Military, War, and Peace Commons^™

Wills - Soldiers And Sailors - Intent Necessary For Validity, Robert M. Barton S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In December of 1941 decedent was a fireman aboard an oil tanker bound for the Dutch West Indies. While discussing the dangers brought about by the war to merchant shipping, he told a shipmate, "Well, if I get lost or anything--I want Mr. Knight and his people to have what I got, insurance and everything." He repeated this desire to his fellow seaman on several other occasions during the course of the voyage. The vessel reached port safely, but several trips later the decedent was drowned when his ship was torpedoed. Knight claimed the estate, alleging that the statement was …

Termination Of War Contracts: The Contract Settlement Act Of 1944, David A. Goldman

Michigan Law Review

Enacted with a background of knowledge gained from the termination of more than 25,000 army and navy contracts having an uncompleted value of approximately $17,000,000,000, the Contract Settlement Act of 1944 was the first of the legislative enactments by which Congress seeks to control the possibility of a rising tide of economic difficulties which might otherwise drown the body politic in a flood of cancellation notices. The passage of the act was preceded by extensive public hearings and debates, during which responsible Government officials and leaders of labor and industry expressed their considered opinions. Congress likewise had the benefit of …

A Further Legal Inquiry Into Renegotiation: I, Charles W. Steadman

Michigan Law Review

Renegotiation has undergone some important changes which call for consideration. Congress .has undertaken to rewrite the Renegotiation Act. Administrative and procedural developments have created new problems. The act is being attacked as unconstitutional. Procedural technique and statutory interpretations have crystallized sufficiently to permit careful scrutiny. And the problems regarding the determination. of excessive profits, questions of taxation, amortization, cost allowances, as well as the constitutionality of the act, are a challenge to a continued study of this law and its administration.

The Function Of The States, William B. Cudlip

Michigan Law Review

For the second time in this century, thoughtful men are studying plans for the stabilization of a post-war world, determined to devise a pattern of peace which shall embody new moral and economic standards and the highest ideals of human liberty, intent on fashioning a design for living under which the nations of the world may find freedom, justice, dignity, and prosperity. In this high adventure the United States has a full role to play, for, without our interest and cooperation, there can be no enduring compact. But, important as this quest may be, another task of at least equal …

Law Books Of The Year (1943-44), Hobart R. Coffey

Michigan Law Review

Contrary to my inclination and somewhat against my better judgment I have been prevailed upon by the editor to repeat the experiment begun last year, viz., to produce a sort of running account of some of the more important legal publications which have appeared in the last twelve months. It goes almost without saying that a competent review of a single serious work requires both considerable time and space. An adequate critical review of fifty or sixty works would be quite out of the question for anyone who had anything else to do. In my comments on the books which …

Termination Of War Department Contracts At The Option Of The Government, David A. Goldman

Michigan Law Review

The United States of America has been mobilized and waging war for more than two years. Every device known to science, every resource of the country, every means of production, has been and is being employed to bring the conflict to a successful conclusion. Public funds, in amounts beyond comprehension, have been appropriated for the production of materiel. As of March r943, the War Department alone had outstanding more than 240,000 contracts in the face amount of approximately $75,000,000,000.

Taxation-Assessment Of Government-Owned Property Leased To Private Enterprise, Allen C. Holmes

Michigan Law Review

The Board of Property Assessment, Appeals, and Review of Allegheny County for ad valorem taxes in the state of Pennsylvania increased the assessed value of the realty of the Mesta Machine Company by the sum of $618,000 to include the value of certain additional machinery which had been installed on the premises. The machinery was leased by the United States Government to the company and was placed in the factory in order that the company might manufacture heavy field guns for the Government, under a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The legal title and the beneficial ownership of the machinery remained in the …

Legal Aspects Of Renegotiation, Charles W. Steadman

Michigan Law Review

The Renegotiation Act which became effective April 28, 1942, was designed to eliminate and remove exorbitant profits from war contracts. No other recent statute has been the subject of so much controversy and misunderstanding. Since the beginning of renegotiation of contracts in the late summer and early fall of 1942, policies have been crystalizing and many interpretations of the act have been made, but many more questions as to its meaning must still be answered.

The Impact Of The War On Private Contracts, Werner W. Schroeder

Michigan Law Review

The destruction and impairment of contracts caused by governmental agencies because of the necessities of war production have been more far-reaching than is generally realized. A report that one large industrial organization has been prevented from performance of contracts involving more than one hundred and fifty million dollars gives a hint of the extent of these commercial casualties.

Just War-A Legal Concept?, Arthur Nussbaum

Michigan Law Review

During the century preceding the First World War the topic of "just war," frequently and intensely treated in earlier periods, had almost disappeared from the writings on international relations. Since the end of the war, however, the issue has been revived by writers within and without the legal profession. The present article purports, principally by an inquiry into its historical background, to determine its legal relevance.

Secured Obligations, Benjamin M. Quigg, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

The scope of this discussion probably is best defined in the words of the act itself as appear in section 302 (1): "obligations secured by mortgage, trust deed, or other security in the nature of a mortgage · upon real or personal property, owned by a person in military service at the commencement of the period of military service"; and the problems herein discussed are those which arise under the act in connection with the sale, foreclosure, seizure, or repossession of property which is security for such obligations.

Installment Contracts

Michigan Law Review

Section 301 of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, as amended in 1942, is designed to protect the serviceman who has purchased property on the installment plan against forfeitures. It provides that a vendor or seller (or his assignee) of real or personal property (including a lease or bailment with a view to purchase) may not terminate or rescind his contract or resume possession of the property because of nonpayment or for any other breach of contract except by an action brought in a court of competent jurisdiction. This section is applicable in all cases in which …

Taxes And Assessments

Michigan Law Review

Provisions for tax relief for members of the military and naval forces of the United States are found not only in the Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Act, but also in three other important federal statutes, namely, the Internal Revenue Code, the War Pay and Allotments Act of 1942, and the Current Tax Payment Act of 1943. Relief measures fall into three classes: (1) those granting postponement of taxes and tax proceedings, (2) those providing reduction of the tax burden, and (3) those providing abatement of taxes in the event of death in military service. Those provisions will be discussed in …

"Enemy" Under The Trading With The Enemy Act And Some Problems Of International Law, Samuel Anatole Lourie

Michigan Law Review

When the United States entered this war and even before, it was evident that the measures and definitions of the Trading with the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, were obsolete instruments with which to cope, in economic and psychological warfare, with such dangerous enemies as the Axis, particularly Germany. Germany's preparations and planning for the war date back two decades, but took on intensified and conspicuous form only after the access of the Nazis to power.

In all types of warfare numerous weapons, devices and means are openly or secretly used. "Camouflage" is not the exclusive domain of military …

Soldiers And Sailors-Civil Relief Act Of 1940-Application To Decedents' Estates, Secured Obligations, Installment Contracts, Insurance, Taxes, And Assessments

Michigan Law Review

On October 17, 1940, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act became effective. The discussions which follow, written by different authors, do not cover the entire act, but only the parts indicated by the various headings.

Life Insurance

Michigan Law Review

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, as amended in 1942, contains provisions which are designed to enable the serviceman to avoid forfeiting life insurance because of the lack of financial resources.

The Trading With The Enemy Act, Samuel Anatole Lourie

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this paper is to discuss two aspects of the Trading with the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917: (1) The evolution of the T.E.A. through legislative enactments and executive orders; (2) Some problems of constitutional and administrative law raised by the last amendment to the act.

The Literature Of Opa: Administrative Techniques In Wartime, John W. Willis

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this article to outline the various administrative mechanisms which OPA has devised to carry out the regulation of prices and rents and the rationing of goods. The wisdom of any particular policy is not at issue; we are concerned only with the "how" and not with the "why," with the procedure and not the substance.

Renegotiation Of War Contracts, Charles W. Steadman

Michigan Law Review

The limitation of war profits to fair and reasonable levels and the purchase of war goods at fair prices are essential to the successful prosecution of the war. These problems come as a part of war and must be solved just as surely as tactical problems in battle. Exorbitant profits and prices spell defeat to any nation, for they point the way to inflation and economic collapse. In modern war the difference between defeat and victory lies ultimately in the economic strength of the countries involved. The lessons of history have shown us that no nation can achieve and maintain …

The Law Books Of The Year, Hobart R. Coffey

Michigan Law Review

The war has had its effects on the law publishing business, with the result that the output has declined in both quantity and quality. Authors are doubtless turning their minds to other things, and publishers, quite understandably; may be reluctant to launch a new work. Whatever the reason may be, the law book crop for the academic year 1942-43 is rather meagre.

Conflict Of Laws-Refugee Government Property Conservation Decrees In The Courts Of The United States, Robert D. Ulrich

Michigan Law Review

In the Feuchtwanger case, a French government decree of April 24, 1940, as amended May 10, 1940, defined as prohibited exportation of capital "the acts of allowing to remain outside of French territory, or keeping in foreign exchange or foreign currencies, or of not collecting within the territories fixed by decree or instruction of the Minister of Finance, all or part of the proceeds of the exportation of merchandise, or of the remuneration for services, as well as all or part of all proceeds or income abroad."

In May 1939, plaintiff, then a resident of France, purchased a number of …

Constitutional Law - Validity Of Rent Provisions Of Emergency Price Control Act, George T. Schilling

Michigan Law Review

The administrator of the Office of Price Administration brought an action in a federal district court to enjoin defendant from violating the rent provisions of the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942, and orders and regulations issued pursuant thereto. Defendant, by way of counterclaim, challenged the constitutionality of the act and Regulation No. 10 and sought an in junction restraining plaintiff from enforcing against her the provisions of the act, from interfering with the use and occupancy of her premises and her right to invoke the jurisdiction of the state courts, and requesting the suspension of the penal provisions of …

Constitutional Law - Interstate Commerce - Agricultural Adjustment Act, H. Marshall Peter

Michigan Law Review

Under the terms of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized, whenever it appears that the nation's wheat supply will exceed a certain amount, so to proclaim and to put into effect a marketing quota. A referendum must be conducted among the farmers, and if more than one-third oppose, the operation of the quota must be suspended. In July, 1940, the appellee was given notice of an allotment for his 1941 crop. This notice preceded his fall planting of that crop, and another notice a year later preceded its harvesting. The amendment of May 26, …

Constitutional Law - Constitutionality Of Tire Rationing, Malcolm M. Davisson

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, Price Administrator, sought to enjoin defendants from selling rubber tires and tubes to consumers without tire rationing certificates as required by the tire rationing regulations. Defendants contended that the regulations were void under the Fifth Amendment as taking of property without due process of law and without just or any compensation. Held, judgment for plaintiff. The tire rationing regulations, a proper exercise of the war powers vested by Congress in the President or some duly constituted department, agency, or officer of the federal government, are not in contravention of the prohibition of the Fifth Amendment against the taking …

Some Legal Aspects Of Guaranteed War Loans, William B. Cudlip

Michigan Law Review

Of the many innovations in the field of commercial banking since 1933, one of the most important introduced as a result of the war emergency is the "guaranteed" war loan plan which was authorized by the President under Executive Order 9112, dated March 26, 1942. Under the plan any loan made by any financing institution, including specified government agencies, to a borrower engaged in the production of war materials may be guaranteed by the War or Navy Departments or the Maritime Commission of the federal government, in those cases where the borrower is unable to obtain adequate financing without such …

Constitutional Law-Saboteurs And The Jurisdiction Of Military Commissions, George T. Schilling

Michigan Law Review

The jurisdiction of military tribunals in the United States has troubled political and legal writers since the days of the Revolution. Decided cases are not numerous. The boundaries separating military and civil jurisdiction are not precise. Observations of the plight of oppressed peoples in other lands as well as the conception of total war and the course of action necessary for survival warrant a reexamination and reappraisal of our constitutional guarantees, which were in part based upon and reflect a fear of tyrannical military rule. A pronouncement of the Supreme Court of the United States in this field is, therefore, …

Price Control - Problems Of The Over-All Ceiling - Rent Control - Rationing, Samuel D. Estep, George T. Schilling, James L. Mccrystal

Michigan Law Review

Three months after the passage of the Emergency Price Control Act a partial and selective approach to the problem of price control has been abandoned and a comprehensive over-all ceiling has been put into effect. The economic forces generated by total war have quickly proved too powerful for the limited controls originally planned. As a result, a sweeping program of governmental control over the economic life of the nation has been instituted, with consequences too complex and far-reaching to be foreseen in any detail.

Antitrust During National Emergencies: Ii, Thomas K. Fisher

Michigan Law Review

The effects of the Depressions of 1893 and 1929, the Panic of 1907, and World War I upon the enforcement and substantive content of the antitrust law were examined in the first part of this article. Because of the change in government policy toward the law as effected in the early months of the Roosevelt administration, the Depression of 1929 was divided into the years under the Hoover administration and the years under the Roosevelt administration. We have noted that during the former period only twenty-five actions were brought to enforce the law. The legislative policy of that administration in …

Antitrust During National Emergencies: I, Thomas K. Fisher

Michigan Law Review

In this article an examination will be made of the effect of previous national emergencies upon the enforcement and substantive content of the antitrust law. The extent to which the problem as presently constituted has counterparts in the past will be noted. Following the historical survey, consideration will be given to the several steps already taken to accommodate the law to the conditions of an economy in a war of world dimension. In conclusion, suggestions will be made for resolving certain aspects of the problem as yet unsatisfactorily answered. Before entering into a discussion of the past emergencies, a brief …

Labor Law - War Labor Problems And Policies, Paul M. Oberndorf, Donald H. Treadwell

Michigan Law Review

God is on the side with the most artillery. Wars in the past have been fought by armies of men. The war today is being fought by armies of machines, and ultimate victory will belong to the side which can most quickly place an overwhelming force of fighting equipment on the world battlefield. For many months the United States stood as a spectator while other nations prepared their economies to amass such a force. We are now faced with the imperative need of overtaking and passing the capacity for production of war equipment that has been built or seized by …