| Show 1911 al M if CHILD DOK M r emeit X ccoy J ta 91 T if 0 g 7 by JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN article the congress shall have power concur rent with that of 0 the several states to limit or pro betit the labor ot of persons under eighteen years labor must go I 1 such seems to be tl e sentiment of the ameri amert can people notwithstanding the fact that the united states supreme court has declared unconstitutional two tio acts to that end passed by congress the stage Is all set tor for attempt so 10 3 in the next congress this time a constitutional amend ment in the foregoing fonn form is the selected method in tl e closing days of the last congress senator of cal from the committee on tha the 41 il clary submitted a report on senate joint resolutions 2516 and proposing an amendment to the constitution conferring on con gresa gress power to legislate in respect to child labor in favor of submitting to the legislatures of the several stat esthe following proposed amendment to the constitution resolved by the senate and house of representatives senta tives of the united states of america in con gress gres assembled two thirds of each house concur ring therein that the following article is proposed as an amendment to the constitution of the united states which when ratified by the legisla tures of three fourths of the several states shall be valid to all intents and purposes as a part of 0 the constitution article the congress shall have power con current mith that of the several states to limit or pr hibit the labor of persons under the age of ei eighteen gheen years it appears that the sever several il senate joint resola voris were mere referred to a subcommittee consisting of senators colt of rhode island and walsh of montana their conclusions and becom N lons ions are made a part of the report the several joint resolutions were introduced by the following senators senator johnson of california senator townsend of michigan senator mccormick Connick Mc of illinois senator lodge lode of massachusetts senator walsh of montana there Is the same basic idea in all as in the form recommended by the committee mith the exception of that of senator walsh which boull declare the power of congress to regulate commerce among the several states to embrace the to prohibit transportation in interstate commerce of commodities being the products of an employer of child labor it will be remembered that the act of september 1016 undertook to prohibit child labor by prohibiting transportation in interstate commerce of I 1 goods made in factories where child labor was used the supreme court held this act tut lonal ional because it exceeds the constitutional au all dhority of congress mr mir justice day delivered the opinion of the court and used the following lan ian guage in our view the necessary effect of this act Is by means of a prohibition against the movement in interstate commerce of ordinary commer caal commodities to regulate the hours of labor of children in factories and mines within the tates a purely state authority thus the act in a tw twofold sense Is repugnant to the constitution it not only transcends the authority delegated to con gross gress over commerce but also exerts a power pomer as to a purely local matter to which the federal au all dhority does not extend the far reaching result of upholding the act cannot be more plainly in than by pointing out that if congress can thus regulate matters entrusted to local authority by prohibition of the movement of coc in interstate commerce all freedom of coeline e will be at an end and the power of th estates oe 1 ft cal matters may be eliminated and thias our tern tem of government be practically destroyed the act of feb 24 1019 undertook to prohibit cl lid labor by imposing a tax of 10 per cent of tl ti e net profits of the year upon an employer using cl el ud lid labor the supreme court held it tu tut tlona ional on the ground that it is not a valid ex enelse by congress of its po vers of taxation under united states coi ution article I 1 section 8 bat tat Is an unconstitutional regulation tion bv the use ot of the so c billed tax as a penalty of the employ if gjent eat of cl lid labor in the states which under tilted states constitution tenth amen ament Is exclusively a state function the report of the committee contains the fol 01 ol lowing exposition of the necessity for protecting the hild life ot C tu wien and explanation of the reasons for tin the form term of the constitutional amend ment adopted inasmuch its the congress has tm twice ice considered it necessary necess essaiy aly aej vase to enact a law for the protection of the child life of our nation it would seem to be the mature and deliberate judgment of the people that such a law would be beneficial we must assume the congress considered that it had the power to enact such law lam s and thought it for the welfare of te me nation to exercise boat pow er but inasmuch Is the supreme court of the united states in hammer v dagenhart and bailey v drexel furniture co decided that the congress anler un ler the existing constitution did not have that power it Is proposed prop to confer or delegate that power pomer by way of a proposed amendment first it cannot be questioned but that it Is a paramount duty of government to guard and pro hect the welfare of its children to the end that they may have the utmost opportunity possible to attain the maximum development of their moral intellectual and physical beings this Is mani maill featly the due of all children since they are brought into the world without their volition en helpless and dependent but this is not alone simple justice to childhood itis also of the greatest importance to every state that its citizens should attain the highest development above indicated and it may be observed that while under our dual system of government the power and duty to make adequate provi provision sLon by law for the accomplishment of those most desirable ends are now vested in the several states nevertheless it Is as important to the national govern ment aa as it Is to the government of every state that its citizenry be afforded every opportunity for legitimate development and that such development should neither be stunted nor destro destroyed herein there lies the justification for the gov of the united states in asking of the states that upon it be conferred power concurrent with their own to legislate upon this matter so vital ital to both if the states shall have haie passed appropriate prop laws it is safe to say that any legisla tion of congress will march side by side with such laws if it a state has been unmindful of its duty then such congressional legislation will rill work no anju va but rather a positive benefit to the state itself as well nell as to the national government hence rence your committee reports in favor of the submission to the legislatures of the several states of some form of constitutional amendment confer ring power pomer upon the congress to legislate upon the subject what form shall that proposed amend ment bear unquestionably it should take the form of a grant of power and unquestionably the limitations of that power should be precisely defined beyond pera peradventure denture it should contemplate the future as well as the th e present indisputably it should be a po ner concurrent with mith that of the states since its purpose Is not to deprive the states of any of their powers but only to confer like powers on the national government still further it will not be questioned but that that power pomer should be given to control regulate or even to prohibit the use of such labor in all cases here the character of the labor Is dangerous in itself or may become dangerous through the in experience or heedlessness of childhood where in itself or in its surroundings it Is detrimental to the physical or moral welfare of childhood or where it is in character too onerous for the grow ing bobies boies of youth equally manifest Is it that in all occupations where child labor Is permitted legislative authority should have a determinative voice noice as to the terms times conditions and en iiron ment of its use such is day and night work re iso nible hours dangerous machinery hugic hygienic alc conditions and the like f P tl TI ese are the full la mental considerations which have controlled the action of this commit tee it I 1 as given painstaking consideration to the varying aning phraseology of the five concurrent resolutions set forth herein above aboe and to be found in i art I 1 of I 1 bearings it has made extended re searal into the legal and popular meach gs of worda words whose use has been recommended and it bai to submit the foll following oming as the form of he proposed constitutional amendment which it ampro approves es X 0 warr 1 abul the congress shall have poa power er concurrent with mith that of the several states to limit or prohibit labor of persons under the age of eighteen years A few words may be pertinent here to explain the bensons which influenced the committee in the adoption of the particular form of verbiage in which the resolution Is cast the use of the words power concurred speaks for itself the amendment Is not designed to deprive the states of any of their police powers but only to have them confer on the natt national onal gov eminent the right to exercise similar powers that in so doing they will not deprive th themselves em selves of any of their own powers may be taken as con adjudicated by the supreme court of the united states in the case of united states v lansa decided december 11 1022 1922 it seemed wise to adopt the word labor in lieu of the word employment the former word expresses precisely the matter of the proposed amendment it Is the use of the labor rather than the matter of its employment which Is of direct concern and to state it thus avoids all possibility of the shuf flings and evasions which might follow the adoption of the latter word mord A an n age limit Is declared it unquestionably W would have been sim simpler pier to have provided for the regulation and prohibition of the labor of call chil dren and to have stopped there but your corn com cittee became convinced that in asking for thia this it might fall utterly A marked difference of ion ton was developed at the hearings before the subcommittee it being argued on the one hand that after eighteen years of age girls and boys had bad passes the period of dependency and were cally and mentally capable of fending for them selves so that tue the power to protect them which mas w as sought by the amendment could safely be hill tied to the indicated age while on the other hand it was vms argued that many cases and classes merited protection after the age fixed and that as the state police power embraced the protection of its children during the period of their nonage and up to the instant of their majorities it was reason able to ask that identical police power be con berred on the national government I 1 reason Is found in both points of view but bour 5 our committee finally concluded to insert the eighteen year limitation because such limitation would certainly embrace the vast majority of cases calling for protection and remedial legislation wille the exceptional cases calling for legislation after that age might arise in one state and not in another and therefore might safely be left to the wisdom of each state and finally in con temptation temp atlon lation of the opposition which almost certain ly would arise should the word child be used and having in mind the common law definition of the word child and the many decisions of courts as to the legal meaning of that word it was thought expedient to ask for that which would accomplish the greatest good while being sub eject to the least opposition in order to remove all doubt as to the power to be delegated it was thought wise to use the word persons A conference of progressive governors of both parties Is to be held this summer to agree on certain amendments to the constitution re of child labor Is one subject certain to be considered V u |
