To Avoid Crowding

All over the U. S. men marked Feb. 4 on their calendars. Bankers gave up the profitable business of importing gold after the last ship sailed from Europe to arrive in the U. S. before Feb. 4. Congressmen kept their social calendars clear in case President Roosevelt should have important work for them to do on Feb. 4. Investors ceased buying and selling securities and the stock markets all but stood still, waiting for Feb. 4. The Securities Exchange Commission prepared to close all markets to prevent violent fluctuations of prices on Feb. 4. Attorney General Cummings, Secretary Morgenthau and President Roosevelt conferred earnestly and secretly, concerted what measures they should take to meet any contingencies that might arise on Feb. 4. Headlines blared the news of this tense situation--the news that on Feb. 4 the Supreme Court was likely to announce its' decision on the momentous gold cases (TIME, Jan. 21).

The nine old gentlemen of the Court supposedly had no knowledge of this nationwide excitement. Never in its 146 years has the Supreme Court's high dignity permitted it to recognize headlines. Yet, being human beings in a human world, the justices could not help knowing that the U. S. was having a bad case of jitters which seemed about to reach a crisis on Feb. 4.

One thing, however, the Court could notice without loss of dignity and detachment: Thousands of citizens were trying to wangle the right to sit in the 90 seats of the small Supreme Courtroom on Feb. 4. Therefore on Feb. 2, in an unprecedented manner, the clerk of the Court handed the Press a brief announcement:

"The Chief Justice, in order to avoid an unnecessary crowding of the Court room on Monday [Feb. 4], directs the clerk to announce that the Court is not ready as yet to announce a decision in the gold clause cases and hence there will be no announcement on that day."

Instead of handing a jittery country a gold decision, the Supreme Court utilized Feb. 4 to hand a jolt to an individual. He was Lawyer-Lobbyist William Patterson MacCracken Jr., onetime Assistant Secretary of Commerce, who last year allowed papers subpoenaed by the Senate's airmail investigation to be removed from his files and destroyed. After a hide & seek with the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate (TIME, Feb. 12, 1934, et seq.) MacCracken was caught, sentenced to ten days in jail for contempt of the Senate. He appealed all the way to the Supreme Court which last week told him that it would not void his sentence.

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