Evening star., 1925-04-13
Supreme Court Rules Com
puIsory Arbitration Is
Unconstitutional.
STATES MAY NOT SET
HOURS TO BAN STRIKES
Van Devanter Makes Decision in
Cases Involving Kansas In
dustrial Jurists.

Compulsory arbitration in industrial
| disputes is unconstitutional, the Su-
preme Court held today.
The decision, rendered by Justice Van
Devanter was in two cases brought by
the Charles Wolff Packing Co. of Topeka
against the Kansas Industrial Relations
Court.
Hours of labor in packing houses and
other Industries cannot be regulated by
States through commissions or indus
trial courts to prevent strikes in con-
nection with the regulation OF wages the
court held.
When the Supreme Court had these
| cases before ii in 1928 it held un-
constitutional that part of the In
dustrial Court act which provided
| that in labor disputes in essential
industries the Industrial Court could
fix wages.
The Kansas Supreme Court. in act
ing upon the decision of the Federal
Supreme Court, construed as not af-
| fecting that part of its original deci-
sion in which it had approved the
action of the Industrial Court fixing
hours of labor and ordered that that
| part of its original decision should
| stand.
The packing company contended that
| the Kansas Supreme Court should have
| set aside all of its original decision
sustaining the order of the Industrial
| Court, and insisted that the regulation
of the hours of labor especially when
coupled with the regulations of pay for
overtime, was as Objectionable under
| the Federal Constitution as the regu-
lation Of wages, which the Federal
Supreme Court had held invalid.
The State contended that to deprive
in Industrial Court of authority to
! regulate hours of labor would cripple
1t to such an extent as to deprive ii
! of much of its value, and would leave
1t with jurisdiction only over working
conditions and the settlement of in
dustrial disputes in essential industries.
Estabiished 4s-Hosr Week.
Providing for compulsory arbitra-
| tion of all labor disputes in industries
considered of material welfare to the
people, such as the mining of coal and
the production and preparation of food.
Kansas created the Industrial Court
TO administer the law. A controversy
having arisen in the plant of the pack
Jurisdiction, and after a hearing issued
its orders. Among other things 1t pro-
vided a scale of wages which should
be paid the employees and also limited
their hours of labor.
The order complained of provided for
an eight-hour day, with six days con-
stituting weeks work. employees to re-
ceive overtime pay for longer hours and
for work on Sunday. The State contend
ed that this was a valid exercise of it's
police powers, especially in the protec-
ton of the health of the workers, many
of whom were women.
1t insisted that the Federal courts
could only examine into the controver-
sy to the extent of determining wheth-
er the hours of labor fixed by the In
dustrial Court were just and reason
able, and that in the packing industry
eight hours a daY was not such an un-
reasonable and arbitrary limitation as
to render the regulation Objectionable
under the Federal Constitution. There
was material difference, counsel for
the State contended, between the fix
ing of wages and the fixing of hours
of labor.