Stanley Forman Reed

“ A fortiori civil controls may apply, we think, to liabilities created by statutory regulation of labor contracts, even if aliens may be involved, where the incidents regulated occur on areas under the control, though not within the territorial jurisdiction or sovereignty of the nation enacting the legislation. [2] This is implicitly conceded by all parties. This power is placed specifically in Congress by virtue of the authorization for 'needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States'. ”

“ The rights of control over the areas obtained by the United States from the Republic of the Philippines are quite similar to those obtained over the Bermuda base. The power of control over leased areas obtained by the United States through the above leases is not greater than that ordinarily exercised by sovereign lessees of foreign territory. ”

“ Under such circumstances, our duty as a Court is to construe the word 'possession' as our judgment instructs us the lawmakers, within constitutional limits, would have done had they acted at the time of the legislation with the present situation in mind.
The word 'possession' in the Act includes far off islands whose economy differs markedly from our own. ”

“ Thus the employees of Puerto Rico, Guam, the guano islands, Samoa and the Virgin Islands have the protection of the Act. See C.F.R.,1947 Supp., 4393. Since drastic change in local economy was not a deterrent in these instances, there is no reason for saying that the wage-hour provisions of the Act were not intended to bring these minimum changes into the labor market of the bases. [15] Since its passage of the Act, Congress has extended the coverage of the Longshoremen's and Harborworkers' Compensation Act to the bases acquired since January 1, 1940, and to Guantanomo Bay. ”