Mortgage moratorium and unemployment compensation laws Reiman v. Rawls – Arkansas, 1934 (68 S.W.2d 470); State ex rel. Wagner v. Farm and Home Savings & Loan Ass’n – Missouri, 1936 (90 S.W.2d 93)
Unemployment compensation and fair competition codes State v. Greeson – Tennessee, 1939 (124 S.W.2d 253); Buckstaff Bath House Co. v. McKinley – Arkansas, 1939 (127 S.W.2d 802), affirmed, ___ U.S. ___ (____); Noble v. Davis – Arkansas, 1942 (161 S.W.2d 189)
Up from poverty: industrial development laws Azbill v. Lexington Manufacturing Co. – Tennessee, 1949 (221 S.W.2d 522); Faulconer v. City of Danville – Kentucky, 1950 (232 S.W.2d 80); Halbert v. Helena-West Helena Industrial Development Corp. – Arkansas, 1956 (291 S.W.2d 802)
“The promotion of the interests of individuals, … although it may result incidentally in the advancement of the public welfare, is, in its essential character, a private and not a public object. However certain and great the resulting good to the general public, it does not, by reason of its comparative importance, cease to be incidental.” – Ferrell v. Doak - Tennessee, 1925 (275 S.W. 79), relied on by the court in Azbill “The consensus of modern legislative and judicial thinking is to broaden the scope of activities which may be classed as involving a public purpose. (cite) It reaches perhaps its broadest extent under the view that econ welfare is one of the main concerns of the city, state and the fed governments. This is manifested by the great bulk of recent social security programs of the nation and the state.” – Justice __, in Faulconer | ![]() Day labor recruitment point, Memphis, Tennessee (1939) - courtesy Farm Security Administration and New York Public Library “If the [unfair competition code’s price restriction] is valid, then the Legis can directly, or through a board, fix … fees … ad infinitum until the liberty of the individual and the right to contract is destroyed.” - Justice __, in Greeson “Individuals, firms, and corps engaged in business are privileged to do so because of the protection extended by govt. Enforcement of contracts generally is a matter of constant judicial address. The State’s welfare is best served when those of its citizens who must labor are able to find employment at profitable wages and in healthful surroundings. … [The worker’s] misfortune is not one affecting the individual alone. It extends to the entire community. If unemployment cannot be avoided, at least its tragic consequences can be ameliorated.” – Justice Frank Smith, in Buckstaff
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EMPIRE OF LAWS - The Legal History of the 50 American States > 4. MOUNTAIN SOUTH LEGAL HISTORY > 4.5 Mountain South: Depression, War and the Death of Jim Crow (1920-1965) >