Year: 1877

The offer is made by the New-York State
Bar Association of prize of S25o Tor the
best essay upon "The Legal Relations OF La
"bor; the Right of the State to Interfere be-
tween the Employer and the Employed, and
"upon what Legislation Gf any should be
"had upon the Subject" AS to the FIRST
branch of the subject, we are likely to have a
good many decisions from the Courts Dut Oh
the whole the law affecting such matters is
pretty well fixed. The relations OF capital 10
labor are not of very recondlte character
and are mainly provided for by tho exisuhg
law of contracts. The right OF the State 10
interfere between the employer and the en-
ployed is the general right of the State 10
protect both, and it involves likewise simple
and plain duty. The more important and dlt-
fcult subiect proposed for discussion is that
Of legislation. Respecting this, in connection
with the labor question, there is an incalculaDle
amount of error and ignorance aiioat ana
whoever will give the topic thorough, sensl-
ble and exhaustive treatment will deserve well
of the community, and be amply deserving OF q
much greater prize than has been offered.


We think it would be well in the very
beginning to determine what legislation is not





We have observed with some apprehension
the tendency to rely upon extemporlzed laws
and n notion that these will remedy every
difficulty. There is great danger of deal OF
ouackery in our law-making for some time TO
come, and a meddlesome interference with
matters which may be better left to regulate
themselves. 1t will not be found an easy
matter to make statute which will suit one
side without doing gross injustice to the other.
All attempts to fix the hours of labor, for In
stance, have heretofore worked harm either to
the employer or the employed No legislator
in sane state of mind will dream of cooking
up statute to fix the rate of wages, unless he
wishes to involve both capital and labor IN
labyrinth of embarrassment We have never
vet seen Congress nor yet an Assembly nj
TO be trusted with the problems involved III
such an arrangement; nor is there any hope OF
sucb a body. no matter how many old parties
with new names we may have. There Is
law of snpplv and demand which is higher
than any statute passed to meet some lmme-
date and temporary misunderstanding. we
suppose that nobody, however advanced his
views, would think of fixing 10y law the price
of -four per barrel; and the attempt SO TO Tx
wages would be quite as sensible.


If labor is to be protected against what Is
called the despotism of capital, perhaps the
contestants for the prize will show how cap
ital is to be protected against the despotism OF
labor. The law as it is, Obiges the employer
to nav TO the employed every penny which the
contract between them provides for; where is
the law which protects the employer from
huge and ruinous losses whenever the EN-
ployed agree to ignore their agreementsf The
subject of strikes has become little wearl-
some; but the prospect of reasonable and
logical and legal treatment of the subject is
refreshing. At present the topic is one mainly
remarkable for an absurd misconception of Its
financial, economical and social bearings. by
all means let us have the two-hundred-and-
fty-dollar Prize Essay!