The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1911-01-13
ALABAMA CONTRACT LABOR LAW
DECLARED UNCONSTITU-
TIONAI

washington, ID. O., Jan. 4.-Uphold-
ing the constitution and laws there
under as a safeguad to the freedom
of labor, the supreme court Of the
United States, through Justice
Hughes, declares unconstitutional the
contract labor law of Alabama.
The law provides that if a laborer
with intent to defraud entered into
contract to labor for another and
quit before money advanced under
the contract had peen repaid, he
should be guilty of misdemeanor.
The quitting was made by the law a
prima facie presumption of intent to
defraud.
The supreme court to-day held that
the law in operation furnished a con-
venient instrument for the coercion
which the constitution and an act OF
congress forbid; and that it was IAN
instrument of compulsion peculiarly
effective as against the poor and igno-
rant, its most likely victims"
The provision of the constitution
and laws designed to secure endur-
ing prosperity which depended upon
freedom Of contract, would soon be-
come a barren FORM said Justice
Hughes, eff it were possible to estab-
lish statuatory presumption of this
sort and to hold over the heads of la
borers the threat of punishment for
crime, under the name of fraud, but
merely upon evidence of failure to
work out their debts"
The question of the constitutional
ty of the law was raised in the case of
Alonzo Bailey, Negro labOrer for the
Riverside company. The law made it
misdemeanor for any person to en-
ter into a contract to labor, receive
advance pay and then fail to do the
work without refunding the money adj
vanced. The breach Of contract was
made proof on the face of things of
intent to defraud and under a rule Of
Alabama law the laborer was not per-
mitted to rebut his proof by testifying
to his uneXpressed intention at the
time of making the contract.
Bailey made a contract to labor as
a farm hand for one year. received
$15 advanced pay, to be returned at
the rate of 1925 a month during his
service, bat quit work after a month
and a few days He was arrested.
convicted and assessed a fine of twice
the amount Of the advanced pay, one
half of which was to go to his former
employer and one-half to the state
When this case came to the supreme
court, the department OF justice was
allowed to participate in the argu-
ments las a friend of the court,
claiming that the thirteenth amend
ment to the constitution was violated
by the law in question. The supreme
court of Alabama had upheld the con-
stitutionality of the law. Justice
Hughes, who announced the opinion
of the court, said Nne court at the
outset dismissed the point that Bailey
was a black man, because there was
nothing in the statute that disclosed
a discrimination against Negroes. He
said the case had been considered in
the same light as if it had original
ed in New York or Idaho.
The court held that so far as Bailey
was concerned, the law as it stands,
was the sam. "a if il made breach If
such a contract a m.sdemeanor with
cut saying anything about intent to
defraud \ argue otherwise, was
was characterized by Justice Hughes
as making a distinction where there
was no difference.
Furthermore, it was held that
state could not reduce a person to
involuntary servitude by the indirect
method of considering his failure to
pay a debt q crime.-Tbe TrddeSmdn
Daily Bulletin
DR.. j. T. WILSON, OF MEHARRY,
THE PRINCIPAL FIGURE AT
OPENING OF INEIRMARN