The Alaska daily empire., 1919-04-11

to mills, factories and manufactur- ing establishments the Act would be keld valid unless the Supreme Court should overrule the recent decision in Bunting v. Oregon, 243 U. s 426. There is also probably no doubt as to the right of the Legislature to limit the hours of labor in saw mills. that occupation being commonly rec. ognized as dangerous. Fish canner ies, plants and other establishments for the curing and drying of fish and their by-products and for the extraction of fish and whale oils probably would come under the head of manufacturing establishmenA If not, probably sufficient data would be available from which to determine whether the degree of unhealthiness incident to working in such enter else of the police power in limiting the hours of labor therein.
 | On such questions there is rooln for differences of opinion. For ill l SIdHC6f III lAS CdSc u LOCIluCI V New York, 19S U. S. 45, five of the 1 Justices of the Supreme Court of [ the United States refused to uphold ! law of the State of New York Emitting the hours. of labor to bake shops, while four of the Justices expressed themselves in dissenting opinions in favor of upholding the law In the Supreme Court of the State which considered the same case, two of the five judges dissent cd from the judgment affirming the validity of the Act, and in the Court i Of Appeals of the State three of the seven judges dissented from the judg ment upholding the statute
 l might mention also that in the case of Bunting V. Oregon, above cited. the Chief Justice and two oth e1 Justices dissented from the opin ion upholding the Oregon law. Also. | ill Bolton V Hardy, 169 U. s. 365, law of Utah limiting the hours of labor in underground mines, smel- ters and ore reduction words was under consideration, two of the Jus tices dissenting from the opinion up holding the law
 In nearly every law of this char acter tested in the courts there have been dissenting opinions. I an inclined to the opinion, however that either considered under the head
 o+,, ito oh c by itself working in fish canneries etc, is an employment of such 8 nature and surrounded by such con dtions that it would come within province of the Legislature to limit the hours of labor therein, especially in view of the emergency clause il the proposed Act
 Working in laundries also probably would be regarded by court as subject to the exercise of the police power, especially the working of wo men in such establishments
 I have been unable to gather any information sufficient from which tt form or express an opinion as to the degree of unhealthiness character istic of working in logging camps nor as to the extent such unhealthi ness is affected by the number ot hours per day the laborer is em pioyed. There are probably other sanitary regulations more affecting the health and well being of the employees in logging camps than any 1 limitation of the hours of labor would be, which would come within the DO lice powers of the state to impose and the same might be said with re gard to canneries.
 There remains to be considered working in lumber yards, mercan tile and mechanical establishments hotels, restaurants, telephone estab 1 lishhments, offices, stores, and ex press or transportation companies As to the latter occupation, law: limiting the hours of labor therein have been generally upheld as nee ossary for the safety of the travel tels, restaurants. telephone estab lismments. offices and stores, I an of the opinion that whatever degree of unhealthiness is attached to sucl occupations is too remote to justif, the exercise of police power. Int views of the Supreme Court of thu United States expressed in Lochne V. New York, which has never beer overruled, seem to me to contro as to these occupations. In com menting upon the trade of baker the court says:
 "In looking through statistics regarding all trades and occu- l pations, it may be true that the
 trade of baker does not appear
 to be as healthy as some other
 trades, and is also vastly more ! healthy than still others. To the
 common understanding the trade
 of baker has never been re-
 'garded as an unhealthy one.
 Very likely physicians would not recommend the exercise of that or of any other trade as rem
 edy for ill health. Some occu-
 pations are more healthy than