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1626 K STREET, N.W.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Vol. 7, No. 16, April 21, 1939
The Week In Washington
Studiously avoiding the monopoly issue, the Supreme Court this week directed a dis¬ trict court in Florida to proceed with a case to determine whether that State’s anti-ASCAP law was constitutional. At the same time the court decided that a similar case involving the State of Washington’s law was not properly in the Federal Courts.
In a vigorous dissent, however. Justice Hugo Black, agreed with Florida’s AttorneyGeneral that ASCAP constitutes a price fixing monopoly in violation of Anti-Trust Laws and that the case should be dismissed. He strongly criticized the Court for refusing to throw out a suit brought by “a price fixing combination that actually wields the power of life and death over every business in Florida, and elsewhere, dependent upon copyrighted musical compositions for existence”.
A Senate Interstate Commerce sub-committee favorably reported the Johnson (D-Col) Bill to ban both beer and liquor advertising on the air. Efforts to stop the bill in the full Committee are under way. Beer advertising accounted for $1,268,638 of the broadcasting industry’s revenue last year.
The FCC’s hearing on network broadcasting, monopoly ‘‘and related matters” came to an end Wednesday after the Commission had taken seventy volumes of testimony and re¬ ceived 662 exhibits. The Commission Committee in charge of the hearing took under advisement a motion by Louis G. Caldwell, counsel for Mutual, that the Commission ban renewal of network contracts beyond December 31, 1940. Both CBS and NBC protested.
Reports to Headquarters indicated practically 100 per cent cooperation and excellent results in the ‘‘Open House Week” which started off the NAB-RMA campaign to promote the American System of Broadcasting.
Legal
U. S. SUPREME COURT DECIDES TWO ASCAP CASES
The United States Supreme Court, on IMonday, April 17, rendered its long-delayed decisions on the technical point of jurisdiction of the federal court involved in the ASCAP suits against officials of the States of Florida and Washington. ASCAP had sued the officials of both states to enjoin them from enforcing the provisions of the respec¬
tive state statutes enacted in 1937 which sought to curb price fixing activities of copyright pools.
The state officials in both cases moved to dismiss ASCAP’s petition on the grounds that ASCAP failed to show the $3,000.00 jurisdictional amount necessary to give the federal court jurisdiction of the cases. In the Florida case, the lower court determined that it had jurisdiction and granted a preliminary injunction, whereas the lower court in Washington determined that the jurisdicitional amount was not established and therefore dis¬ missed the suit. Appeals were taken to the United States
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