Charles Evans Hughes

“ The stipulation which the statute nullifies is one made in advance of the injury, that the subsequent acceptance of benefits shall constitute full satisfaction of the claim for damages. It is in this aspect that the question arises as to the restriction of liberty of contract.
It has been held that the right to make contracts is embraced in the conception of liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution. ”

“ On the one hand it is said that the relief department is in the control of the corporation; that by reason of their exigency the employees may readily be constrained to become members; that the relief fund consists in larger part of contributions made from wages; that the acceptance of benefits takes place at a time when the employee is suffering from the consequences of his injury, and, being seriously in need of aid, he may easily be induced to accept payment from the fund in which, by reason of his contributions, he feels that he is entitled to share ”

“ It is urged that the prohibition of the amendatory act applies only to those employees of railroad corporations who were embraced within the provision of the original statute, and to the enforcement of the particular liabilities which that statute defined. The limitation to a particular class of employees of railroad corporations is based upon the decisions of the state court that the benefits of the original statute were confined to those who were engaged in the hazardous business of operating railroads. ”

“ If the legislature may require the use of safety devices, it may prohibit agreements to dispense with them. If it may restrict employment in mines and smelters to eight hours a day, it may make contracts for longer service unlawful. In such case the interference with the right to contract is incidental to the main object of the regulation, and if the power exists to accomplish the latter, the interference is justified as an aid to its exercise. ”

“ The whole is no greater than the sum of all the parts, and when the individual health, safety, and welfare are sacrificed or neglected, the state must suffer."
Here there is no question as to the validity of the regulation or as to the power of the state to impose the liability which the statute prescribes. The statute relates to that phase of the relation of master and servant which is presented by the case of railroad corporations. It defined the liability of such corporations for injuries resulting from negligence and mismanagement in the use and operation of their railways. ”

“ In dealing with the relation of employer and employed, the legislature has necessarily a wide field of discretion in order that there may be suitable protection of health and safety, and that peace and good order may be promoted through regulations designed to insure wholesome conditions of work and freedom from oppression. ”

“ The facts with regard to the organization, purpose, and management of the relief department, and the regulations governing it, were fully averred. The department was organized in 1889, as a part of the service of the railroad company, with the object of creating a fund out of which definite amounts of money should be paid to contributing employees in the event of disability from sickness or accident, or, in case of death, for their proper burial and the relief of their families. ”

“ The right to make contracts is subject to the exercise of the powers granted to Congress for the suitable conduct of matters of national concern; as, for example, the regulation of commerce with foreign nations and among the several states. ”

“ We pass without comment the criticisms which are made of certain details of the relief plan, for neither the suggested excellence nor the alleged defects of a particular scheme may be permitted to determine the validity of the statute, which is general in its application. ”

“ As the purpose of the amendment was to supplement the original statute, the classification was properly the same. And with respect to subsequent transactions, the amendment must be regarded as having the same validity as it would have had if it had formed a part of the earlier enactment. No criticism on the ground of discrimination can successfully be addressed to the amendatory act which would not likewise impeach the statute in its earlier form. ”

“ The possession of this power by government in no manner conflicts with the proposition that, generally speaking, every citizen has a right freely to contract for the price of his labor, services, or property.' Frisbie v. ”