Powers of the President during crises

by J. Malcolm Smith; Cornelius P. Cotter

Negative Integration

It has become an axiom of democratic government that in time of emergency threatening the health or safety of the community or the territorial integrity of the nation, the objective of communal survival takes precedence over the desires and conveniences of the individual. The energies, wealth, talents of individuals may be conscripted in the national interest. Democratic governments also have asserted the right to constrict the range of permissible activities of individuals whose freedom, if unlimited, is calculated to exacerbate the emergency. Such limitations may apply to the population generally or to defined segments of it. The intensity of such limitations may be measured on a continuum ranging from precautionary detention to the relatively mild requirement that persons in defined categories register with the government.

Preventive Detention: At an early date Congress, with judicial approval, exercised the power to apprehend and detain all enemy aliens. On December 7, 1941, President Roosevelt issued the first of ten wartime proclamations founded upon Congressional enactments of 1798 and 1918, imposing limitations upon the activities of enemy aliens, and specifically announcing that “All aliens shall be liable to restraint, or to give security,”[181] and that dangerous aliens might be subjected to arrest and confinement. In two statutes enacted in 1952, Congress reiterated its desire that illegal entrants be apprehended and detained pending deportation. These statutes provided for the search of vessels and arrest of persons seeking to enter the United States illegally,[182] and authorized the establishment of necessary detention facilities to hold those arrested.[183]

It is well known that in World War II persons of Japanese ancestry, including even those possessed of American citizenship, were subjected to preventive detention.[184] Presidential exercise of this form of restraint is now sanctioned on a standby basis. Title II of the Internal Security Act of 1950 empowers the President in time of “Internal Security Emergency” to order the apprehension and detention of persons “as to whom there is reasonable ground to believe that,” if free, they “will engage in, or probably will conspire with others to engage in, acts of espionage or of sabotage.”[185] The President may declare a state of internal security emergency upon the invasion of the United States or any of its territories or possessions, the declaration of war by Congress, or insurrection within the United States in aid of a foreign enemy.

Access to the U.S. and U.S. Citizenship: Closely related to the detention of enemy aliens or others whose liberty is perceived to endanger the security of the state is the control of access to the United States and the acquisition of United States citizenship. By Act of June 20, 1941[186] Congress instructed American diplomatic and consular officers to refuse visas or entry permits to aliens believed seeking entry into the United States for the purpose of engaging in activities which would endanger the public safety. The following day Congress granted the President power during the existing national emergency to place restrictions and prohibitions in addition to those already provided by law upon the departure of persons from and their entry into the United States.[187] In proclamations of July and September 1945 and April 1946, President Truman ordered the deportation of enemy aliens resident in the United States without admission under the immigration laws, or enemy aliens deemed dangerous to the public peace and safety of the United States.[188]

In an earlier statute Congress excluded from admission to the United States persons who have departed from the jurisdiction of the United States for the purpose of evading or avoiding training or service in the armed forces of the United States during time of war or during a period declared by the President to be a period of national emergency. Among the myriad restrictions of the Internal Security Act of 1950 are to be found additional categories of aliens ineligible for entry into the United States, principally aliens who at any time have been members of the Communist or other totalitarian party of any state of the United States, of any foreign state, or of any political or geographical subdivision of any foreign state, and aliens who advocate the economic, international, and governmental doctrines of world communism or of any form of totalitarianism.[189]

Naturalization is refused or citizenship withdrawn from persons falling into classifications created by a security-conscious Congress. The Nationality Act of 1940[190] restricted the eligibility of alien enemies for nationalization to those whose declaration of intention was made not less than two years prior to the beginning of the state of war and specified that enemy aliens were eligible for apprehension and removal at any time previous to actual naturalization. Section 25 of the Internal Security Act amends the Nationality Act of 1940 to make ineligible for naturalization persons subscribing to or giving evidence of subscribing to anarchist, communist, or any totalitarian movement or body of sentiment. Those who within the ten years next preceding the filing of naturalization petitions, or in the period between such filing and the time of taking the final oath of citizenship, have been members of, or affiliated with, communist-front organizations registered under the Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950, must rebut a presumption that they are persons not attached to the principles of the Constitution and thus ineligible for citizenship.[191]

Congress has devised appropriate means for handling the cases of persons seeking to renounce American citizenship. To facilitate the surrender of United States citizenship by persons of Japanese ancestry, Congress in July, 1944, specified that with the permission of the Attorney General, and when the United States is at war, citizens may accomplish expatriation by the simple act of making in the United States a formal written renunciation of nationality in such form as may be prescribed by, and before an officer designated by the Attorney General.[192] The assumption that persons departing from or remaining outside of the jurisdiction of the United States in time of war for the purpose of evading or avoiding military service renounce their American citizenship was created by an Act of Congress in September, 1944.[193]

President Roosevelt by proclamation of July 1941 provided for establishment of “The Proclaimed List of Certain Blocked Nationals” to be published in the Federal Register. The list was to contain the names of those persons deemed to be, or to have been, acting on behalf of the interests of Germany and Italy. Any material or article exported from the United States through the efforts of German and Italian “blocked nationals” was declared to be detrimental to the interest of national defense in the United States.[194] The Secretary of State, acting in conjunction with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of Export Control, and the Coordinator of Commercial and Cultural Relations between the American Republics was required to prepare the list.[195]

Persons naturalized after January 1, 1951 created a prima facie case that they were not attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States at the time of naturalization, if within five years after naturalization they joined as a member or affiliated with any organization, attachment to which would have precluded or hindered naturalization in the first place. The unwary risked cancellation of his citizenship for fraud if found to be connected with an organization whose goals and objectives were directed against the United States. This is one of the Internal Security Act provisions[196] designed to exclude communists from naturalization. The Expatriation Act of 1954 provides for the loss of nationality of persons (whether natural born or naturalized citizens) convicted by a court or court martial of committing treason against the United States, or engaging in a conspiracy to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them.[197]

Circumscribing Movement of Persons: The area of permissible mobility is narrowed for all persons in time of war or emergency. The population generally is excluded from specified security areas. By Act of January, 1938,[198] Congress authorized the President to define certain vital military and naval installations or equipment and made it unlawful to photograph or sketch such installations without proper authority. This obviously limits access to and activity in areas adjacent to such equipment. A 1950 amendment to the Civil Aeronautics Act, for example, empowered the Secretary of Commerce, after consultation with the Department of Defense and the Civil Aeronautics Board, to define zones or areas in the airspace above the United States, its Territories, and possessions as he may find necessary in the interests of national security. The Secretary is also given authority to prohibit or restrict flights of aircraft which he cannot effectively identify, locate, and control in those areas.[199] Selected groups of persons, generally enemy aliens, may be prohibited from entering or remaining in certain areas of the country. Proclamation No. 2525, December 7, 1941,[200] forbade the presence of alien Japanese in the Canal Zone, and restricted their entry into, or departure from, Hawaii, the Philippine Islands, and the United States, and provided for their exclusion from designated areas. Of maximum severity were limitations on mobility beyond the limits of a community, or confinement in a camp or cell. The movement to restrict travel by Americans dates from the 1935 endeavor of the American Congress to avoid American involvement in any future conflict. Section 6 of the Neutrality Act of 1935[201] empowered the President to prohibit or regulate travel by American citizens as passengers on the vessels of any belligerents in a war in which the United States was a neutral. Individuals travelling in violation of orders did so at their own risk.

Two months after passage of the Neutrality Act, in October 1935, President Roosevelt issued Proclamation No. 2142, applying Section 6 to the Ethiopian conflict, and ordering American citizens to refrain from traveling as passengers on vessels of either belligerent. The May 1937 amendments to the Neutrality Act[202] strengthened this provision by making it unlawful for any United States citizen to travel on belligerent vessels in contravention of the President’s prohibition or regulation of such travel. In 1939 these provisions were broadened to include any American travelling on such a vessel as a member of its crew,[203] and to prohibit American ships from carrying goods or passengers to belligerent ports[204] or combat areas.

President Roosevelt’s Neutrality Proclamation of September 5, 1939, among other things, prohibited Americans from accepting commissions with belligerents, or enlisting in the service of a belligerent. Hiring persons to enlist, or going beyond the jurisdiction of the United States with the intent to join belligerent forces, were also prohibited.[205]

By Act of March 28, 1940,[206] Congress extended application of an earlier prohibition[207] on unauthorized entry on military reservations to the outlying possessions of the United States. A year later it granted the Secretaries of War and Navy, jointly or singly, power to define areas within such reasonable distance of any military or naval camp or station in which prostitution would be prohibited by federal law.

By Proclamation of December 27, 1941 President Roosevelt established the Hawaiian Maritime Control Area, and regulated entry, radio calls, visual communications, and traffic in that area. Naval authorities were granted power to establish supplementary regulation.[208] Subsequently, the President established Maritime Control Areas for Cristobal and the Gulf of Panama,[209] Boston,[210] San Francisco, Columbia River, Puget Sound, Southeastern Alaska, and other areas.[211] On May 20, 1942, invoking his powers as Commander-in-Chief, the President established the Padre Island Sea Range Area, and imposed regulations controlling entry to an activity in that area. The next day he signed into law an enactment providing a maximum penalty of $5,000 fine and one year imprisonment for knowingly violating restrictions established by the President, the Secretary of War, or military commanders designated by him, on entering, remaining in, leaving, or committing proscribed acts in military areas or zones.[212]

The areas thus far described were defined principally for exclusionary purposes. It is not unusual to define areas with a view to confining therein specific persons or categories of persons. Invoking a 1909 statute, the President on September 5, 1939 made it illegal for interned members of the armed forces of belligerent nations to leave the jurisdiction of the United States, or the limits of their internment, without permission.[213] In a later proclamation the President stipulated that no alien would be permitted to depart from the United States if the Secretary of State were satisfied that the alien’s departure would be prejudicial to the interests of the United States.[214]

Section 6 of the Internal Security Act of 1950 makes it illegal for members of an organization which has registered under the Act as a communist organization or has been ordered to do so by the Subversive Activities Control Board, to apply for a passport, or to use or attempt to use a passport. It is also an offense for a federal officer knowingly to issue a passport to such a person. The Immigration and Nationality Act also empowers the President, in time of war or national emergency, to impose restrictions and prohibitions upon the departure of persons from the United States.[215]

Registration: The requirement that specified categories of individuals register, in consequence of their backgrounds, associations, or activities, or as a result of possession of certain articles, becomes increasingly familiar in the United States. Legislative motivation in requiring such registration may be varied and complex. The registration provision invariably provides the basis for defining new crimes and therefore opportunity to prosecute persons whose backgrounds, activities and beliefs are anathema to powerful groups in the nation. Combined with periodic reporting, registration may act as a deterrent to the commission of certain acts considered socially or politically undesirable. It may simply facilitate the informative function of government, enabling authorities to become aware of and continuously check upon the activities of selected groups of persons affecting the public interest. Or, registration may serve as a mild, yet nonetheless effective, restraint upon the freedom of individuals. Certainly, for example, it is an essential prerequisite to paroling enemy aliens in time of war, although its usefulness is not limited to wartime only.

The decade prior to the Second World War is popularly, and accurately, perceived as one of sustained economic emergency. During the second half of this decade the Congress frequently was preoccupied with the need for legislation designed to protect the United States from involvement in another world war. The Neutrality Act of 1935[216] referred to above contained a registration feature. Under the terms of that Act, every person engaged in the business of manufacturing, exporting, or importing any arms, ammunition, and implements of war was required to register within ninety days of entering such a business. Such individuals or firms had to provide the Secretary of State with a $500 registration fee, and information including personal or business name, principal place of business, places of business in the United States, and a list of the arms, ammunition and other implements of war which they handled. They were also required to inform the Secretary of State of any changes, and had to keep permanent records of business transactions which were subject to the scrutiny of the National Munitions Control Board.[217] The registration provision was retained in the May 1937 amendment to the Neutrality Act with very little change.[218]

In June 1938 Congress chose to compel registration of persons employed by agencies to disseminate propaganda in the United States.[219] Every person then acting as an agent for a foreign principal was given thirty days after the Act went into effect to register with the Secretary of State. His registration statement, under oath, required the agent’s name and address, the name and address of his principal, and a copy of the contract or oral agreement covering the agent’s services, including compensation. The agent was also to file a copy of the charter as well as a statement of the objectives of the organization employing him.[220] The term “agent of a foreign principal” was rather broad and included any person who acted or engaged or agreed to act as a public-relations counsel or publicity agent for a foreign principal or for any domestic organization subsidized directly or indirectly in whole or in part by a foreign principal.[221] New information statements were to be filed each six months. Failure to file and the making of false statements were punishable by a maximum of $1,000 fine and two years’ imprisonment.[222]

Six months prior to Pearl Harbor, Congress enacted the Alien Registration Act, requiring all aliens fourteen years of age or older and remaining in the United States for thirty days or more, to apply for registration and be fingerprinted at post offices and other places to be designated by the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization. Parents must register for aliens under fourteen.[223] Alien registrants who were residents of the United States were required to notify the Commissioner in writing of each change of residence and new address within five days from the date of such change. All others were to notify him of their addresses at the expiration of each three months’ period of residence in the United States.[224] And by Proclamation No. 2537, January 14, 1942,[225] the President ordered all alien enemies within the continental United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands to apply for and acquire certificates of identification.

In the Spring of 1942 the Foreign Agents Registration Act was adapted to changed conditions. Congress announced its purpose to protect the national defense, internal security, and foreign relations of the United States by requiring public disclosure by persons engaging in propaganda activities and other activities. Anyone acting for or on behalf of a foreign government, foreign political party or other foreign principal would be identified and the Government and the American people would be in a better position to appraise their statements and actions in the light of their associations and activities.[226] In addition to elaborating the definition of a foreign principal, the Act specified numerous exemptions from its registration provisions. Agents whose foreign principals were governments, the defense of which was deemed by the President to be vital to the defense of the United States, were not required to register provided their activities were not intended to conflict with any of the domestic or foreign policies of the Government of the United States.[227]

A related statute of October, 1940 also compelled certain groups to register with the Attorney General.[228] Four categories of organizations were required to register: (1) Organizations subject to foreign control and engaging in political activity, (2) Organizations engaging both in civilian-military activity and in political activity, (3) Those subject to foreign control and engaging in civilian-military activity, and (4) Any organization one of whose aims was the overthrow of a government or subdivision thereof by force or violence.[229] By political activity Congress had reference to activity aimed at the control by force or overthrow of the Government of the United States or any of its subdivisions.[230] An organization, according to the statute, was engaged in civilian-military activity if it gave or received instruction in the use of firearms or other weapons, or participated, with or without arms, in military maneuvers, drills or parades of a military or naval character. And an organization was deemed subject to foreign control if its financial support was derived directly or indirectly from a foreign government, or if its policy was determined by, or at the suggestion of, or in collaboration with, a foreign government.[231]

The registration statements were to contain the name and address of the organization, the names of officers and contributors, the qualifications for membership, organizational aims, assets, income, and activities. Violation of the Act might entail a fine of $10,000 and five years’ imprisonment.

The Internal Security Act of 1950 contains provisions similar to the older wartime law. Briefly stated, the Act defines “communist-action” and “communist-front” organizations, which together comprise a class of communist organizations.[232] Such organizations are compelled to register with the Attorney General, filing, in the case of communist-front organizations, a list of officers at time of registration and in the preceding twelve months; and, in the case of communist-action organizations, a list of officers and members for the preceding twelve months.[233] A complete financial accounting is required and current information must be supplied in annual reports.

In July 1954 Congress amended the reporting provision to require a listing, in such form and detail as the Attorney General might prescribe, of all printing presses and machines used or intended to be used by a communist-action or communist-front organization. The statute went so far as to require registration of any printing machine used by an organization in which the communists or affiliates had an interest.[234] Adequate procedural protection and provision for judicial review is afforded those charged with failure to register.[235]

The Communist Control Act of 1954 amplified the Internal Security Act. It purports to be an Act to outlaw the Communist Party and to prohibit members of communist organizations from serving in certain representative capacities, and for other purposes. Despite its title, the Act does not outlaw the Communist Party in the sense of making membership in it illegal and proscribing its existence. It simply deprives the Communist Party of certain rights, privileges and immunities attendant upon legal bodies created under the jurisdiction of the laws of the United States or any political subdivision thereof.[236] The Act then defines a new species within the genus communist organization.[237] In effect it amends the Internal Security Act by setting up the trilogy; communist-action, communist-front, and communist-infiltrated organizations. And communist-infiltrated organizations—a euphemism for communist dominated trade unions must register.[238] Such organizations are ineligible to act as collective bargaining representatives and are deprived of access to the National Labor Relations Board.[239]

The Act makes it illegal for any member of a communist organization, which either has registered with the Attorney General or been ordered to register by the Subversive Activities Control Board, “to hold office or employment with any labor organization, ... or to represent any employer in any matter proceeding arising or pending under the National Labor Relations Act.”[240]

Freedom of Association: The Communist Control Act of 1954 and the registration provisions of the Internal Security Act might well have been subsumed under the classification freedom of association. Both have grave implications for the freedom of individuals to associate at will and according to conscience with political and economic groups. And similarly far-reaching in implication for this traditional freedom are those provisions which, going one step further than stipulating disqualifications for office-holding in representative associations, prohibit the creation of an employer-employee relationship, or facilitate the disruption of such relationships where they already exist.

The wheel has taken a full turn since the American Congress in 1937 repealed a District of Columbia Appropriation Act provision that no part of any appropriation for the public schools would be available for the payment of the salary of any person teaching or advocating communism.[241] Today, of course, the trend is toward maximizing the political disqualifications for public and private employment. This trend can be traced from the pre-war efforts of the Congress to prevent penetration of defense industries and government agencies by subversives.

We look first to legal efforts to exclude persons conceived to be subversive from private employment, and then survey the statutes governing public employment. The Defense Production Act of June 21, 1940,[242] for example, imposed the rule that aliens working for a defense contractor whose contract involved access to classified information were ineligible to work for the contractor. If, however, the head of the government agency for whom secret work was being performed gave the contractor written consent to use aliens, the contractor was free to do so.

Attempting to insure that employment opportunities created by the induction of young men into the service did not accrue to members of groups then opposing the American defense effort, Congress, in enacting the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, stipulated that whenever a vacancy was caused in the employment rolls of any business or industry by reason of an employee’s induction into the Armed Services of the United States, the vacancy could not be filled by any person then a member of the Communist Party or the German-American Bund.[243] Ten days after Pearl Harbor, restraints were placed on the liberty of maritime employers to hire radio operators for service on American flag vessels. For the duration of war emergency it became unlawful to employ any person to serve as radio operator aboard any vessel (other than a vessel of foreign registry) if the Secretary of the Navy (1) had disapproved such employment for any specified voyage, route, or area of operation, and (2) had notified the master of the vessel of such disapproval prior to the vessel’s departure.[244]

Since the war, no less significant prohibitions have been placed on public or private employment of members of communist organizations. The effect thereof will be determined by the success of the Subversive Activities Control Board in compelling the registration of such groups. Section 5 of the Internal Security Act of 1950 makes it illegal for members of registered communist organizations to conceal or fail to disclose such membership in seeking or accepting any employment in any defense facility, as defined and listed by the Secretary of Defense. This provision was extended to make illegal defense employment for members of registered “Communist action” groups.[245]

It may be noted that the Butler Bill of April 1955 would have empowered the President to establish procedures for screening any person in defense employment “as to whom there is reasonable cause to believe may engage in sabotage, espionage, or other subversive acts.” This process of screening also would be applied to firms seeking or holding defense contracts. Thus, increasingly access of private firms to government contracts as well as access of individuals to jobs under such contracts, which today may be the staff of life, is being restricted. Contributing to this trend is the provision in the Rubber Producing Facilities Disposal Act of 1953 that purchase proposals shall not be accepted from any person who has not identified his principal, or is not financially responsible, or is a poor security risk.[246]

Freedom of employees to strike defense industries or to engage in so-called emergency strikes has on occasion been severely limited. The War Labor Disputes Act of 1943 required that the government be given notice of labor disputes, and that production continue for a period of thirty days after notice of intention to strike. A secret ballot of employees had to be conducted prior to calling a strike.[247] The President was granted ultimate power to seize plants if necessary to avoid interruption of war production occasioned by labor disputes, and interference with government operation of such plants was made illegal.[248] The plants were to be operated under the terms and conditions of employment which were in effect at the time possession was taken by the government.[249]

In the post-war Labor-Management Relations Act a national emergency strike is defined as one imperiling “the national health or safety.”[250] When, in the opinion of the President, a threatened or existing strike or lockout affecting an entire industry or a substantial part thereof imperils the national health or safety, he may appoint a board of inquiry to inquire into the issues involved in the dispute and to make a written report to him within such time as he shall prescribe.[251] When the President has received a report from a board of inquiry, he may direct the Attorney General to petition any district court of the United States having jurisdiction of the parties to enjoin such strike or lockout or its continuance, and if the court finds that a threatened or actual strike or lockout (1) affects an entire industry or a substantial part thereof engaged in trade, commerce, transportation, transmission, or engaged in the production of goods for commerce; and (2) if permitted to occur or to continue, will imperil the national health or safety, it shall have jurisdiction to enjoin any such strike or lockout.[252]

The President will be advised of such a strike or lockout sufficiently in advance of its occurrence because Section 8 (d) of the Act requires 60 days’ written notice of termination or modification of a collective bargaining contract, and notification of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and equivalent state or territorial services within thirty days after such notice of the existence of a dispute.[253]

Looking to restrictions upon federal employment, it is convenient to begin with 1940, the year in which, in an effort to expedite the strengthening of the national defense, Congress gave the Secretary of War limited power to remove army civil service employees for security reasons. The Secretary might remove from the classified civil service of the United States any employee of the Military Establishment forthwith if he found that such person had been guilty of conduct inimical to the public interest in the defense program of the United States, and if the person terminated had received notice of the charges.[254] Discharged employees were given the opportunity within thirty days of removal to answer charges in writing and to submit affidavits in support of written answers.[255]

Great discretion was permitted the civilian heads of the armed services in promoting or demoting regular officers during wartime, and as early as July 29, 1941 the President signed a Joint Resolution giving the Secretary of War power during the time of the national emergency to remove any officer from the active list of the Regular Army. The only restriction on the exercise of this power was that a comparison of the officer’s performance-of-duty record with those of his fellow officers would be made. But retention in or dismissal from the active list, of any officer, ultimately could be determined by the Secretary,[256] even though affected officers were guaranteed a hearing before a board of not less than five general officers prior to separation.[257] Supplementing this was the provision that no payment could be made from money appropriated in the Act to any officer on the retired list of the Army who, for himself or for others, was engaged in the selling or the sale of any war materials or supplies either to the Army or the War Department.[258]

Since 1950 it has become common practice for the Congress to attach to appropriation bills the provision that no salary or wages will be paid from any appropriation to an individual who either asserts the right to strike against the Government or belongs to an employees’ organization asserting this right. And no monies will be paid to an individual who advocates or is a member of an organization that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States.[259] The Defense Production Act of 1950 contained this type of provision.[260] It further provided that an affidavit shall be prima facie evidence that the person making it has acted contrary to the statute.[261] Agencies also have been delegated broad power to suspend employees deemed security risks. An August, 1950 statute permitted the heads of the State, Commerce, Defense, Justice, and Treasury Departments, the Secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force, and others, in their absolute discretion and when deemed necessary in the interest of the national security, to suspend, without pay, any civilian official or employee.[262] Following notice and an opportunity to the suspended employee to submit statements and affidavits, and after investigation and review by the employing agency, his employment might be terminated as necessary or advisable in the interest of the national security. Since the employee is informed of the reasons for his suspension only to the extent that such agency head determines that the interests of the national security permit, he may encounter difficulty in formulating his defense.

Interestingly enough while military emergency may be assigned as justifiable for banning or terminating employment of persons on the basis of their political affiliations, Congress has recognized that other kinds of emergency may require temporary suspension of such disqualifications to federal employment. The Department of Interior Appropriation Act of 1948 provided that in cases of emergency, caused by fire, flood, storm, act of God, or sabotage, persons might be employed for periods of not more than thirty days and be paid salaries and wages without the necessity of inquiring into their membership in any organization.

Traditional Procedural Rights of Individuals: Whether justifiable or not, in time of crisis encroachment upon the traditional rights and privileges of individuals invariably has been recorded. The Compulsory Testimony Act of August, 1954[263] may be an example of such legislation. It enables Congressional Committees in a limited number of instances to solicit the courts in compelling testimony from recalcitrant witnesses who have invoked their constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. Suspension of this constitutional safeguard is achieved by the immunity from prosecution accorded the witness under the terms of this measure. As to the scope of the immunity therein afforded, it is not in excess of that granted in laws previously enacted, notably the following: Interstate Commerce Act, Sherman Anti-Trust Act, Securities Exchange Act, Communications Act, National Labor Relations Act, Motor Carrier Act, Federal Power Act, Public Utility Holding Company Act, Industrial Alcohol Act, Merchant Marine Act, Bituminous Coal Act, Natural Gas Act, Civil Aeronautics Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, Social Security Act, Investment Company Act, Investment Advisers Act, Second War Powers Act, and Emergency Price Control Act, 1942. See a more extended listing in Shapiro v. U.S.[264]

Emergency entails restraints upon the freedom of individuals to manipulate their property and to act as they please. Not only does the government, as has been noted, seize factories and mines, but can compel acceptance of government orders.

Chapter V
GOVERNMENTAL ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY

In recent years the federal government has set up programs for the acquisition or disposition of productive facilities and natural resources. These programs have had various objectives, as for example the acquisition in conjunction with its parity payments policy of surplus agricultural commodities. Later acquisition programs, justified in terms of national defense, include the following: stockpiling of strategic raw materials; acquisition of land and equipment for military sites and for federally-owned productive facilities; the lending or leasing of federally-owned productive equipment to private producers; and the acquisition of plants and raw and finished materials incidental to enforcement of emergency control programs.