The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-03-19
ADAMSON LAW IS
UPHELD BY COURT
Supreme Court Decision to
Effect That Measure Is
Constitutional
SINGLE TEST CASE
USED FOR HEARING

Brotherhoods What They Demanded,
Regardless of the Agreement Reached
in New York Today.
| WASHINGTON, March 10 = The
eighth hour standard for railroad wages
lprovided in the Adamson Law was held
constitutional today BY the supreme
court
The decision covered all points of the
law. The courts decision was five to
four with Justices Day, Pitnev and Van
deventer dissenting and later Justice Me
Reynolds announced his dissent. Jns-
tice Day in his dissenting opinion said
the legislation amounted to deprivation
OF the railroads property without due
process OF law" Justices Pitnev and
Vandeyenter in their Io!nt dissenting
opinion held that the law should be held
unconstitutional and void because con.
gress, although eonfessedly not in pos
session OF information necessary for an
intelligent and Just treatment of the con.
troversy arbitrarily imposed on the rail
roads the entire and enormous cost of an
experimental increase in wages"
The chief justice cited the hours of
service act as an instance of hours Of
labor legislation by congress and said
transportation was OF both private and
public interest. The dividing line is 50
marked that the government will not
destroy the private rights, said the
chief justice. The power to regulate
rests both upon private and public inter
ests involved. He then said the right
OF private parties to fix private wages
was an inherent right and to take it
away would be unconstitutional.
National enforcement and operation
OF the law, enacted by congress last
September when nation wide railroad
strike threatened paralysis of transpor
tation, was suspended awaiting the su-
preme courts decision upon its constitu
tonallty. National effect, it was agreed
rested upon disposal Of the single test
case Of the Missouri, Oklahoma & Gulf
/ railroad, chosen by the railroads and de-
partment Of justice to determine, for the
whole country, the issues
Involved were vital public and private
interests, present and future, including
those OF American railroads aggregating
290,oO0 miles and property interests Of
S7,O0O,o0o,O0o, together with those of
100000 railroad employees, one-ffth OF
the total. Also involved was future linn
1t OF public regulation and private opcr-
alton Of common carriers, with boun-
darice of regulatory legislation BY con
gress.
decision upholding as constitutional
all features OF the Adamson act en-
tailed:
Permanent establishment of
work day Of hours as a measure or
standard of calculating wages and
service of train operatives
Temporary but immediate increase
OF about p per cent in wages, during
not less than seven nor more than ii
months beginning January last, of
| about 100000 trainmen, mostly of
the Big -Four" brotherhoods of engi-
neers, tremen conductors and brake
men and those principally in freight
service. Comparatively few passen-
| ger trainmen We're given immediate
benefit by the law
| Cost to the railroads of such tenn
/ porary increase of from Si0000.00 TO
| S50,O00,0 900, as estimated by the rail
roads, or about $20000000 as esti-
mated by the brotherhoods Future
/ additional cost OF permanent s.
hourd scale was estimated bv the
railroads at SlQ000.000 annually.
with prospective additional wage de
| mands from SOC, 600 other EMPLOYEES
| not benefited by the Adamson law.
Vast extension of congressional
| authority in federal regulation of
common carriers, with power to au-
| thorize wage fixing by the interstate
commerce commission.
Dismissal of about 500 railroad in
| junction suits, in virtually every
| federal district court, to enioin the
laws enforcement.
A decision upholding the S-hour stan
dard will not bar trainmen from working
more than hours a day, but merely en-
titles them to pro rata over time pay.
| The federal hours of service act, pro
hibiting continuous employment 81
trainmen more than l6 hours daily, re-
mains llndisturbed regardless of the de-
clsion upon the Adamson law.
Railroads not more than 100 miles long
and Independently owned, and electric
street and interurban railroads were ex-
cepted.