The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-03-19

aSter, the property INJURY and the per-
sonaI suffering of all, not to say the
people if the strike was not prevented,
asked congress first that the eight
hour standard of work and wages be
fixed by law, and second, that an Of
fetal body be created to observe dur
ing reasonable time the operation Of
the legislation and that an explicit as
surance be given that if the result of
such observation esta blished such an
increased cost to the employers as
justified an increased rate, the power
would be given to the Interstate Com
merce commission to authorize it.
Congress responded by enacting the
statute whose validity we are called
upon to consider.
In Effect January 1.
THE duty to do so arises from the
tact that the employers, unwilling to
accept the act and challenging the con-
stitutional powers of congress to enact
1t, began this typical suit against Off
GERS of certain labor unions and the
United States district attorney to en-
join the enforcement of the statute
The law was made to take effect
only on the first of January 1917. To
expedite the final decision before that
date the representatives of the labor
unions were dropped out, agreements
essential to hasten it were made and
1t was stipulated that pending the final
disposition of the cause the carriers
would keep accounts of the wages
which would have been earned if the
statute was enforced so as to enable
! their payment if the law was finally
upheld.
Stating its desire to cooperate
with the parties in their purpose to
eXpt lite the cause, the court below.
briefly announcing that it was of the
opinion that congress had no constitu-
tional power to enact the statute en-
joined its endorsements and as the re-
suit of the direct appeal which fol-
| lowed we Gomez after elaborate oral
! the controversy.
Sift 1t Down to Two Questions
"All the propositions reviewed upon
and arguments advanced ultimately
come to two questions:
First, the entire want of constitu7
tional power to deal with the subjects
embraced by the statute and, second.
such abuse of the power if possessed.
| as rendered its exercise unconstitu-
tionaL We will consider these sub
/ jects under distinct propositions sepa-
rately.
"G)--The entire want of constitu-
tional power to deal with the subjects
embraced by the statute.
! Question Right to Enact Law.
! Railroads attacked the Adamson
measure as mot a regulatio4l-yf COM
merce," mot the result of legislative
judgment but an experiment" whose
success would be determined by flu
ture investigation, and as depriving
! the railroad of its liberty to make con-
tracts and its property without due
process of law. They held it to be a
wage measure, which congress had
no right to enact under the consti-
tuition.
/ The government contended the law
was not wage Jaw but an hours Of
service act; and that, even if it was a
wage measure, congress had the right
to pass it under the commerce clause
CT the constitution.
The case had it's inception whSn
congress passed a law late last Au-
gust, when railroad brotherhoods
threatened to tie up the nations rail-
roads, declaring eight hours to be a
standard days work and providing
that pro rata overtime should be paid
for work done after the first eight
hours This section formed the real
basis of attack for the railroads
Big Four Makes Demand
On March 20, 1916, the four rail-
road brotherhoods-the Brotherhood
of Locomotive Engineers, the Order OF
Railway Conductors, the Brotherhood
of Locomotive Firemen and the
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen-
demanded of the railroads of the coun-
try an eight-hour day with time and
a half overtime, overtime to be COM
puted on the minute basis and regular
time to begin when a railroad man
was required to report for duty. This
was to replace the old mileage basis
by which the men were paid for trip
100 miles constituting a days run
usually of ten hours.
Railroads refused this and other
concessions, and in return asked arbi.
tration by the federal board of media
ton or the interstate commerce com.
mission. This the brotherhoods re
fused fatty. The brotherhoods held
out for the eight-hour day and the
time-and-a-half overtime; the rail
roads commended granting these wouId