The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-03-23
charges have been Investigated by the county at
torneys office and there is usually substance
to them.
THE ADAMSON LAW DECISION.
(By Prof. Walter L. Pope Of the Montana Stat
University Law School.)

Beglnnlng January first, nineteen hundred and
seventeen eight hours SHALL in contracts for labor
and service, be deemed days work and the meas
ure or standard Of a days work for the purpose Of
reckoning the compensation for services Of all
ployes who are now may hereafter be employed
by any common carrier by railroad, and who are
now or may hereafter be actually engaged in any
capacity in the operation of trains. i. The
president shall appoint commission Of three.
which shall observe the operation and effects Of the
institution of the eight hour standard workday as
above defined and the facts and conditions affect-
ing the relations between such common carriers
and employees during period Of not less than six
months nor moIe than nine months. in the dis
cretion of the Commission and within thirty days
thereafter such commission shall report its findings
to the president and congress: Pending
the report OF the commission herein provided for
and for period Of thirty days thereafter the
pensation Of railway employees subject to this act
for standard eight workday shall not be
reduced below the present standard days wage.
and for all necessary time in excess of eight hours
such employees shall be paid at rate not than
the rata for such standard eight hour workday.
1t will denoted ,..at 1t is not law regulating the
hours Of service, for does not forbid the employ
ment Of trainmcn more than eight hours per day.
It merely declares that eight hours shall :. !.
be deemed days work and the measure or stand
ard of days work for the purpose of reckoning
the compensation" and that until the commission
reports men shall be paid for eight hours what
they were paid for days work September g.,
1916. In short. it establishes a minimum wage for
period Of eleven months or less.
Two questions suggested by the supreme
courts decision uphoding the law. First. what
precedents exist for the decision. or to put it
other way, in what respect is this decision new
Departure and second, what will DO the probable
effect Of the decision future labor legislation?
The first question is soon answered There ap-
pears to be practically no precedent for minimum
wage legislation OF any kind. The only other case
that cite is tho of Stcttlcr & OIIara. 1879
Fac 743 which is the involving the constitu-
tonaiity Of the Oregon minimum wage for women
and children The oregon court in that case upheld
the law. That case has been appealed to the
United States supreme court where 1t has been
pending without decision for the past two years.
Justice Brandes. before his appointment. wrote the
brief in favor of tho law in that He Of course.
will take part in the decision. The long delay
| seems to INDICATE that the rest OF the judges are
evenly divided.
In 1911 the question whether the hours Of
labor Of trainmen could be limited by law. This
was answered in the affirmative by the supreme
court in Baltimore e. Ohio Railroad v. Interstate
Commerce Commissions: 221 V. S. G1o. The law
there involved sustained the ground that
long hours of service endangered the safety OF OPP
Grafton Of trains, and therefore limitation was
reasonable. That, of course. cannot be precedent
in this where the law does not limit time. but
simply increases wages.
In order to understand just what this decides
it will be necessary to note the considerations in
| volved. The court could not declare the law un-
constitutional simply because 1t thought it unwise
because it did not approve It's provisions. Courts
when they declare laws unconstitutional must point
ont specific provision or clause in the written
| constitution which the law contravenes. In this
case the constitutional provision pointed out by the
railroads that part Of the fifth amendment tt
the constitution which provides mo person shall
be deprived of life. liberty protection
without due process of law" This is exccedngl,
general and indefinite provision. What Is due proc
| css of law? Putting it roughly this provision
means that while congress may pass laws and cX
ercise certain powers granted it. such as the rowe
to regulate interstate commerce. it cannot pass an,
law it fit to enact, but only such laws as ar
reasonably adopted to further the public health
safety morals or general ell-being- A law whicl
inflics a burden upon the railroads or upon an,
person. without subscribing any public interest o
object takes property without due process Of Law
or a law which while accomplishing some publ
good. puts a disproportionately great burden upo
certain individuals to secure that end. is wanting
due process of law SO here. the question which tn
court had to decide whether the law secured a
end which justified the means which involved
heavy burden upon the roads
Another thing worth noticing is pronounce
, tendency the part of the court in recent year
in deciding whether legislation is reasonable an
hence due process of law to make thorough in
vcstigaton of all the facts, circumstances and pc
litical and social conditions which attend and In
duce the passage Of the law in question. This Ina
been referred to the realism of the Unite
States supreme court and is said to have been We,
largely due to the rather novel methods of presen
II ing which Justice Brandcis adopted when
n counsel for the Consumers league he argued Il
hours of labor cases before the court. His mctht
, was to present In his brief hundreds Of pages
extracts from scientific and other authorities shov
" ing the actual effect of long hours Of labor up'
&c the laborcr and the public generally Tho cou
then recognized the extreme value of such informs
,e ton in determining whether the legislation w
reasonable. and has since indica ted that it won
not declare legislation unconstitutional unless
u had an opportunity to make such investigate
N