Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-06-26

| present case, no child under twelve years
! of age ~ permitted to work
| II NAV be desirable that such laws
| bc uniform. but our Federal government
is one of enumerated powers. this
| principle. declared Chief Justice Mar
! shall IN McCulloch v Maryland. 1
| Wheat 3i6. "is universally admitted "
! \ statute must be Judged bv its natural
and reasonable effect Collins v New
Hampshire, III L ) 30 33. - The
! control by Congress over interstate com
nercc cannot authorize the exercise of
| authority not entrusted To it by the Con
| stitution Pipe Line Case, 234 t. :.
| 5iS. $50 The maintenance OF the au-
! thortv of the States over matters purely
| local is as essential to the preservation
| of our institutions as Is the conservation
of the supremacy of the Federal power IN
| all matters entrusted TO the nation by the
| Federal Constitution.
In interpreting the Constitution it must
M yer be forgotten that the nauon Is
made up of States To which are entrusted
| the powers of local government. And To
| them and To the people the powers not
expressly delegated to the national gov
crnment are reserved Lame County v.
Oregon, Wall, Il, 76. The power OF the
States Ia regulate their purely ntcnal
tIIHifS nv Sllt'n lANS ~ Sttiii " NtS' W iAit
local authority Is Inherent ard has never
been surrendered to the general govern
ment New York v Min. L Peters. l03,
I39: Slaughter House Cases, rs Wall. 81,
63 Kidd v Pearson. supra. 10 sustain
this statute would not bc IN our judgment
a recognition of the lawful cXeruon of
congressional authority over interstate
commerce but would sanction an IN
vasion hv ;hc Federal power OF the control
of a matter purely local IN lts character,
and over which no authority has nefn
delegated to Congress IN conterring the
power To regulate commerce among the
States
We have neither authority nor dis
position to question the motives OF Ton
grcss in cnacting this legislation The
purposes intended must I've attained con
sistentlv with constitutional limitations
and not bN an invasion Of the powers oi
the States This court has no more
Important function than that winch
dcvolves upon II the obligation TO pre-
serve inviolatc the constitutional hTnita-
tlons upon the exercise of authority
Federal and State to the end that each
NAV continue Ia discharge. harmonIouslv
with the other the duties entrusted To II
hv the, Constitution
In our WOW the necessary effect 81 this
act is. hy means oT 4 prohibition against
the movement in interstate commerce 81
ordinary commercial commodities 10
regulate the hours ~ labor of children
IN factories and mines within tho states,
purely State authority Thus the act
in a two-fold sense Is repugnant 70 the
Constitution II not only transccnds the
authority delegated to Congress over
commerce but also cXertS power rs ~
a purely local matter 70 which the federal
authority does not extend Tho far reach
ing result Of upholding the act cannot he
more plainly indicated than by pointing
out that If Congress can thus regulate
matters entrusted tn local authority by
pruhihition Of the movement OF com
modlties in interstate commerce, az
freedom az commerce will be II an end.
and the power of the States over local
matters may be eliminated. and thus our
system Of government be practically
destroyed
For theso reasons we hold that this
Law exceeds the constitutional authority
Of Congress 1t follows that the decree
Of the District Court must he
Affirmed