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Ph. rn i. iiniieinell a . vee Legislating y Court * >’ {Assailed ~** 1) * Supreme Tribunal » | | _ Said to Have.Put =. _ Missing Words in Law _ By DAVID LAWRENCE. f: Fire justices of the Baamneenie | of the Uni BStates—all of them ‘appointed by President Roosevelt— have united in a decision which may “well revive the : ‘Nation - wide Be ‘controversy over the court which 4 ideveloped in | “iegislated” and Bhat 1b wWss,; Yherefore, not Yiberal, Tdday the’ new court, packed by the bresd t admin- Adstrajpion, has tndeltaken more Davia Lawrence boldjp than the old court or any other court in history to supply | and text to a statute which were never approved by Congress. The effect of the decision may be epach-making in American history. { For five justices—a majority of the ‘sourt—say, In effect, that an em- ployer must hire an body who claims he was discriminated against because of union affiliation when applying for a job. Tf the Labor Board rules that the employer re- fused, to hire for one reason or an- other, it does not matter what the evidence really shows—the Labor f Board's word is final. More than this, even though the Wagner law specifies what are or are not, unfair labor practices and permits the: board to issue an order to cease | and desist from such practices, the statute did not give the board pow- | er to think up any kind of punish- ment it cared toepply. « -- But the Supreme Court now says @ governmental board or commis gion—-nbt merely the Labor Board put anit governmetital agency-—can epply phnishments of their own ir- respective of whether such punitive action. specified by Congress. _ aT ‘awarded to these mon-emp froth the dite of their. applica 'to the time the board or teken on hy the goamnany.i. ~" ls "Nothing in the Wagner law du- thorizes any such order by the Labor Board. The law speaks. of -“peinstating” employes, who are dis- charged because of union activity . or connections. -But this covers an! empicye siready at Work, The: chairman of the Labor Board told a committee of Gongresa last year. that he thought the Congress in- tended to make the law read “in- atate” as well as “reinstate” but Suet forgot. ; It now develops that the five Jus- tices of the Supreme Court ap- pointed by President Roosevelt de- elded to supply the word and it is a mark of credit to that great liberal Harlan Fiske Stone, Associate Justice, that he did not woncur in what the New Deal jus- tices endeavored to do. This is one of the rare occasions when Justice Stone has been found dis- agreeing with the New Dealers. In | his dissenting opinion, which is also eomenrrer = in by Chief Justice | ‘Hughes, the following declaration "js made by Justice Stone: |. “We agree that the petitioner's i wefugal to hire two applicants for | fobs, because of their union mem- ; bership, was an unfair labor prac-_ ; ties within the meaning of the act t, i even though they never had been “employes of the petitioner (the company), and that under section bg ee a ; wy 2 MT = , but actually supplement- | ‘form of government. whith Amserk ca has enjoyed for 150 years wil | bave vanished. =~ Ares =, The extreme of administrative su es eee ree even applied for a job or’ be hired. The board sup fantastic conclusion by sory that the workers’ fallure ta apply for a job was caused by a hellef that even if they did apnly ‘they would ably be discrimin- Bted aga This ts known a ‘the Nevada Consolidated Copper tp. case, decided on August 234, 160. Here is a oi a conjecture. But what the 8u- weme Court has inst dant ts te phold the absolute powers pf such vernmental agencies. now proclaimed not so long ago by Hitiur, scmely that Judicia dect- ons should not be hased on wri constitutions OF specific statutes but or ,Poltey wand “public sentiment.” ° itt Wrote the lew hnt whet vo! and his colleagues aay | Congress sh may | laid which to now te or might have the mupreme law | from the practice and to take ap- ae ganda propriate proceedings under seqpion . ce its order. But ig” ; quite another matter to say {hat i Congress has also authorized |ithe “-poard to order the employerl to applicants for work, who have LS er been in his employ and to Peampel him to give them ‘back be the board was authorized to °F land. There doubtless be} ferder petitioner to cease and desist * enthusiagm tn . fe tir wo war demtcracy. WASHINGTON STAR Page to save this of rf