Lincoln County record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1900-1905, 1903-05-22
EIGHT n OUR LAW uNCONSTlrU
TloHAL.
So Declared by the supreme colrt of
Appeals of New York

The following from the Nov Yor.
Sun, will interest everybody IN Ne
v.da. Ine friends OF the eigut-hou
law will see their most valuabl,
points arr to be made:
The Court of Appeals has just de
cided that the provisions of the pena
code adopted in 1897, providing tha
'any person or corporation who
contracting with the state or muni-
cipal corporation, shall require more
than eight hour work for days
abor y y is guilty of misde.
menanor," is unconstitutional and
void ou the ground that it is not a
valid exercise of the police power
vested in the legislature, because it
has no possible bearing "on the
health or security Of the employees
or on public health, and because ii
makes an arbitrary distinction be-
tween persons contracting with the
State and other men.
Judge Cullen, who writes the opin-
ion of the court, cites the decision
OF the Supreme Court of the United
States in the Gulf, Colorado and
Santa Fe Railway Company case,
where the court held that statute
of Texas authorizing costs against
railroad companies not allowed in
suits against other defendants was
unconstitutional as violating the
equal protection of the law guaran-
tsed by the fourteenth amendment
of the Federal Constitution; and be
a So cites the decision of the same
court III the Kansas City Stock Yard
Company case, where it was held
tlat a Kansas statute, providing
penalties for violation of its pro-
sions only as against certain stock
yards receiving more than specified
number of cattle per day, was un-
constitutional as in conflict with the
equal-protection clause of the four
teenth amendment.
The court also cites the recent de
cision of the Federal Supreme court
holding that the Illinois trust statut
of 1893 is unconstitutiona because
it excepts from its operation "agri
culturists or livestock dealers"
Judge Cullen says the same doc
trine has been recently sustained by
our own Court of Appeals in the
Pell case, where the court held that
an amendment of the transfer tax
l,w was unconstitutional because it
did not impose a tax on all estates
in remainder, but only upon a
limited class Of remaindermen.
Judge Cullen says "if the State
itself prosecute work, it may die
I e every detail of the service re-
' ired in its performance" but "no
such right exists where it has let out
the performance of the work to a
contractor unless it is renewed by
the contract.
This decision is undoubtedly
sound law, and it is great thing
for the country that our highest
Federal court and our highest State
court unite in the view that unrea-
sonable class discrimination or arblt
rary selection can never be justified.
An interesting fact called to mind
by this decision is that some of the
city authorities not long since alter
ed an existing contract which con-
timed no restrictions and inserted
therein upon the demand of some
labor leaders, the eight hour restric-
tive clause, there imposing a loss
upon the city of about 81, ,0OO, ,OOO
This was not uonfeusance; it was
either malfeasance or betrayal OF
the city's contract rights.
In the light of this decision OF the
Court of Appeals the question now
arises whether the person who bart
cred away the city's rights are liable
in an action for the money lost, or
whether the remedy must be sought
in some other way,