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Show SJ iOf BY OVERWHELMING MAJORITIES, MAJORI-TIES, the house passed the Tidelands oil bill (247-89), giving control of submerged tidelands to the states, and the so-called fair trade bill by a vote of 196 to 10. The votes on both uf these measures over-turned decisions of the United Unit-ed States supreme court and again raises the old, old question of whether one branch of our three co-equal branches of government, the executive. Judicial and legislative legis-lative can nullify the action of one or the other branches. In the Tidelands bill, the congress con-gress overturned a ruling of the supreme court that the oil, estimated estimat-ed at approximately $40,000,000,-000 $40,000,000,-000 under submerged lands off the coastal states and beyond low tide, belong to all the people of all the states end that the federal government gov-ernment has paramount jurisdiction. jurisdic-tion. The bill passed by congress turns these submerged lands and billions in oil over to the coastal states. President Truman was expected ex-pected to veto the measure. The court also had ruled that fair trade law was unconstitutional, unconstitution-al, but the McGuire bill, as passed, permits a manufacturer of fair-traded fair-traded goods to sign a contract with only one retailer In a state to sell at a fixed price, which would bind all other retailers within with-in that state to observe the fixed minimum price. This is price control con-trol by private industry under the protection of a specific federal statute. Only large organizations lobbying for this measure were the national association of retail druggists and the American fair trade council. They did an effective pressure job, while those opposing the bill including the American bar association, asso-ciation, the American farm bureau bu-reau federation, the national grange, the congress for industrial organization and several consumer consum-er organizations did a poor job. These are two instances in which congress is behind the thinking of the people and the pollsters. Heated discussions over the Mc-Carran-Walter immigration bill, a 302 page' codification of our immigration im-migration and Naturalization laws. 'have resulted in Introduction of several substitute bills and introduction intro-duction of scores upon scores of amendments to the original bill. All agree the Immigration laws need revision, but few agree on the method. Charges are made the McCarran measure is replete with discrimination as to quotas, sex races and has many other objectionable objec-tionable features. McCarran deni the charges. Hearings on extension of controls con-trols under the national defense production act were underway with Allan Kline, president of American farm bureau federatiun telling the committee: "There never will b-a b-a better time than now to drop these unworkable controls " Kline was backed up by WiiU 1. Grede, president of the natiuni i-i-sociatlon of manufacturers, anil by the U.S. chamber of commerce. Of course there was much tuti mony In favor of continuation ci controls or even of tightening ceo- . trols from labor organizations arl many consumer organizations. In the meantime the feud between be-tween the national farmers union and the farm bureau federation continued to draw interest with the farmers union charging that the farm bureau is now "slowing up" REA expansion by "meeting regularly reg-ularly with private power lobbyists, lobby-ists, headed by $85,000-per-year Pure ell L. Smith, on public power policy, including rural electrification." electrifica-tion." In Its weekly letter of May S, the farmers union says: "The leaders of the farm bureau and Purcell L. Smith's national association of electric companies have been holding hold-ing annual, unpubllcized meetings on the rural power problem and the U.S. power policy for the last six years, minutes uncovered recently re-cently reveal. . . Last year's joint meeting of the committee on electric elec-tric service for farmers of the American farm bureau federation and national association of electric companies was presided over by President Allan Kline- of AFBF, who reminded the group that it was their sixth annual meeting. P. L. Smith was listed in the minutes min-utes as the leader of the power company delegation . . ." . ' - 1 ) |