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COMPULSORY
EIGHT-HOUR LAW IMPOSSIBLE
The bill in question
provides that after July 1 of this year eight hours of labor between the
rising and setting of the sun shall be a legal day's work in all mechanical
trades, arts, and employments, whether the work is done for private individuals
or for the public.В The hours of labor are to be between 8 and 5, except
when an agreement is made to work men in relays or shifts.В Both those
who agree to work more than eight hours a day and those with whom the
agreement is made are liable for the first offense to a fine not exceeding
a hundred dollars. Hardened offenders may be both fined and jailed for
not more than a year.
Were such a bill
to pass, the Supreme Court would snuff it out contemptuously. For that
reason it is doubtful whether the Legislature will be guilty of passing
such an absurd measure. The Supreme Court would declare it unconstitutional,
because the Legislature has no right to dictate to a man at what he shall
work, how long he shall work, or what pay he shall get for his work. In
this country all those things are outside the jurisdiction of the State.В
The Legislature can regulate the hours of work of minors. It can prevent
their employment in hazardous occupations. It can also regulate workshops,
factories, and mines in order to secure the health or life of those working
in them. There its power stops.
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В -- "Compulsory
Eight-Hour Law Impossible," Chicago
Tribune, 5 January 1893
7. According to the writer of this
newspaper article, why is the bill regulating hours of work "absurd?"
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