Hugo Black

“ And our only question is whether the state's power to make the sales must be in subordination to the power of Congress to fix maximum prices in order to carry on war. For reasons to which we have already adverted, an absence of federal power to fix maximum prices for state sales or to control rents charged by a state might result in depriving Congress of ability effectively to prevent the evil of inflation at which the Act was aimed. The result would be that the Constitutional grant of the power to make war would be inadequate to accomplish its full purpose. ”

“ But here petitioner's third contention that Congress lacks authority to regulate the prices of state school-land timber extends beyond the implementing regulation and strikes at the Act itself. In order to reach this Constitutional question, we first have to decide whether the Act properly interpreted, is applicable to sales by states, including sales of timber on school-grant lands.
The Emergency Price Control Act grants to the Price Administrator broad powers to set maximum prices for commodities and rents and makes it unlawful for 'any person' to violate these maximum price regulations. ”

“ Excessive prices for rents or commodities charged by a state or its agencies would produce exactly the same conditions as would be produced were these prices charged by other persons. We, therefore, have no doubt that Congress intended the Act to apply generally to sales of commodities by states. [6]
Nor can we accept the contention that a special exemption could be read into the Act in order to permit states holding land granted for school purposes to charge more than the ceiling price set for timber. ”