Evening star., 1921-06-06
MINIMUM WAGE
LAW Of DISTRICT
UPHELD BY court
Majority of Appeals Judges
Assert Right of Public
Justifies Provision.
? WORK FOR LESS THAN
LIVING is INVOLVED
Law will Not Breed Sovietism,
But Has Opposite Effect" Say
misunderstanding Opinion.


The District Court of Appeals to-
day. in an opinion by Chief Justice
Smyth. upheld the constitutionality
of the minimum wage law in the
eases brought by the Chiidren's Hos
pital and Willie \. Lyon, an elevator
operator at the Congress Hall Hotel.
Justice Van Orsdel filed a dissenting
opinion, holding the law unconstitu-
tional.
Justice Stafford of the District Su-
preme Court. who sat in the absence
of Justice Robb, concurred in the
opinion of the Chief Justice.
Right Of Public.
In expressing his view, Justice
Stafford said:
The asserted right of the employer
to be served by any one who is willing
to work for him and at any wage the
worker is willing to accept must be
subordinate to the right of the public
to See that those women who are obliged
to work for living shall not be obliged
to work for less than a living"
d. The act Justice Stafford points out.
was passed for the protection of class
needing protection.
1T would SEEM" he said. that the
right of this class to live on barely
decent level and the right of the public
to have them so live should outweigh
the right Of those who do not need to
work in order to live and who. therefore.
are merely asserting a right to earn
money and thereby accumulate prop
erty."
Exercise of Police Power.
In UNFOLDING the constitutionality
the opinion of the court. declares
that the position taken by the Chill
drcn's Hospital is that. under no con-
cei cable state o. facts would Con-
mum wage law. but he points out
tn-; Congress indy exercise the po-
lice power in all its plentitude when
lesislatins for the District of CO.
1umbia, which includes laws for the
health, safety. morals and welfare of
the community. This act. the court
finds, falls under this power
1T is well known" he says. that
if working woman does not receive
u sufficient wage to supply her with
necessary food. shelter and clothing.
and she is compelled to subsist upon
less than her requirements demand.
the result must be that her health
&-ould be injuriously affected"
proval of the bill given by the Mer-
chants and Manufacturers Associa-
ton and to the fact that thirteen
states of the Union. eight provinces
of Canada. Argentina France. Great
Britain. Norway and Austria have
similar laws. Such enactmentS have
been frequently assailed in the courts.
he says. but no court has held one
invalid.
1t is conceded. the court asserts.
that the act interferes with freedom
of contract but this is not fatal, be-
cause every statute exercising police
power nterferes with such freedom.
and such interference has frequently
been upheld by the courts. Frequent
ly the United States Supreme Court
has upheld statutes limiting hours OF
labor, the court says. on the footing
that excessive hours. interfere IN
juriously with the health of those
who are compelled to practice them.
A minimum wage has real and
relation to the health ana
work and Congress. by providing Tor
the establishment of such wage has
rot acted arbitrarily or SpoliatiVely.
but clearly within the limits of the
police power.
-WiN Not Breed Sovietismt"
The upholdins OF the law viii! not
breed sovietism in the opinion of
Chief Justice Smyth, but will rather
produce the opposite effect. because
it will demonstrate that this govern
ment. as framed by the fathers. has
ample power. and those invested with
1hat power have the disposition to
protect the weak against the strong
by administering justice 10 both"
Dissenting Opinion.
Inc
Van Orsdel declares this to be the
first instance where it has been at
tempted by Congress arbitrarily to
establish the rate of wage to be paid
by a private employer to a private
employe. The Adamson law was held
not to be a wage-hxinG statute and
was upheld only upon the theory that
j. was in regulation of commerce, a
power expressly delegated to Con-
gress by the Constitution. The sole
the legislature to fix the wage which
a private employer shall pay a pri-
vate employe.
While Congress stated the purpose
of the act to be to protect women
and minors from conditions detri-
mental to their health and morals re-
sulting from wages which are made
ouate to maintain decent standards of
living. such statements of fact by
q legislature as inducement for the
Enactment of a law. while entitled
~ great respect. are by no means
Inclusive upon the courts. which
are to have the last word upon the
fairness and reasonableness of the
wage allowed.
"If in the exercise of the police
power for the general welfare" con-
cludes the dissenting justice. power
lies in the legislature to fix the wage
which the citizen must accept or
choose idleness. or as in the case of
Willie Lyons. be deprived of the
step to a legal requirement that the
Industrious, frugal. economical citizen
must divide his earnings with his in
dolent, worthless neighbor."