The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-10
This Is One Line of Argu- ment Made Before U. s.
 Supreme Court
LACK OF AUTHORITY I..... MAIN CONTENTION
Justices Continue to Ask Questions, Showing Interest in Presentation of Counsel-Conclusion Will
 Be Reached Today

Washington, January 9.-Arguments be- fore the supreme court on the constitu- tonality of the Adamson act neared a close tonight after an all-day attack upon the law by railroad counsel Tomorrow the final statement of the government,s s case will be made and the test suit sub mitted to the court for decision. Questions of law, the merits of the leg islation and the manner of it's enactment were raised and discussed at length today and members of the court continued to add interest to the proceedings by inter- rupting counsel with questions Lack by Congress of authority to en- act what they termed railroad wage leg islation was the principal line of attack ] of the railroad attorneys, Walker D. Hines and John G. Johnson. They con tended also that the law is incapable of operation without judicial interpretation, takes property without due process of law and interferes with liberty of con l tract
 DIFFICULTY OF APPLICATION Difficulty of definitely applying the act was emphasized by MT. Hines, He said although the law fixes an eight-hour standard railroad day for train operatives, nearly all such employees are employed on
 mileage, trip run or monthly basis "The primary purpose of the act was arbitrary regulation of private con- tracts" he declared in concluding an ad- dress of more than three hours. It sets aside legitimate methods, substituting an unavoidable speculative arrangement. Its Iclassifications give benefit only to the I four brotherhoods who were demanding the changes-all for the benefit of spe- cial high paid class Y. ali ali aspects it is of unconstitutional and bewildering unwork- ability, without relation to any substan- l tial promotion of commerce."
 | In the closing address for the railroads, MT. Johnson assailed the hasty enactment of the legislation by Congress, as we'll as the conduct of the brotherhood leaders. He said the act was against public and purely for private interest and arbi- trarily transfers between GOO to $45,-
 100000 from the pockets of the railroads ! to the pockets of the worlxmen WAGE INCREASE MEASURE He insisted it is solely and purely a bIe in attempting to establish an eight hour day To make the question of rail- road wages political, to be settled by | Congress from time to time. he said, would lead to unforeseen results. There is nothing in the Adamson act for protection of the public,'' he said. "The brotherhoods had the honesty not 1 to pretend they were protecting the pub l lie. but stood upon their own selfish
 ends"
 1 Regarding the statement that the act
 was passed to prevent strike he added | Have we come to that? Have we reached the period when the men who
 threaten strike shall be rewarded?
 am not comparing men, only methods, \ but we might as well buy off gang of highwaymen with bribe to pre- |yent interference with commerce" HAGERMAN TO CLOSE | Half an hour before court adjourned
 Frank Hagerman of Kansas City. spe- | cial assistant to the Attorney General,
 began the closing address of the hear
 ings. He defended the law as being capable of operating by mere change
 of railroad bookkeeping and said Con- Igress enacted it in the face of great
 emergency.'
 Tt wasn't a one-sided affair.", he said. There were railroad represen- I ltatives who acted upon the. assumption
 that railroads owe nothing to the
 public"
 1 "Assuming that Congress can raise wages for limited period can it do so for an unlimited period?' asked
 Justice Pitney.
 .sWhere do you draw the line between private operation and public manage ment."
 | q don't draw the line, Mir Hager-
 man answered.
 1 But it may be necessary for the pur- tContinued on Page Seyen)