The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1906-08-10
HOT DECISION
ON LABOR LAW
Statute Restricting Work Of Women
and Children Knocked Out.
JUDGE GROWS SARCASTIC
Declares New York Statute is an I'm
warranted Invasion of Con5titu-
tiOnal Rights.

The state law of New York restrict.
Ing the labor of women and children
to ten hours day and sixty hours
week in factory, was declared Fri
day by Justice Olmstead in a decis-
ion handed down in the court of spe-
c1aI sessions in New York city to be
an unwarranted invasion of consti-
tutional rights"
The ruling was concurred in by
Jstice Mexican and Justice Deuel.
Judge Olmstead declared that the law
was class legislation,
Justice Olmstead said in his decis.
ion:
ITO labor and employ labor are
inherent and inalienable rights of om
citizens, and cannot be taken away
in whole or in part unless upon the
broad ground of public good, which
must be apparent, and cannot be pred
icated upon legislative dictum.
1t may be stated as a well settled
legal proposition that the right to
labor and contract for that labor is
both liberty and property right;
when therefore the legislature enacts
statute such as that under consid-
Grafton it must be admitted that it
has infringed in the enactment the
rights which are very clearly accord
ed by the constitution to the individ-
ual citizen.
"The people,, therefore, are called
upon to justify this invasion, and
there is but one plea in justification;
that the statute was enacted to pro-
tect the comfort, welfare and safety
of the whole people, and the individ-
ual must suffer this curtailment of his
granted rights in the interest of the
common good.
I'm the case under consideration
the right of the employed and the
right Of the employer are equally in
volved. Nothing to the contrary ap-
pearing it must be assumed that the
woman was a willing worker for a
willing employer and that the result
was mutually satisfactory and profit
able.
THE. present constitution of the
state Of New York was adopted in
1894, and became effective January l.,
1895. All Of the rights which adult
women possessed at that time we're
confirmed by that document. One Of
those rights certainly was the right
to contract for her labor and to work
when and where she pleased without
reference to the position of the hands
of the dial of the clock.
1T was not until four years after
that the lawmaking power sought to
place the limitation under considera-
ton upo nthem. What was the leg
islatiye intent in doing this? The at
torney general finds and urges no
other reason than that the general
welfare Of the state demands that
the progeny of women Of the factories
have mothers with healthy bodieas
to the end that the state may have
sturdy citizens. Does the state look
merely to the children of the factory
women for its future good citizens?
why should not the housewife, the
woman who tolls at nome, in mercan-
tile houses, in Offices, or she who
tolls not at all-the society woman
he exempt from legislative interfer-
ence. injunctive or mandatory, for the
same reason? Some Of them may be
mothers of future citizens, and it
should be of great interest to the
state that their progeny should have
birth and breeding to conserve its
welfare"