Mahlon Pitney

“ Apparently former opinions of this court have upheld Workmen's Compensation Acts against the claim that they destroy the right freely to contract, and thereby deprive of property without due process of law, upon the theory that the state may charge pecuniary losses arising from personal injuries against the industry, when men are employed in hazardous occupations for gain. If 'hazardous occupations' is not a mere empty phrase, there must be real hazard-legislative declaration is not enough. And hazard is something more than the mere possibility of injury which is always present. ”

“ The occupation of a clerk stationed in New York City cannot be rendered hazardous simply because 4 workmen are employed at Buffalo. To argue that an occupation is hazardous because some one engaged therein has received personal injuries is not helpful. Many have suffered fatal accidents while eating, but eating could hardly be called hazardous. If, as suggested by the court below, 'it was considered a risk to be in an employment where 4 or more manual laborers or operatives were engaged' irrespective of anything else, then the assumption is contrary to common experience. ”

“ Generally speaking a workman is a man employed in manual labor, whether skilled or unskilled, an artificer, mechanic or artisan, and an operative is a factory hand, one who operates machinery. Webster's New International Dictionary. There is a marked distinction between a workman and an employee. Although in a general sense all workmen and operatives are employees, yet all employees are not workmen or operatives within the meaning of this law. The words 'workmen' and 'operatives' are used in their narrower meaning. ”