The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1922-02-04

tutiOnal amendment upon welfare legislation al
ready secured through action of state legislatures
The amendment is indorsed among others by
George Gordon Battle of New York, Shipper Lew
is of Philadelphia, secretary of the legal educa-
ton committee of the American Bar associations
Charles w. Needham, solicitor for the Interstate
commerce commission and former president OF
George Washington university. Robert L. Scout,
former assistant to the attorney general; FRANK
z. Walsh, Matthew Hale, and Miss Gail Laughlln.
Frank P. Walsh former chairman of the Indus
trial Relations commission, appointed by former
President Wilson, and former joint chairman with
Chief Justice Taft of the National War Labor
board gives it as his unqualified opinion ulat
the passage of the amendment will in no way
affect welfare legislation for women, either that
which is upon the statute books at the present
time, which may be enacted in future lie
warns that there Is no anticipating the action OF
court in the face of many differing opinions COW
ering points which appear quite obvious. He how
ever shows that long line of judicial precedents
have protected the validity of and constituionail-
ty of women'S welfare legislation. Mr.. Walsh con-
cludes:
81 way of approximating justice, as
affecting the sexes, except by the passage Of SUCH
an amendment as your organization has proposed
Indeed. without such an amendment in my opln-
ion the late amendment guaranteeing women the
right of suffrage would become mere abstrac-
ton"
Mr. Walsh admits" says Mrs. Edward z. Cos
tigan of Chicago vice president of the National
Consumers league that the problems in their
final settlement will have to go before court,
the result of whose decision is clearly in doubt.
1t would be terrible to deprive poor working Wom-
en- of safeguards that have been attained by ana
for them with long struggles, and in return give
them privileges they can never use. The thns
to do is to push the Speclned changes Ill ue
state legislatures
Of +bi cx-ioy DrnfL
of Harvard Law school, counsel for the Minimum
Wage board of the District of Columbia, says in
part:
The various measures dealing with women in
Observation-Disclosures of hours of employment, pro-
hbiton or regulation of night work, regulation of
EMPLOYMENT of women before and after conilne-
ments minimum wage 1legiSlation-have all been
sustained by the courts upon physical, social anu
economic factors peculiar to women. All such
legislation necessarily circumstances the freedom
of action of the individual affected. For instance
wherever legislation limits the periods when a
woman may work before after confinement,
she may not work within the prohibited periods
even If she wants to-
For reasons of policy, society's welfare is
deemed more important than the desire Of the
rare individual who would insist on working
de-. such circumstances. In other words she is
under a disability account Of sex, which does
nor hamper a man engaged in similar employment
she cannot contract freely; the man cam In the
same way minimum wage legislation. and the
other types of law which / have enumerated are
in one aspec- disabilities and treated as such by
the courts At :he very best tie proposed amend
r,pnr writes inro the Constitution of The United
states dangerous lawsuit, ieopardizng The ef-
forts Of the nation and the states 10 deal justly
with its women workers. Undoubtedly it viii
largely retard if not render impossible, every
effort of legislation protective Of women work
ers for all such efforts win encounter Ike opposi-
ton OF alleged unconstituLonallty.