The record-union., 1896-04-19

SAN FRANCISCO, April 1S.-The
Supreme Court yesterday declared un-
constitutional the Act of the last Legis-
lature requiring all barber shops to
close at II o'clock noon on Sundays and
holidays. a test case was made by the
arrest of Leo Jentsch, who was con-
victed in the lower court of misde-
meanor. Jentsch applied for writ OF
habeas corpus. The Supreme Court has
now granted the writ and ordered the
prisoner discharged from custody.
The finding of the appellate court
was supported by an opinion in which
the law was severely criticised. The
opinion was written by Justice Hen
shaw and all the members of the court
concurred.
1t appears from the opinion that the
/ law in question is known as Section
31Ol2 of the Penal Code. The objections
as to constitutionality were quite nu-
merous 1t was first urged that the Act
violated Article l., Section / of the Con-
stitution, in that il took from the citi-
zen his inalienable rights to earn
money by honest labor A second OBJ
lection was that the Act violated Arti-
Gle l., Section l, in that it granted spe-
cial privileges and immunities to all
classes of citizens except BARRIERS. There
was further objection that the Act
was special legislation.
On all points the Supreme Court
found against the law. The court did
not agree in the contention that the
passage of the law was within the po-
lice power of the Legislature Such
could not be the law, said the opinion.
because the Act took from q class of
citizens a constitutional right A law
restricting the hours of labor of bar
bers was declared to be no less unrea-
sonable than would be a statute for
bidding citizens to eat bread before it
was at least twenty-four hours old
Discussing other points involved the
court sad
1t is not easy to see where and how
/ this law protects labor from the unjust
eXactions of capital. A mans con-
stitutional liberty means more than his
personal freedom. 1t means, with MANY
other rights, his right freely to labor
and to own the fruits of his toll 1t
is a curious law for the protection of
labor which Furnishes the laborer for
working. Yet that is precisely what
this law does. The laboring barber, en-
gagged in most respectable, useful and
NiNeiiiiS pun suit, 10 SlilSleu out from the
thousands of his fellows in other en-
ployments and told that willy nilly, he
shall not work upon holidays and Sun.
days after Il o'clock noon His wishes.
tastes or necessities are not consulted.
If he labors, he is a criminal Such pro-
lection to labor, carried a little further.
would send him from the jail to the
poorhouse
fhn
eye was so keen to discern the needs of
the oppressed barber and yet was blind
to his toiling brethren in other voca-
tions? Steam-car and street-car op-
eratives toll through long and weary
Sunday hours; so do mill and factory
bands. There is no Sunday period of
rest and no protection for the over
worked employees of the daily papers.
Do these not need rest and protection?
The bare suggestion of these consider
ations shows the injustice and in
equality of this law.
In brief, whether or not a general
law to promote rest from labor in all
business vocations may be upheld as
within the due exercise of the poIice
power, law such as this certainly can
not. law is not always general be-
cause 1T operates upon all within a
class. There must be back of that a
substantial reason why it is made TO
operate only on a class and not general
upon all. But in a law s,,ob &c
this no reason has or can be shown
why the followers of one useful and nm
Objectionable employment should be de-
barred from the right to labor on cer-
tain days and no others When any
one such class is singled out and nut
under the criminal ban of law such
as this the law not only is special, un-
just and unreasonable in it's operation.
but marks an invasion of individual lib-
erty, the liberty of free labor, which if
pretends to protect
The effect of the decision is to declare
that barber shops can keep open on
Sundays and holidays just as long as
on any other day. Early closing can
only be brought about by a general law
affecting all classes of business alike