In an article in the previous issue of the Lietuva, it was explained that if the United States Congress passed the Adamson Bill, which grants a maximum eight-hour working day to certain railroad workers, then a similar law granting a maximum eight-hour day to all other workers in the United States should be enacted. A similar opinion was expressed by President Wilson, who supported the Adamson Bill. President Wilson stated that public opinion is in favor of a national law providing an eight-hour maximum working day.

However, Senators and Congressmen are alike opposed to such legislation. They say that an eight-hour working day should be enacted only for certain railroad workers (only for those who are employed on trains).

Now everyone will ask: Why must other employees work longer than the railroad 2employees, and why does not Congress enact a law granting an eight-hour maximum working day equally to all workers in the United States?

The people will get the following answer to this question: Congress, even if it wishes to do so, cannot enact such a law, because Congress has no right to stick its nose between the employer and the employee. Congress has the right to intervene in the affairs of only those workers and employers engaged in interstate commerce. That is, Congress has the right to regulate that commerce which is conducted between one state and another, but not that which is conducted wholly within the bounds of any one state. The railroads are engaged in interstate commerce; therefore, Congress has the right to regulate the railroads and pass laws for their control.

This is the explanation provided by the Senators and Congressmen. It is quite true that Congress has no right to interfere with the internal affairs of any state.

But wait awhile! Not so long ago the United States Congress passed a law 3prohibiting minors under fourteen years of age to work in factories (many such minors were employed in factories in the Southern States). By what right did Congress interfere with the employment of those children? Surely, child labor is an internal affair of a state, and does not pertain to interstate commerce; by intervening in such matters, Congress has violated the Constitution of the United States.

"That is quite true", the members of Congress said at that time. "The Constitution does not grant us the right us the right to regulate child labor, and we are not doing so. But we have the right to regulate interstate commerce, and accordingly we have passed a law to the effect that all commodities which have been produced in whole or in part by children under fourteen years of age cannot be transported from one state into another."

In that manner, child labor in the United States was abolished. Employers who used child labor soon realized that the employment of small children would greatly interfere with their business, and for that reason they voluntarily ceased to employ them.

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Therefore, if it is just that railroad employees work only eight hours a day, it must likewise be just for all other employees to work only eight hours a day. What the Congress has done in regard to child labor, Congress can also do in regard to all other workers. All that Congress has to do is to enact a law to the effect that all commodities produced by employees working more than eight hours a day cannot be transported from one state into another.

If such a law is enacted, there will not be even a single factory or office that could profitably employ workers more than eight hours a day....