The struggle for reasonable wages and hours Ritchie v. People – Illinois, 1895 (40 N.E. 454); City of Cleveland v. Clements Bros. Construction Co. – Ohio, 1902 (65 N.E. 885); State v. Varney Electric Supply Co. – Indiana, 1903 (66 N.E. 895); Ritchie v. Wayman – Illinois, 1910 (91 N.E. 695); Stange v. City of Cleveland – Ohio, 1916 (114 N.E. 261)
Workers compensation laws Borgnis v. Falk – Wisconsin, 1911 (133 N.W. 209); State ex rel. Yaple v. Creamer – Ohio, 1912 (97 N.E. 602); Debeikis v. Link-Belt Co. – Illinois, 1914 (104 N.E. 211); Hunter v. Colfax Consolidated Coal. Co. – Iowa, 1916 (157 N.W. 145)
The comeback of yellow-dog laws State ex rel. Smith v. Daniels – Minnesota, 1912 (136 N.W. 584); Jackson v. Berger – Ohio, 1915 (110 N.E. 732)
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Lewis Hine - Child workers in Indiana glass factory, 1908 (courtesy Wikimedia Commons) “If the Legislature ... can regulate the price of labor, it may also regulate the prices of flour, fuel, merchandise, and land. But these are powers which have never been conceded to the Legislature, and their exercise by the state would be utterly inconsistent with our idea of civil liberty." - Justice Alexander Dowling, in Varney "When an 18th century constitution forms the charter of liberty of a twentieth century government must its general provisions be construed and interpreted by an 18thcentury mind in the light of 18th century conditions and ideals? Clearly not. This were to command the race to halt in its progress, to stretch the state upon a veritable bed of Procrustes." - Chief Justice John Winslow, in Borgnis "If the constitution is to efficiently endure, the ideal that it is capable of being re-squared, from time to time, to fit new legislative or judicial notions, ... must be combated whenever and wherever advance." - Justice Roujet Marshall, in Borgnis "Theoretically the employer and employee are on an equality, ... but in practice it is to the employee very often a matter of compulsion, and not of free choice. ... To sustain life he must needs obtain or retain employment on whatever terms it may be offered. Under such conditions his necessities may easily be made use of as a means of coercion." - Justice Andrew Holt, in Daniels “Every time a state or federal legislature has
undertaken to exercise the police power in preventing gross abuses that jeopardize
life, liberty, health and public safety generally, every mercenary interest
affected thereby has claimed that its liberty of contract was being
violated. This theory has been invoked
to protect almost every infamy that can be put into the form of a contract." - Justice Reuben Wanamaker (dissenting), in Jackson |
EMPIRE OF LAWS - The Legal History of the 50 American States > 5. MIDWEST LEGAL HISTORY > 5.4. The Midwest, 1900-1925: The Progressive Era and Its Aftermath >