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TW ae Mr. Telson Mr. KE, A. Tamm_ Mr. Clege Mr. Glavin . é Mr. Ladd _ Mr. Nichols a Court Discord Bared Again: . t . Mr. Rosen In Split gn Jehovah Case Mr. Treey__ Discord on the“Supr ork city, devotes the income to Mr. Coffey ‘bench was again revealed yester-i:religinus ends, Must it, therefore, Mr. Heodoa day with a minority of three, heed- ed by Justice Frankfurter, charging that a majority opinion had ‘start- ling implications,” leading to the be exempt from paying its share of the cost of government's pro- tection of its property? “The decision now rendered Mr. Kramer Mr. McGuire. Mr. Quinn Tamm _ establishment of the press “In &/must mean that the guarantee of class apart, untouchable by taxa-|freedom of the press creates an a immunity equal to ¢ h This interpretation was ridiculed! held as yo teaching mat mete Ee: by Justice Murphy of the majority|religious doctrine . . . It is un’ Mr. Neasse who warned, in his turn, that the taxing power {in the hands of un- serupulous or bigoted men could be used to suppress freedoms and destroy religion.” Divided Six to Three The court was divided, six to three, in reversing the conviction of r Follett, of McCormick, 8.C., ovyah’'s Witness¢for sell- ing refikidtis Riteratare without a book agent's license. The court has previously ruled in similar cases that peddlers of re- ‘\igious tracts could not be taxed for a Hicense, The only difference in Follett’s case was that he was a resident of the town where the sale stook place, and the principals in other cases had been itinerant salesmen. The majority held the residence of the salesman made no difference—the tax was unconsti- tutional. «¢ , ' Although the question involved ithus was a narrow one, six of the ‘nine justices saw fit to air their views separately on the meaning of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which specifies: “Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the free exercise religion): or abridging the free- dom of speech, or of thé press.” Wanted Conviction Upheld Justice Frankfurter, with Jus- tices Roberts and Jackson concur- ‘ring, asserted the conviction of Follett should have been upheld. “Here, a citizen of the communl- ty, earning his living by a religious activity, claims immunity from contributing to the cost of Govern- ment under which he lives,” sald their opinion. “Unless the phrase ‘free exercist,’ embodied in the First Amendment, means that ‘government must render service free to those who earn their living ‘in a religious calling, no reason is apparent why he should not con- “In effect, the decision ... re quires that the exercise of religion tribute his share of the communi- ty’s common burden of expense. are Sp sidized ... Trinity Church, ‘own! great property —isr+New Jo vat yt oe thinkable that those who publish! and distribute for profit newspa- pers and periodicals should sug-| gest that they are in a class apart, untouchable by taxation... The! | implications of the present deci- jsion are startiing.”* Justice Murphy, in a separate ; , opinion concurring with the ma- ‘jority, ridiculed this reasoning. “It is claimed that the effect of ‘our ‘decision is to subsidize re- ligion,” he wrete. “But this is ‘Merely a harsh way of saying that to prohibit the taxation of re- _ligious activities is to give sub |Stance to the constitutional right of religious freedem.” ‘Income Not Taxed Concerning the references to Trinity Church and use of the de-' ‘cision in reference to freedom of. i speech amd press, Murphy de-' clared: ‘ | “It 1s wise to reniember that: : the taxing and licensing power Is! a dangerous and, potent weapon which, in the hands of unscrupu- lous or bigoted men, could used to suppress freedoms ad ¥ religion unless it is kefpt within aprrovriate bounds.” ! (71 87 MAR 511944 — —_—. ad eet WASHINGTON TIMES-HERALD MORNING EDITION 3-2 J-¢ & f ? nee He is vie bee