few cooperative other things the upper house wanted looked into was extraordinarily extraordinarily- bold It didn't exactly take the th-e form torm of guessing out the meaning of pf a law but assuredly it was Yas guessing on how much the senate w would uld stand Commissioner W W. W E. E Humphreys Humphrey's remark as the senate resolutions went Into the wastebasket that palpably they were for political purposes and not sincere efforts to get information rubbed the insult in Quite likely when the senate meets next some of its members will say Its It's none o of the thO commissions commission's commis commis- sion's business what their orders' orders purpose is Indeed two of the five commissioners themselves Huston Thompson and 3 J. J F. F Nugent thought so at the time time- dissenting from Chairman Vernon Van Fleets Fleet's and Commissioners H Humphreys Humphrey's and Hunts Hunt's suggestion to the law law- makers to g go chase h se themselves sIts s. s Its It's true the administration doubtless was glad to see the electrical elec elec- flour and farming Inquiries turned down but on the other hand the federal trade commissions commission's po position position po- po is weak It never was popular conservatives con con- opposed it as one of the agencies which put too much government gov gov- In business Now the liberals liberals lib lib- lib lib- oppose it too since its it's passed under the conservative control S Though Its slap in the senates senate's face was meant as a slap only at th the Progressive bloc yet it will be bo easy to Interpret some interpret some interpretation tation In the senates senate's Interest this time time time-as as a slap at the whole august body As a good substantial slap back wh what t e easier sier than Just to legislate the commission off the map map-ari an act of ot friendship to som some moderately moderate moderate- ly Progressive slap slap-ees sl p-ees p the regulars regulars regu lars would like to placate no placate no loss to anybody else else-a a significant senate senate sen sen- ate warning to executive folk tolk to mind their ps p's and qs qs q's a good piece of ot business all around |