The Elbert County tribune., 1917-03-23
SUPREME COURT RULES CON-
GREss HAS RIGHT TO RAISE
PAY AND FIX HOURS.
STANDARD
DECISION COMES CLOSE ON
HEELS OF RAIL SYSTEMS SIGN
ING AGREEMENT.
western Newspaper Union New. servio..

Washington.-The Adamson eight
tional and valid in all respects Mon
day by the Supreme Court.
The decision makes eight hours the
standard of days work and wages
for men in operation Of trains and le-
galtzes the wage increases which
went into tentative effect on its pass
age.
The decision was five to four. JUS
tices Day, Pitney and vandevanter
announced their dissent from the
bench and later Justice McReynolds
announced his.
Justice McKenna concurred' in the
majority opinion. but on slightly diff
ferent grounds. Justice Day read his
own dissenting opinion and Justice
Pitney delivered the other dissenting
opinion, in which Justice Vandevan-
ter Joined.
Federal Judge Hooks ruling in the
Missouri, Oklahoma & Gulf railroad
test case. enjoining enforcement of
the Adamson act and holding 1t "un-
reversed.
The court made the most radical
advance in its history when it ruled
that employees of public service or
ganizations have not the right to
strike in concert.
THAT right" declared Chief JUS
tice White. sis necessarily surren-
dered when the men are engaged in
public service. They are comparable
to soldiers in the ranks. who, in the
presence of enemies of their country,
may not desert"
The decision followed the ADJUST
ment of the strike situation, in which
the railroads agreed to an eight-hour
day with ten hours pay. and time and
one-eighth for overtime
In the early course of the opinion
the chief justice said that the law
was both an hour day act and also
wage-fixing statute. He said it
strips the parties of power to con-
tract as to wages. He said the eight
hour provision was the paramount
feature.
Regarding whether the law is an
hours of labor or wage-fixing law, the
chief justice said 1t was both. He
said the question of fixing hours of
labor by Congress was out of the case
as unquestioned.
The chief justice cited the "hours
of service act" as an instance of
hours of labor" legislation by Con-
gress and said transportation was of
both private and public interest.
He then said the right of private
parties to fix private wages was an
inherent right and to take it away
would be unconstitutional, but added
that, Considering what Congress in
tended to do and the failure of the
railroads and employees to reach an
agreement to~say that the government
authority did not have the power "to
fill the void. would be to declare that
the private had destroyed the public
right"
The decision upholdng as constit,i-
tional all features of the Adamsop act
entails
Permanent establishment of a work
day of eight hours as a measure or
| SAseiiu"iu VI CdiCuihlinB wages and
service of train operatives.
Temporary but immediate increase
of about 25 per cent in wages. during
not less than seven nor more than
eleven months beginning Jan. 1st last.
OF about 100000 trainmen, mostly of
the brotherhoods of engineers. fife
men, conductors and brakemen and
those principally in freight service
Comparatively few passenger train
men were given immediate benefit by
the law.
Cost to the railroads sof such tenn
rorary increase of from 1000 900
to s50,000,000, as estimated by the
brotherhoods. Future additional cost
of permanent eight-hour-day scale
was s100,000.000 annually, with pros
pective additional wage demands from
100000 other employees now not ben
Gifted by the Adamson law.
Vast extension of congressional au-
thority in federal regulation of COM
mon carriers. with power to author
ize wage fixing by the Interstate Com
merce Commission.
Dismissal of about 500 railroad in
junction suits, in virtually every fed
eral District Court. to enjoin the law s
enforcement