The decision of Judge William Coleman of Baltimore that the famous Wheeler-Rayburn Public Utilities Hold Act is unconstitutional marks: the first step in the fight against a measure, the passing of which through Congress was one long struj contest centred mainly around the "death sentence" clause which was aimed at securing complete control of the activities of holding companies, and eventually the President was obliged to accept an amendment which took most of the sting out of enactment, 'The rulings of the are extensive and if upheld trike at the very roots of the Act. Congress, he held, exceeded it powers when it' passed the measure. The theory upon which the Bill was drawn, that holding companies were "touched with national public inter was rejected, while it was pointed out that the Act illegally denied the use of the mails to firms not comply with I provisions. Tt was furth found to violate the fifth amendment to the Constitution, and then the judge held that only the preamble to the Act was constitutional, In addition there were other questions on which the judge gave no ruling, deciding that there were other illegalities suff lent to void the Act, It seems inevitable that the whole matter wilt be taken to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it Judge Coleman's decisions are upheld the Act will be wholly destroyed, and another battJo will have been lost by President Roosevelt in his struggle to bring a new social order to the United States. The main dimulty With which the Administration has to contend is the fact that it has to work under a written constitution drafted at a time when present day conditions could neither have been anticipated nor their problems perceived. There is consequently something to be said for the President's hasty remark over fan earlier defeat that they were going back to the "horse and bogey days.
Luck went against visiting teams in the English League on Saturday. In the Scottish League six out of ten avoided defeat, three—Rangers, Celtic 3nd Dunfermline—scoring full points. In the First Division south of the Tweed. Bolton Wanderers were the only winners on alien ground, home teams taking the maximum tolt from their visitors in the other ten matches, with the exception of the Arsenal who. surprisingly had to share points with [Derby County at Highbury. The most spectacular visiting success was scor~ Reading who trounced Newport City by 5 goals to 1. Coventry' City at home in the same Division drew up to the next place behind Reading in the ght for promotion by beating Crystal Palace to tne tune of 8 goals to 1. The goal averages of these two winners fare worth noting Reading's Is. 30 to 16 and Coventry's 41 J—ngures which suggest the determination of their bid for higher honours. In the Second Division by defeating their brothers in misfortune fat the foot of the table Norwich City get out of the rut and by goal average 0 above Port Vale and Bradford with 21 goals for and 25 against, This record might be interpreted as proving that the Norfolk men are better
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.