The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-04-03
AGAINST THE E1GHT-HoUR LAW.

In response to a query from a
country correspondent, The Herald,
short time ago, gave reasons why. a
general eight hour law was unconsti-
cision recently delivered by the Su-
preme Court of Illinois to that effect.
A law was enacted by the Illinois
legislature in June, 1873, that, mo fe-
male shall be employed in any factory
or workshop more than eight hours in
any one day, or forty-eight hours in
any one week.
The court. by Judge Magruder, de-
cided that a woman is a citizen, and
that the right of a citizen to make his
or her own contract for labor or ser
vices is part of the protection of lib
erty and property guaranteed by the
fourteenth amendment of the federal
constitution, by section 1877 of the re-
vlsed statutes of the United States,
and by the constitution of Illinois, ar
ticle >, section l. The court also de-
cided that the Statute is not within the
police powers of The legislature, for the
reason that it is not shown that it was
passed with any sanitary purpose, and
that, the occupations engaged in being
expressly lawful for women, the hours
of each day which they should devote
to such work could not be limited by
statute.
The learned Judge went beyond the
question Of the unconstitutionality of
the act because it was class legisla-
tion," and because it applied to certain
occupations and not to others, and
used the following language:
ASIDE from its partial and discrim-
mating character, this enactment is
a purely arbitrary restrictions upon the
fundamental right of the citizen to
control his or her own time and facul-
ties. 1t substitutes the judgment of
the legislature for the judgment of the
employer and employee in a matter
about which they are competent to
agree with each other. 1t assumes to
dictate to what extent the capacity to
labor may be exercised by the en-
ployee, and takes away the right of
private judgment as to the amount
and duration Of the labor to be put
Where the legislature thus under
takes to impose an unreasonable and
unnecessary burden upon any one citi-
zen or class of citizens, it transcends
the authority Entrusted to it of the
constitution, even though it imposes
the same burden upon all other citi-
zens or classes OF citizens. General
laws may be as tyrannical as partial
laws.
A distinguished writer on constitu-
tional limitations has said that general
rules may sometimes be as obnoxious
as special, if they operate to deprive
Individual citizens Of vested rights,
ans that, while every man has a right
to require that his own controversies
shall be judged by the same rules
which are applied in the controversies
of his neighbors, the whole community
is also entitled, at all times, to demand
the protection of the ancient principles
which shield private rights against ar
bitrary interference, even though such
interference may be under rule i'm
partial in its operation.
Liberty as has already been stated,
includes the right to make contracts,
as well with reference to the amount
and duration of labor to be performed
as concerning any other local matter.
Hence the right to make contracts is
an inherent, an inalienable one, and
any attempt to unreasonably abridge
it is opposed to the constitution"
1t will be seen from the foregoing
that the court took the same ground
as to the reasons why an eight hour
labor law is unconstitutional, as that