Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-23
A STATES RIGHTS DECISION
TIHE decision of the United States Distric

l. Court in North Carolina that child
labor tax provisions of the Revenue Law are
unconstitutional is likely to be appealed to
the United States Supreme Court All of the
advocates Of Federal child labor legislation
will demand that the case be taken to the
highest court
The law against which the decision is
directed provides that a tax of 10 per cent
of the entire net profits shall be levied upon
every mine, quarry, mill. canncry, factory
or manufacturing establishment in which
children under the age of fourteen are en-
poyed at all or in which children between
fourteen and sixteen are employed at night
or more than eight hours a day for six days
of the week
The avowed purpose of this law was to
penaze the employment of children 50
heavily that 1t would be stopped. 1t was
an exercise of the taxing power not to raise
revenue but to regulate industry. The de-
STABILITY of this regulation is admitted by
every one save those selfish manufacturers
who wish TO employ children.
Most of the States have laws of one kind
or another protecting the children from
exploitation either by their parents b.
the employers. There are few backward
States in which there are no laws fOrbiddinS
the employment of children or in which the
keep the children out of the mines, mills
and factories.
The issue is not the protection of the
children, but how to protect them under
constitutional forms. The Child Labor Law,
which preceded the provisions in the Revenue
Law, forbade the shipment in interstate
commerce of goods in the manufacture Of
which children We're employed. The same
court which has just declared the tax law
to be invalid declared the other law was
unconstitutional. 1t was sustained by the
Supreme Court.
Justice Day. who wrote the prevailing
opinion, said that, in interpreting the Con-
stitution, lit must never be forgotten that
the Nation is made up of States to which
are intrusted the powers of local govern
ment. and to them and to the people the
powers not expressly delegated to the Ma
tOnal Government are reserved The JUS
tCe declared that the act in question not
only transCCnded the authority delegated to
Congress, but that it was an invasion Of
local authority by the Federal Legislature.
If Congress can thus regulate matters in
trusted to local authority by prohibition Of
the movement of commodities in interstate
commerce. the Justice went on. AL free
dom of commerce will be at an end and the
power of the States over local matters may
ernment be practically destroyed"
AS soon as this decision was handed down
Senator Owen introduced bill in Congress
re-cuacting the law with an additional pro-
vision that any Judge who denied its con-
stitutionality should be compelled to resign
from the bench. OF course, this measure
was never brought TO vote. However
foolishly Congress may act at times, il has
not yet so far lost its appreciation of the
American system Of government as formally
to deny to the Supreme Court the right to
pass on the cOnstitutionality of legislation.
Those Congressman who wished the Fed
eral Government to regulate child labor set
about finding way to bring It about which
would be constitutional. They thought they
had done it when they used the taxing power
of Congress to punish employers who had
children on their payrolls. They have arguGt.
that Congress has taxed OleomargGrinc and
that IL it can do this it can tax goods in
thc manufacture of which child labor has
been used.
Whether the Supreme Court will see the
analogy will be disclosed when it hands
down its decision. But it may be said that
the justification for the olcomargarine reg
ulation laws lies in their purpose to prevent
n fraud upon the public They provide that
the substitute for butter must be so plainly
marked luul lO pAc may DuS ~ uHhSi Ih'
supposition that he is getting butter made
from milk. If it can be made clear that
tho tax ON child-labor products is intended
TO prevent a fraud on the public or to pre-
vent the manufacture of goods detrimental
to the public health then the Court will
probably sustain it.
But whatever decision it reaches its con
cIusions will be of great Importance, because
tbey will deal with the extent to which the
taxing power of Congress can be used fOt
regulating what has hitherto been supposed
! 70 be affairs entirely within the jurisdiction
| OF the States.