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Laws affecting industry and labor and agriculture constitute themost important phase of congressional activity. In 1933, suddenly,with little or no consideration in the great disorder and fever ofthe collapse, Congress passed the National Recovery Act. That actauthorized the President to bring about a complete and comprehensiveorganization of industry and to make rules and regulationsgoverning every phase of its activities. Under practically everycategory of industry and finance the entire nation was organizedinto what the Italians would call "corporatives"; what we calledcode authorities. These code authorities, under the authority of thePresident, were empowered to make rules, to regulate production,prices, distribution, competition in all its phases. These regulationshad the force of law and under them men could be haled into courton civil and criminal liabilities. Some men were actually jailed forviolating them. It is, I think, a fair statement that the President,under the NRA, exercised the right to make laws over at least half,if not more, of the domain within which Congress ordinarily legislates.The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, declared thislaw unconstitutional and based its opinion entirely on the propositionthat Congress had delegated its legislative power to the President,who in turn had delegated it to the code authorities. It was anabdication by Congress, said the Court. If there was any part of thelegislative power over economic life that remained undelegated,Congress effectively turned that over to the A A A, which was alsodeclared unconstitutional, and to several other bureaus that escapejudicial annulment because Congress had divested itself of its powersin somewhat more artful language.Of course the NRA decision has not put an end to this practice.On the contrary, it has grown. The delegations have been cloakedin seemingly constitutional language. Senator O'Mahoney said recentlythat in the last ten years the executive branch has adoptedand proclaimed from no order-issuing agencies over 4,000 executiveorders with the force of law, and that this was as many asCongress itself had passed in that time.The Constitution declares that the President "shall have power byand with the advice and consent of the Senate to make treaties, providedtwo-thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall248