All of the bills relative to the reorganization in departments of the executive and administrative functions H. 1830, as amended and changed by H. B. 3d R. and passed by the House to be engrossed. 1 This bill has been included because it provides for the postponement of the taking effect of certain amend- This bill has been included because it provides for the postponement of the taking effect of certain amend- See under "Public Employment," on page 184. 4 N. G. C. under 12th Joint Rule. III. OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL ON PENDING LEGISLATION, 1919. AN ACT TO REGULATE THE HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT OF BAKERY WORKERS. HOUSE DOCUMENT No. 1381. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL, LELAND POWERS, Esq., Chairman, Committee on Bills in the Third Reading. DEAR SIR: I am in receipt of your letter of the 6th inst. in which you request my opinion upon the constitutionality of House Bill No. 114, entitled "An Act to regulate the hours of employment of bakery workers." The first two sections of the act are as follows: "SECTION 1. Except in cases of emergency as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful to make or bake bread, rolls, buns, biscuits, cake, pastry and crackers and all other bakery goods in any bakeshop, bakery, hotel, restaurant or club, between the hours of eight o'clock in the evening and four o'clock in the morning. "SECTION 2. In cases of emergency where serious suffering, loss, damage, or public inconvenience are threatened, the police commissioner of the city of Boston, or any member of the police department thereof having the rank not lower than captain and designated by said commissioner, or the chief of police of any other city or of any town upon such terms and conditions as he shall impose may issue a permit allowing the work prohibited in the preceding section to be done in the prohibited hours, but such permit shall be valid only during the twelve hours after the time it is issued." In the case of Lochner v. New York, 198 U. S. 45, it was held that a statute of New York limiting the hours of employment in bakeries to not more than ten hours a day was unconstitutional, as "an illegal interference with the rights of individuals, both employers and employees, to make contracts regarding labor upon such terms as they may think best or which they may agree upon with the other parties to such contracts." This decision was expressly recognized by our Supreme Judicial Court in the case of Commonwealth v. Boston & Maine R.R., 222 Mass. 206, as binding upon the Legislature and courts of this Commonwealth. It seems clear from these decisions that House Bill No. 114 would be unconstitutional if enacted into law, unless the fact that the prohibition contained in this bill applies only to night work and baking at night makes it distinguishable from these cases. If employment in the night-time in a bakery, or baking at night, has any reasonable relation to the public health, safety, or morals, acts of this character might be sustained as valid police regulations. The question of whether the prohibition contained in this bill is appropriate to safeguard the public health or the health of individuals who are following the trade of a baker is largely a question of fact, in the first instance, at least, to be determined by the Legislature itself. No evidence, however, has come to my attention which tends to show that this bill can be distinguished from the acts found to be unconstitutional in the cases cited, and, accordingly, I am constrained to advise that, in my opinion, House Bill No. 114 would be unconstitutional if enacted into law. Very truly yours, DEAR SIR: I am in receipt of a copy of an order adopted by the Honorable Senate on the 9th inst., of the following tenor: "Ordered, That the Senate request the opinion of the Attorney-General on the following question of law: Would it be contrary to the laws of the United States or of this Commonwealth for a combination of fishermen to enter into an agreement with dealers purchasing their product fixing minimum prices for such product as a method of fixing the wages of such fishermen?" The order does not state to whom the product upon which the price is to be fixed belongs, but apparently it is assumed to belong to the fishermen. Upon this assumption it is not possible for me to give an opinion, for the reason that the answer would depend upon facts which are not stated. For example, whether the purpose of the combination of fishermen and dealers is to advance the price of fish, or whether the combination would be of such size as to give substantial price-making power. I apprehend, however, that the purpose of the Honorable Senate in passing the order was to obtain an opinion which would be applicable to the situation in the fish industry in this Commonwealth, and therefore submit the following answer. It is my understanding that the fishermen employed on vessels landing fish at Boston and other points in this Commonwealth are in general paid an amount equal to a certain proportionate part of the proceeds of the cargo, the proportion varying from 7-1000, in the case of a fisherman on a steam trawler, to a much larger percentage in the case of fishermen employed on sailing vessels, the variation being due principally |