| Show THE LAW IS constitutional late thursday chief justice ane banded down an opinion ioD which was waa concurred in by justices barten and miner in the CASS of albert F holden ve VB jharvey harvey hardy the opinion affects the eight hour law lav and in part to la as follows this abia statute limits the hours of employment of laboring men matt in under around mines any and smelters shelters sm elters or other works for the re notion ruction of ores oree or refining of ot metals to eight hours bourn per day the question for our consideration and decision la Is had bad the legislature the power to enact th this Is law article 16 of the constitution of this state in ie as ae jol joelowe lollo lowe wf laws of 1896 page section 1 the of labor shall have just juat protection through me laws law calculated to promote the industrial welfare of the state sec 2 the legislature shall provide by low jaw for a board of labor conciliation and arbitration which shall fairly represent the interests of both capital anti and labor the board shall perform duties and receive compensation as an prescribed by law see bee 8 the legislature shall prohibit first the employment of wo men or of children under ane age of 14 years in underground mines second the contracting of convict labor third the labor of convicts outside prison grounds except on public works under the direct control of the state Fourth The political and commercial control of emp employee loye sec 4 the exon exchange ange of blacklists by railroad companies or other corporations po rations associations or persons to Is pro habited hibi ted see sec 6 5 the right of action to recover damages for injuries resulting in death shall never be abrogated and the amount recoverable shall riot not be subject to any statutory limitation see sec 6 right eight hours shall constitute a dayd daya work on all works or undertakings carried on or aided by the state county or municipal government and the legislature shall hall pass laws to provide for the health and gaiety of employee emp loyes in factories smelt ore ers and mines see sec 7 the legislature by appropriate legislation shall provide for the enforcement of the provisional provi siona of this article the first section of the act makes it the duty of the she legislature to protect the rights of laboring men by the enactment of just laws calculated to pro mote the industrial welfare of the people such laws law as an will be just to all classes the command is to the lawmaking department of the state and the only express limitations upon the power are that such laws shall be just juet and calculated to promote the welfare of the industrial du classes the legislature must decide whether the law is just and adapted to the purpose named and unless the law to Is so palpably unjust JUIst or so clearly not calou calculated to promote the purposes mentioned in the constitution as to remove every reasonable doubt that it Is unjust or that it is ia not dot calculated to promote the purpose expressed in the he constitution toe court should not hold it without the scope of the authority menti mention ont d in that instrument the first clause of section 6 declares that elgot eig tit hours shall constitute a dayd work on all works or undertakings carried on or aided by the state county or municipal government 02 we presume the object of this provision was to protect the laboring man from the injurious consequences of prolonged physical effort and to give him the remainder of the twenty four hours for his own personal affairs and for the cultivation of his mental and moral powers the acquisition of useful knowledge and lor for rest and sleep the second oleuse clause of the section commands we legislature to pass pasa jaws baws or the health and safety of employee emp loyes to in factories sm smelters elters and mines this provision must be regarded as an express expression lob of the will of the people of the state with respect to the sub ejects and objects of legislation named in it aud and they possessed all the power to enact jaws with respect to such subjects that the people of the united states had not conferred in the national constitution exclusively on that government any laws adapted to the preservation of the health or safety of employee emp loyes in smelt ers ere or mines is ia within the scope of this his provision the law must be con connected mooted with some of the he objects named and calculated to effect that purpose it if it is not so connected and adapted the court has the be right to bold that it is in not within the scope of the provision but if there is ie a reasonable doubt as to the connection and adaptation the advisability vis ability must be held bold by the court to have been with the lawmaking law making power the court must be able to bee clearly that the law was not so no connected before holding it void for that reason it if the power to pass the law is conceded the court cannot set it aside because it may deem its enactment unnecessary or injudicious or because the ibe court may think that experience has proven it so or because the court may think itself more sagacious than ban the legislature and can therefore see more clearly that the law w will III retard rather than promote progress rod and prosperity and will be a detriment to the community when actually applied to human affairs amid the conditions of the future this brings us to the question to Is the first section of the statute limiting the period of employment of laboring meu meli in underground mines to so eight hours per day except in oases cases of emergency where life or property Is in imminent danger calculated to protect the health of such laboring meo men the effort necessary to successful mining if performed upon the surface of the earth in pure air arid io in the sunlight pro longel J bayoud eight hours hour might not injuriously affect the health of an able bodied map man but when so extended beneath the be surface away from the sunlight might injuriously affect their health it it necessary to use uee artificial means to supply pure air to men laboring in mines any considerable distance from the sur fur face that thai being so BO it to la reasonable to assume that the air Introduce dand the impure import air beneath the surface when mixed to la not as healthful as the free air upon the surface the fact must be conceded that the breathing of pure air is ia wholesome and the breathing of impure air Is unwholesome we cannot say eay that the law limiting the period of labor in underground mines to eight hours each day is not calculated to promote health that it is not dot adapted to the protection of the health or the class of men who work in underground mines while the provision of the coris constitution titu under consideration makes it the duty of the legislature to enact laws jaw to protect the health and to secure the safety of men working in underground mines and in factories and smelters shelters sm elters it does not prohibit the legi legislature lature from enacting other laws affecting such classes to promote the she general welfare while the constitution of the united states ta in a delegation of f powers to that government with some acme express limitations upon the powers powen conferred it also contains imitations upon the powers of the states the government which it created is le regarded as ag one of the enumerated and delegated powers powen on the other hand band while the state constitution contains some ome mandatory provisions with others distinguishing the departments of the government and specifying the duties of various officers thereof it contains cont alne many limitations upon the state and Is 18 regarded in a general sense seme as ae a limitation upon the she state government the authority of the general government is ascertained from the powers delegated delegat eds while t tl of the state government are ascertained from those nt not prohibited the powers of the first are described by those dele gated and the powers of the latter consist of those not prohibited this leaves the be state legislature in the possession of all the law making power not prohibited to it by the he coo con sti lution of the united states or tb abe e laws made in pursuance of it or by the state constitution the enactment ol of some laws is made mandatory the enactment of others is left to the discretion or of she legislature as aa the public welfare may do demand among the mandatory provisions of the constitution of this state is in the one under consideration it is claimed that the enactment of abs tbs be statute to in question was forbidden by section 7 of article 1 of the constitution of the state which is that no person shall be deprived of life liberty or property without due process of law the petitioner insists that his bis trial was not and that his imprisonment is not according to the law of the land because the statute fixing the he period of labor of a laboring man in underground mines was waa aa be claims forbidden by the constitution aud and therefore void if the legislature had bad power to pass the law there was wag no valid object objection ibri to his bla trial fine and imprisonment it if the tb law was valid the be usual and ordinary process was wag adopted it if it was not valid the defendant was wag deprived of his bin liberty without due process of law it ie 18 also that the revisions visions of the state law were forbidden bidden lor by section 1 of article 14 of the constitution ol of the united states slates as follows all persons born or naturalized la in the united states and subject to the thereof are citizens of the united states slates and of the state wherein they reside no state shall make mabe or enforce any law which shall abridge the or immunities of citizens tizana cl of the united state stales nor shall any state deprive any person of life liberty or property without due process of law nor deny to any person within its j jurisdiction driad lotion the equal protection of the law this section declare let lat that all Pert persons ions born or naturalized to la the baited U oiled states and surjeet to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the united and of the state wherein they reside they are made citizens of two wo distinct goverD 2nd and it declares wat no state shall make or enforce any law which shall ahall abridge the she privileges or immunities of citi citizens of the united states the enactment of state laws law depriving or abridging privileges of immunities muni ties of citizens of the state is left to 10 the he state legislature so BO far as this provision goes it secures to ti citizens of the united states in any state the privileges and immunities of the she citizens of that state stage expounding the provision now under consideration the supreme court of the he united states said the constitutional provision there alluded to lid did oot dot create those rights which Is called t privileges leges and immunities of citizens of the state it throw threw around them in that clause no security tor for the she citizen cities of the state in which they were claimed and exercised nor did it profess to control the power of the state government over the rights of its own citizens its sole purpose was to declare to the she several states wat that what ever those rights as you grant or establish them to your own citizens or as you limit or quality qualify or impose restrictions strict tr ions on their exercise the same items neither more nor less shall be the she measure of the rights of citizens of otner other states within your j jurisdiction 19 9 we do not aree with defendants counsel that the business bu ainess of minion mining to affected with a public interest and the legislature had the power to pass the law for that reason mines are owned by private persons persona or corcor gor po rations ione who have the exclusive use and control of them as a farmer may own his bin farm and have the exclusive ure ups and control of lc it the fact that the business way may benefit the public does not give the public any interest in the she mine or its business or affect it with a public interest it to Is not like the railroad business such bach property and business to la owned by a private corporation but the use of the road Is in the public travelers and i shippers have a common right to use the road for such purposes by paying tares fares and freights the same may be said of other classes of business simil atly arly affected with a public use and interest bus while the business of mining may not be affected with a public interest the legislature may onset enact laws adapted to the promotion of the health and safety of men working in under ground mines whatever difference of opinion liay may exist as to the extent and boundaries of 0 the police power anti however difficult it may be to render a satisfactory definition of it there seems to be nu no doubt that it does exist to the protect protection iou of the lives health and property of the clil citi zens aud and to the preservation of ghou order and the public good the legislature cannot by any contract ulvert itself of the power to provide for these objects object they belong emphatically to that class of objects which demand the application or of the maxim solus alua supreme lex and they are to be attained and provided tor for by such appropriate means as the legislative discretion may devise teat to at discretion can no more be bargained than the power itself 21 2 1 beer baer company vs ve 97 CT U 86 the section of the statute whose constitutionality Is involved in this case includes Include sall all employee emp loyes and employers employ eia ets engaged in working underground mines none are omitted who may be subject to the peculiar conditions that attend such mining the provision of the state constitution quoted makes it the duty of the legislature to pass laws to provide for the health and safety of employed emp loyes in factories amel and mines minee I and we are not authorized author iced to hold that the law in question to is not calculated and adapted to any degree to promote the health and safety of persons working in mines sod and smelters shelters sm elters were we to do so ani ana declare it void vad we would usurp the powers entrusted by the constitution to the he law making power the discharge of the petitioner is denied and he be la Is remanded to the custody of the sheriff named until die charged according to law |
