ied upon by the new
majority to sustain the statute was that the exigencies of war justified
its enactment under the necessary and proper clause.[1258]

WORLD WAR I LEGISLATION

In meeting the strain which World War I put on our national resources of
men and material, the economic activities of the people were directed or
restricted by the Government on a scale previously unparalleled. The
most sweeping measure of control was the Lever Food and Fuel Control
Act,[1259] which authorized the President to regulate by license the
importation, manufacture, storage, mining or distribution of
necessaries; to requisition foods, feeds, and fuels; to take over and
operate factories, packinghouses, pipelines, mines or other plants; to
fix a minimum price for wheat; to limit, regulate or prohibit the use of
food materials in the production of alcoholic beverages; and to fix the
price of coal and coke and to regulate the production, sale and
distribution thereof. Other statutes clothed him with power to determine
priority in car service,[1260] to license trade with the enemy and his
allies,[1261] and to take over and operate the rail and water
transportation system,[1262] and the telephonic and telegraphic
communication systems,[1263] of the country.

WORLD WAR II LEGISLATION

Several of these World War I measures were still on the statute books
when World War II broke out. Moreover, in the period of preparation
preceding the latter, Congress had enacted the Priorities Act of May 31,
1941[1264] which gave the President power to allocate any material where
necessary to facilitate the defense effort. By the Second War Powers
Act,[1265] passed early in 1942, the authority to allocate materials was
extended to facilities. These two acts furnished the statutory
foundation for the extensive system of consumer rationing administered
by the Office of Price Administration, as well as for the comprehensive
control of industrial materials and output which was exercised by the
War Production Board. Under the Emergency Price Control Act[1266] the
Office of Price Administration regulated the price of almost all
commodities, as well as the rentals for housing accommodations in scores
of defense rental areas. The War Labor Disputes Act[1267] permitted the
President to commandeer plants which were closed by strikes.

MOBILIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES

While the validity of several of the measures just reviewed was assailed
on one cons