The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1908-01-10
E Employers Liability
Law Unconstitutional


Last Tuesday the supreme court Of ,
the United States, through Justice
White, handed down an opinion as to
the constitutionality of the employers
liability law, enacted at the request
Of President Roosevelt by the last
congress. By a vote of five to four
the law was held to be "repugnant to
the constitution
Justice Harlan, who is pretty near
ly always right on the questions OF
interest to the common people-a1-
though he missed it in the Meyer
habeas corpus case-dissented from
the majority opinion and held that the
law was constitutional 1t is held that
the law is not in accordance with the
constitution of the United States be-
cause it "goes beyond the bounds per-
mitted in the regulation of interstate
commerce.
Following are the principal points
from Justice Whites opinion:
''The act then being addressed to all
common carriers engaged in interstate
commerce, and imposing liability
upon them in favor of any of their
employees may be engaged at the time
of the injury, of necessity includes
subjects wholly outside of the power
OF congress to regulate commerce.
Without stopping to consider the
numerous instances where, although
common carrier is engaged in inter-
state commerce such carrier may in
the nature of things transact business
lot interstate commerce, although
such local business may indirectly be
related to interstate commerce, a few
illustrations showing the operation of
the statute as to matters wholly inde-
serve to make clear the extent of the
power exerted by the statute.
Take railroad engaged in inter-
state commerce, having purely local
Take again the same road having
shops for repairs and it may be for
construction work as well as a large
accounting and clerical force and hav-
ing, it may be, storage elevators and
warehouses not to suggest besides,
the possibility of it's being engaged in
other independent enterprises. Take
telegraph company engaged in the
transmission of interstate and local
messages. Take an express company
engaged in local as well as interstate
business. Take trolley line moving
wholly within a state as to a large
part of it's business and as to the re-
n,ainder crossing the state line.
CAS- the act thus includes many sub
jects, wholly beyond the federal power
to regulate, it results that the act is
rcpugnant to the constitution and can
not be enforced unless there be merit
in the propositions advanced to show
that the statute may be saved.
$50 far as the face of the statute is
concerned, the argument is this, that
because the statute says carriers en-
gagged in commerce between the state,
etc, therefore the act should be inter
rreted as being exclusively applicable
to the interstate commerce business
ard none other of such carriers and
that the words amy employee as found
III the statute should be held to mean
any emplcye when such employe is en-
gagged only in interstate commerce.
But this would require us to write into
the statute words of limitation and re
| striction not now in it. But if we
could bring ourselvse to modify the
statute by writing in the words sug-
| gested, the result would be to restrict
the operation of the act as to the Dis
| trict of Columbia and territories.
"Of course, if it can be lawfully done,
our duty is to construct the statute so
as to render it constitutional. But this
does not imply, if the text of an act is
unambiguous that it may be rewritten
to accomplish that purpose. Equally
clear is it, generally speaking, that
where a state contains provisions
| which are constitutional and others
which are not, effect may be given to
| the legal provisions by separating
them from the Illegal. But this ap-
plies only to case where the pro:
visions are inseparable and not de-
pendent one upon the other and does
! rot support the contention that that
which is indivisible may be divided.
Moreover. the rule that case where
the legal provisions may be severed
from those which are illegal, In order
plain that congress would have en-
acted legislation with the unconstitu-
i olixairn+oa