The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1916-04-04
WALLACE UPHELD
BY THATCHER


rara Marble company asked Labor
hour law for mining applied to quar-
rying and the question was submitted
by Mr.. Wallace to Attorney-General
Thatcher for an opinion. The opinion,
which sustains the stand taken by the
labor commissioner, is as follows:
Carson, March 80, 1916.
Hon. w. E. Wallace, Labor Commits
sioner, Carson City, New.
Dear Sir: / am in receipt of your
verbal request as to whether the eight
hour law applies to men working in
marble quarries.
Section 6557 of the Revised Laws of
Nevada 1912, provides as follows:
"'The period of employment of work
ing men in open-pit and open-eut mines
shall not exceed eight hours in any
twenty-four hours, except in cases
where life or property is in imminent
danger.
The question involved is whether
marble quarry is an open-pit or open
cut mine.
In 27 CYC at page 531 is found the
following:
"The primary meaning of the word
mine, standing alone, is an under
ground excavation made for the pur-
pose of getting minerals; a pit or ex-
cavation in the earth from which met
allie ores or other mineral substances
are taken by digging. 1t is also ex-
tended to a quarry or place where any
thing is dug" )"
Again on page J32 of the same vol
ume of CYC we find the following;
" Mineral is not confined to metals
only, but primarily means all sub
stances other than the agricultural
surface of the ground-sueh as stone
or clay"
In the ease of Hendler VS.. Lehigh
Valley r. r. Co., 209 Pa. st. Rep, 260,
the court held that marble was a min
eral. Also in the case of Ruttledge vs..
Kress, II Pa, Supr. CT. Rep, 100, the
superior court held that building stone
was a mineral within the statute. The
reasoning in these eases is to the eff
feet that substances valuable for
building purposes ar minerals.
Under the laws Of the United States
land chiefly valuable for building
stone is permitted to be located as
placer claims, and this would indicate
that quarries are to be considered as
mines.
/ am, therefore, of the opinion that
the eight-hour law applies to men
working in marble quarries in this
state. Yours very truly,
GEO. j. THATCHER,
Attorney General.
On the receipt Of Attorney General
Thatcher's s opinion in the matter the
labor commissioner directed the fol
lowing letter to the marble company at
Carrara:
To the American Marble Company,
Carrara, Nevada.
Dear Sirs: Referring to your letter
of March II, in which you state that
you cannot see wherein the eight-hour
law for mining applies to quarrying, l
will says that | have given the matter
careful attention, and took it up with
the attorney general, requesting an
opinion on the subject.
You will find enclosed herewith
copy of the opinion of the attorney
general in the premises, from which
you viii see that there can be no
doubt that your company is engaged
ia mining. You therefore come under
the provisions of section 6557, Revise
Laws Of Nevada, 1912, and under the
same viii have to restrict your EN-
ployes to eight hours work per day.
In regard to channellers, you may
work as many shifts as you choose,
but they must be eight-hou shifts.
There is no general eighthour law
in this state. The only enactments
on the subject relate to mining and
public works, and an investigation
could be brought about only by pro
.eedings in court testing the constitu-
tionality Of the law and the exact
cope of its application. Such proceed
ngs would be quite expensive, and the
matter would he hotly contested.
In view of the FOREGOING you are
hereby instructed to comply with pro
visions of section 6557, Revised Laws
Of Nevada, 1912, requiring an eight
hour day Yours very truly,
w. W. WALLACE,
Iahor COmmieSiDner