P .7 WEXRTON t v)t cfr - 7 /i ^ It seems like a lack of that fraternal college chim spirit - in today's headline court decision. President Roosevelt is a Harvard man. And so is Federal Judge John P. Mi elds of Wilmington, Delaware both alumni of dear old Harvard. But today Judge Hields handed his fellow alumnus at the White House something of a set-back. Xt all concerns that famous Weirton Steel Company case. The judicial alumnus said: "Unconstitutional and void", and he was referring to that renowned Section 7-A of the I.R.A. , which was put into effect by the Presidential .alumnus — the collective bargaining clause. The federal government for a year has been trying to make the Weirton Company put the administration idea of collective bargaining into force among its employees. There has been a battle through the courts, with trying to get an injunction to compel the Company to toe the mark. It ho.s been up before .fudge Wields, who today, with the scratch of the pen, tossed the government's case out of court. He not only denied the injunction, but ruled that collective bargaining clause 7-A is unconstitutional. ttblRTO^ - 2 This of course is a major industrial issue, and the federal authorities will lose no time in taking an appeal to the higher courts, with the prospect of the Supreme Court "being called upon to make another decision that will touch the very heart of the New Deal. The Weir ton case is only one of several similar lawsuits revolving around the collective bargaining clause. Today!s decision is all the more important because it has a bearing on thuse other cases — and on the whole set-up of the N.R.A. Ei.R.A. And the Blue Eagle is on its way to that general inspection and overhauling which has heen promised. The President's recommeri— dation for an investigation and revision of the N.R.A. is getting action in the Senate. The only question now is whether' ix or not there should be two separate inquiries. There is talk of one being conducted by the Senate Finance Committee and a second one by a judiciary committee. Indications are that the judiciary group would specialize in monopolistic angles, and direct the inquiry along the line of whether the National Recovery - ‘-it tends to help monopoly and squeeze out the little fellow. Jet* • /f35" INCOME TAX If I seem a bit nervous tonight, it may be because I'm scared. the studio here there's one of those fire-snorting dragons that might frighten not only little childien^ but also big business men. The Income Tax Collector! But I do^t see any sulphury flames shooting from his nostrils. In fact he seems altogether jovial and jolly. And thatfs not so surprising, when you think of him merely as Joe Higgins of the Holy Cross Track Team. Yes, the same Joe Higgins who some years ago made a habit of winning track titles, and on one occasion won a bitterly fought race against that'Other mighty Joe — Joie Hay, for years the world’s king of runners. Later on, fleet-foot Joe Higgins became Lieutenant Joe Higgins of Uncle Sam’s air corps in the foorld War. Flew X lsl planes over the battle lines in France. After that he became the Honorable. Joe Higgins, five terms a lawmaker in the New Xork State Legislature. More recently President Roosevelt appointed Mm Internal Revenue collector — from Thirtieth Street to Canada. And that makes him Dr g Higgins. A jolly dragon who won't bite you as he speaks through the microphone. MR. HIGGINS:- Wo, I that March fifteenth L^:- Internal Revenue Collector Higgins has just toeen telling me that the question uppermost in the average mind is Am I required to file an income tax return?" How about that, Mr. Higgins? MR. HIGGIHSThat’s the commonest question all right. And here’s the answer. If you are single and have a net income of as much as a thousand a year, you are required to file a return. Also, if you are married and have a net income of as much as Twenty-five hundred a year. These are net incomes, wages or net profits. As for gross income, the total amount of money you take in if that comes to five thousand a year, you are required to file a return, no matter what the net may be. L.T:- I notice that people are frequatly confused about toe won't bite. I'd just like to remind everybody is the day. exemption they’re entitled to. INCOME TAX - 5 MR. HIGOIMSi- Xgs, it's all clearly outlined on the statutory form, but still there is confusion sometimes. The exemption is one thousand dollars for a single person, or for a married person who is not living with his or her spouse. For married and living with spouse, the exemption is Twenty-five hundred. And this same Twenty-five hundred is allowed to any single person who, during the year, was the family head, contributing to the chief support of one or more members of his household. The exemption for dependents is Four Hundred dollars for each person supported, when those persons are under eighteen years of age or incapable of self-support because of mental or physical defects, L.T,Sou were telling me, Mr. Higgins, that our benevolent Uncle Sam is always willing to help people make out their returns and advise them on their tax problems* MB. ETOfiTNS:- I wish people would take more advantage of that benevolence. Uncle Sam is really quite a kindly gentleman, who likes nothing better than to stroke his whiskers, snap his Red, White and Blue suspenders, and explain income tax puzzles INCOME TAX - 4 tax-payers. All you have to do is to take your data to any Collector1s office or to Internal Revenue representatives stationed in banks, office buildings and department stores. They*re there to advise you and help you make out your return L.T.;- Wow, by the way, Mr. Higgins, hereTs a point in my return. But, but I forgot. This is a broadcast, not a tax conference. So let!s go ahead with the nev/s. It's about taxes! GA q OLOT' (Follow Income Tax) A birthday occurred this week, which some motorists noticed. Sweet Sixteen - or perhaps Sour Sixteen, according to the way one is hit by the gas tax. It is just sixteen years since Oregon imposed the first ta.x on gasoline., and then the tax spread all over tne country*. The original rate was a cent a gallon, to build roads, but that was soon boosted and twisted. Until today the tax in some places is as much as twelve cents a gallon. The revenue was a million dollars that first year, in Nineteen nineteen. Last year American motorists paid a tax on their gasoline to the tune of seven hundred and thirty million! The original idea was to use the tax on gasoline to build and repair roads for the automobiles that use the gas — all fair enough. But that logical restriction didn’t last long. Now the gas tax pays for about every sort of thing you can think of. It’s curious and painful how heavily taxation has been brought to bear on the motorists. It is estimated that Mr. Average Automobile Driver pays motor taxes of one sort or another for a total each year of twenty-seven per cent of the value of his car. And some of it goes to support fish hatcheries! 1 The prize goes to Texas, the.floral wreath for flowers, also for^Buffet supper table*. * At the big Flower Show here at Rockefeller Center 'iic^ therebeen a competition between various states. Today the A. battle concerned the most perfect way of using flowers to decorate a supper buffet table. -^nd the Wild West along the Rio Grande won, flowery cowboys from out where the long horn used to SHIP Three ocean liners today fought their way through *!» stormy seas to a specified position of longitude and latitude on the ocean. When they got there, they found nothing, nothing hut the dreary waste of rolling waves — a tragic waste, after thjj^wireless messages had been received, A A Last night a series of distress calls came from the British freighter Blairgowrie in mid-Atlantic, with a crew of twenty-six aboard. The liners EURGPA, the AMERICAN BAIMER, and the BLOffiiERSDSJK went charging to the resue, with the distress signals still crackling on the wires. But the signals became weaker, and finally ceased altogether. The liners reached the designated point. It was dark. They could see nothing. Day broke. And still they could spy no sight of the BLAIRGOWRIE• They circled widely, search— / / ing — nothing. So the supposition is that the unfortunate vessel foundered with all hands aboard. Still no wreckage^!loating sign was found, and there is just a bare possibility that the BLAIRGOWRIE is still afloat — somewhere. FIRE A fire broke out five days ac^o a 4. 3 uayt ago. it raged Saturday night and Sunday. But it’s news today. That*s because there is such a rigorous censorship In Moscow. Everybody in the Soviet capital knew* a big fire was on. Moscow burning! Napoleon back again! Not quite. But ^ad enough. Every piece of fire apparatus in the City went clanking across Red Square. Finally the flames were put out and little more was thought about it. But today there was a sensation in the shadow of the Kremlin -- as the news was released. The Communist authorities lifted their iron censorship long enough to give brief but dreadful facts about the disaster. Twenty-nine lives lost! It was a blaze in a Soviet factory, a factory crowded with workmen. A wild panic, a deadly trap. Falling walls in Moscow. FIREMAN Our lire Department story over here in Uncle Sam's domain is not quite so tragic. A terrific alarm sounded in South Hempstead, Long Island. The siren shrieked as if the whole town were in ilames, as ix all ol Long Island were about to burn up. And then, a magnificent lour thousand Lollar fi-re engine went roaring through the streets. No, South Hempstead was not burning up. It was just the Fire Department that was burning up.' They werenft doing right by the South Hempstead smoke-eaters*. They have a volunteer fire department out there, and the city fathers proceeded to appoint a new fire chief of whom the Fire Department did not approve. They protested, but that didn’t do any good. So they proceeded to express their grievances in a louder and more graphic way. They sounded the xire siren, fcaea tied the whistle down, and let it toot. They took that Four thousand Dollar fire engine out into a field, where they scraped off the handsome painted lettering. The trial is scheduled for May seventh. A whole batch 4-v^-i t ’ families and friends who of the volunteer smoke-eaters a d flfcre accused of taking part in the revolt of the firemen. BABE RUTH Thti e s a suggestion of the good old iron determination | in Babe Ruth*s announcement today. he will be the ^ A A manager of the Braves next_sea5on, leader of the team in the field. And the Babe added that his main ambition all along has been to become a manager in baseball, ies, he reiterates that determination^ and he seems to be having his way. The supposition is that the present manager. Bill McKechnie, will be promoted to the post of General Manager of A, the SEtfii* Club1 s affairs. So as it stands^ the Babe is slated to be the assistant I boss of the Braves this season and complete boss in 1936. ! I Everybody in baseball seems to be happy over the „ solution of the Babe Ruth problem, and that's easy to understand. Ax If the home run hitter of the ages had been refused satisfaction If and allowed to depart disgruntled from the world of hits, runs and j errors, it would have left a rather sour impression among the fans, because nowadays a baseball "iea“s 3 h Babe Ruth fan. HAUPTMANN Echoes of the Hauptmann trial continue to reverberate in the news. It certainly does make one stop and wonder , as a report comes from Boston, a report headlining - "More Ransom Money Found *n ies, the news is that another Lindbergh ransom banknote has turned up. It was found in money taken in for tickets by the American Airways Company. Somebody bought a sky-ride ticket and paid for it with one of the telltale bills. Hauptmann in the death cell at Trenton and ransom money still appearing! And then we have another one of those glaring so familiar in that most famous and also most tragic case. Of course itfs not unusual for a lawyer to say nice things to a jury when he pleads with them, and then to say something altogether different about that same jury after he has lost the case. You might expect something like that in the Hauptmann affair, and here it is. Here's what xx chief defense attorney Edward J.Reilly j +r*np when he summed up told the twelve men and w&men, goo HAUPTMMN - 2 in the Fleming ton courthouse}- SSm, *Iou are all broad-minded, honest, industrious and fair people* he beamed on them. *You intelligent and smart®. And he continued on and on in that flattering vein. are But here's where^attorney Reilly «*» says? in an address IJi r-gg* to the Lions Club in Brooktlyn: j rtBruno Hauptmann will never die in the electric chair” f he declares. ’’He should have been tried before a jury of intelligent men — like you gentlemen in this room.” It seems that the intelligent person is always the one you're talking to. And then Mr, Reilly added a detail or two about the Fleming ton jury. "One of the women jurors”, he said. "had a tremendous appetite and ate tremendous meals. How could she return to the jury room after lunch, without being dull?” Yes, Mr, Reilly-, maybe she couldn't think so well when she was hungry. Maybe she needed fvD ^ o (y »--r- m-