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Show iiraiGE LAWJIS INVALID SUPREME COURT HOLDS DISTRICT DIS-TRICT OF COLUMBIA ACT UNCONSTITUTIONAL Justice Sutherland Reads Opinion of Tribunal; Asserts It Is Duty To Override Congress; Taft Disseints Washington. Advocates of minimum mini-mum wage laws suffered a big defeat de-feat Monday when the supreme court held unconstitutional such a statute recently passed for the District of Columbia by congress. Several states have adopted similar simi-lar statutes. The law provided for a board representing rep-resenting the public employers and employes which would investigate working conditions of women and children and fix minimum wages. The court held the law invalid by a vote of 5 to 3, Chief Justice Taft, Justice Holmes and Justice Sanford dissenting. Justice Brandels took no part In the consideration of the case. Taft asserted that If the court was to stand by previous decisions upholding up-holding laws fixing maximum hours of labor, as it has done, It should also uphold laws fixing minimum wages. Both laws are very similar in effect, Taft said. |