The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-28
Shorter Workddy For Women
By JOSEPHINE GOLDMARl<.
 National Consumers League.

number of hours, and discriminated against them in comparison with other women not included.
 Freedom of Contract
 In reply, Justice Hughes again pointed out that 'the liberty of contract guar anteed by the constitution is freedom from arbitrary restraint, not immunity from reasonable regulation to safeguard the public interest," Upon this point, D he continues. ''the recent decision of this court upholding other statutes limiting the hours of labor of women must be regarded as decisive.''
 1 Two such statutes were upheld by the court during the year 1914. those Of Massachusetts and Ohio. In both cases | the court based it's favorable verdict upon the first and only preceding de- cision of this characteristic well known ] Oregon 10-hour case, Muller vs. Ore I gon. decided in 1908
 1 In the Hawley case, the 54-hour law 1 of Ohio was upheld. the plaintiff having been convicted of employing a woman in a millinery establishment more than 54 hours in one week.
 | Now the court Is unable to perceive l any reason why the states power thus to | limit hours may be upheld in respect 1 to a woman in a millinery establishment, | and denied as to a chambermaid in a 1 hotel" Tt is manfectly impossible to ] say" writes Justice Hughes, 'that the mere fact that the statute of Califor- l mia provides for an eight-hour day, or a maximum of 4S hours a week. in- stead of 10 hours a day or 54 hours a | week. changes the principles at stake. l It is conceivable that the limitation of women's hours of labor might "be pushed to a wholly indefensible ex- l treme." but says the court, there is | f<,x- Tho rI, eli hapn la the limit of the req sonable exertion of protective authority has been over stepped"
 Way Open for New Laws ] Thus the protagonists of any future I acts have only to show reasonable l ground for the exercise of such protec- l tion The decision goes far beyond even 1 the widely inclusive statute in question. 1 It opens the way for a scientific study of all occupations. particularly the trades involving the use of poisons or danger l ous processes in which medical investiga- ton may we'll show that eight hours daily exposure is too great a health l risk.
 It was further urged against the Cali fornia law that 1t discriminated unfairly because its classifications were ''based on the nature of the employers busi- ness and not upon the character of the
 
 ''It is sufficient to say that the char acter of the work may largely depend upon the nature and incidents of the business in connection with which the | work is done"
 l Thus as to hotels, the court finds: Hotels as a class, are distinct estab- l lishments. The women employees In hotels are for the most part chambermaids and waitresses, and 1t cannot be said that the conditions of work are identical with those which obtain in establishments of a different character, or that it was beyond the legislative power to recognize the differences that exist"
 AS to the objection that certain other establishments, such as boarding houses, were omitted on the statute, the court says:
 The legislature is not bound in order to support the constitutional validity of it's | regulation, to extend 1t to all cases which 1 it might possibly reach If the law pre- 1 surnably hits the evil where it is most felt, it is not to be overthrown because there are other instances to which 1t might have 1 been applied"
 l In upholding the validity of the law as applied to women employed in hospitals. with the exception of graduate nurses, | the court first considered the student nun ses. For 1t appears that these per- sons. upon whom rests the burden of l immediate attendance upon. and nursing of. the patients in the hospital, are also rupils engaged in a course of study, and the propriety of legislative protection of women undergoing such course of dis | ci,line is not open to question: The court quotes at some length from the admire ble 1912 bulletin of the United States bureau of education, on tho "Edu- cational Status of Nursing" by Adelaide M. Nutting. Among others, the following 1 significant passage is given:
 1 This practical work also, is in many l of it's aspects unusually exacting and 1 fatiguing; much of it is done while stand 1 ing. bending. or lifting: much of it is doiie under pressure of time and nervous tenslpn, and to a considerable degree the physical effort which the student must make is accompanied by mental anxiety