The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-03-23

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Justice white .wouid be to declare that private
right had destroyed public right"
The second reason justifying the law 10 said by
the court to be that the railroad business is busi-
ness affected with public interest" We have
long known that certain businesses are subject to
unusual regulation in the way rate regulation 1t
was long supposed that this limited to BUSH
nesses which had the right to take property by
eminent domain, such railroads. or which receive
some special fanchise like the right to lay pipes
string wires in the streets exercised by telephone.
light and gas companies. But the supreme court
has said that this power Of regulation was not 70
limited but extends to all business AFFECTED with
a public interest" 1t has been upheld In the use
Of insurance companies and Of pipe line companies
who have valuable private oil lines for their own
exclusive In this the court has said that
both the railroads and their employees are engaged
In a business affected with public interest" and
that therefore both railroad rates and the railroad
wages may be fixed by law Thus Chief Justice
White says:
Whatever would be the right of an employe
gagged in private business to demand such wages
he desires, to leave the employment II he does not
get them, and by concert of action 10 agree with
others to leave the same conditions; such rights
are necessarily subject to limitation when employ
ment is accepted in business charged with pub
lie interest and to which the power to regulate
commerce by congress applied and the resulting
right to fix in case Of disagreement and dispute
standard of wages we have necessarily OBJ
tained."
In short the public interest in the railroad busi
is great that in order to facilitate it's opcr
ation especially where tie-up is threatened,
gross may fix the wages paid We have long
known that the public interest in the railroads
warranted rate fixing. This decision adds wage
fiy;u
~
1t will follow, of course, from this power to fix
wages to settle such a dispute that congress may
compel both parties to abide by the fixed rate. 1t
may compel the roads to pay the wages and forbid
the men to strike for higher wages. Thus. it Is
plainly intmated in the foregoing quotation that
congress could deprive the tranman Of the right
ito demand such wages as he desires, to leave the
employment II he does not get them, and by con-
cert action to agree with others to leave on the
same conditions" - g
Sailors private ships may be fogged and
put in irons II they try to quit their employment be-
fore their term of service has expired At previous
times the supreme court has intimated that train
men might possibly be punished crninally for quit
ting work under circumstances calculated to cause
injury distress. (Scc 66 " S. $685. 1877 V. s. 216).
The press report Of the decision in this says
"ln delivering the opinion the chief justice de-
parted point MS Wrllen text 10 emGha
size the position of men operating trains in time
of national emergency by comparing them to SOL
diers facing an enemy"
While this law d0es not forbid strikes and this
case does not decide that congress may do so. it
seems to poin: most strongly in that direction
The chief heneficaries of the decision may be the
railroads Heretofore they have been caught be-
tween tho upper and the neither nillstoncs. The in
terstate commerce commission has fixed their rates
while the tran,nen have been getting larger and
larger wages the burden of which the roads have
been unable to shift to the public Noty that con
gress has undertaken to fixtwages it svilL have to
delegate the matter to commission aAstt has de-
layed rate fixing. That comtnissioYx Whl almost
| necessarily be the interstate oom'lsRE commits
sion the body that fixes outgo in Tic form OF
F., wages must be the body that determnes income In
the form of rates II such is the reslt. will be
exactly what the railroads have wanted. wonder
If the brotherhoods will not be hoist with their owr
petard
1t should be noted that while all the justices die
| not concur in the opinion, yet such majority de
| cision becomes established precedent which al
| will thereafter feel bound to follow.