Commonwealth v. Wormser

Citations

• 260 Pa. 44
• 103 A. 500
• 1918 Pa. LEXIS 465

Syllabus

<p>Constitutional law — Bill of rights — Fifth Amendment of Constitution of United States — Employment of minors — Night worh— Employment certificate — Act of May IS, 1915, P. L. 286 — Police power.,</p> <p>1. In determining the validity of a statute enacted under the police power, the question is, does the regulation subserve a reasonable public purpose. Regulations of the affairs of a state tending to promote such an object are within the clear power of the state and should he upheld.</p> <p>2. The Constitution of Pennsylvania permits the legislature to enact all laws which are not forbidden by its letter or spirit.</p> <p>3. A large discretion is necessarily vested in the legislature not only with respect to the welfare of the people but also with respect to the means necessary to promote it.</p> <p>4. The right of parental control is a natural but not an inalienable one, and the public has a paramount interest in the virtue and knowledge of its citizens, and the business of education belongs to it.</p> <p>5. The Act of May 13, 1915, P. L. 286, regulating the employment of minors does not contravene the bill of rights of this State or the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.</p> <p>6. The provisions of the Act of 1915 that children under the age of 16 shall not be employed in factories at night is a reasonable exercise of the police power.</p> <p>7. There is nothing incompatible with personal rights in the regulation that no minor shall be employed to work in any establishment unless an employment certificate has been issued as provided by the Act of 1915.</p>