398 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



years have been employed shall pay an excise tax equiva- 

 lent to lo per centum of the net profits. It authorizes the 

 Secretary of Labor and Commissioner of Internal Reve- 

 nue, or any other person authorized by either of them, 

 "to enter and inspect at any time any mill, cannery, work- 

 shop, factory or manufacturing establishment." The 

 law is held to be invalid by the Supreme Court of the 

 United States, in J. W. Bailey vs. The Drexel Furniture 

 Company, May 15, 1922. The Court holds that the law 

 regulates business "by the use of the so-called tax as a 

 penalty," and "is imposed to stop the employment of 

 children within the age limits prescribed." 



In its decision the court uses this language: "Grant 

 the validity of this law, and all that Congress would need 

 to do, hereafter, in seeking to take over to its control 

 any one of the great number of subjects of public in- 

 terest, jurisdiction of which the States have never 

 parted with, and which are reserved to them by the Tenth 

 Amendment, would be to enact a detailed measure of com- 

 plete regulation of the subject and enforce it by a so- 

 called tax upon departures from it. To give such magic 

 to the word tax would be to break down all constitu- 



tional limitation of the powers of Congress and com- 

 pletely wipe out the sovereignty of the States. 



"The necessary effect of this act is to regulate the 

 hours of labor of children in factories and mines within 

 the states, a purely state authority. The so-called tax 

 is a penalty to coerce people of a State to act as Con- 

 gress wishes them to act in respect of a matter com- 

 pletely the business of the state government under the 

 Federal Constitution." 



Lawyers are, of course, most competent to interpret 

 this decision in relation to the principles of the Capper 

 bill. If it casts a clear doubt upon the constitutional 

 validity of the tax feature of the Capper bill, the sooner 

 that issue is eliminated the better, because the need of 

 forestry legislation is too urgent to admit of fighting 

 over a form of legislation which has little chance of 

 being upheld by the Supreme Court. It would serve to 

 clarify issues in the fight for national forestry legisla- 

 tion if the advocates of the Capper bill would select a 

 committee of five or seven lawyers of national standing 

 to pass upon the constitutionality of the Capper, bill in 

 the light of the decision in the Child Labor Tax Law and 

 then accept the judgment of these legal authonties.'" ' 



GIFFORD PINCHOT, FORESTER- GOVERNOR 



GIFFORD PINCHOT'S record as conservationist and 

 administrator is so well known, particularly to the 

 readers of American Forestry, that they will appreciate 

 the impetus to conservation signalized by his nomination 

 as the Republican candidate for Governor of Penn- 

 sylvania. Unless the unexpected happens, Mr. Pinchot 

 will become the next Governor of Pennsylvania, be- 

 cause of the normal Republican majority in that state. 



Mr. Pinchot is so weill informed in conservation 

 matters in Pennsylvania, that he is exceptionally well 

 equipped to assume active leadership in them. It was 

 upon the urgent call of Governor William C. Sproul that 

 he accepted the appointment of Commissioner of For- 

 estry on March 10, 1920, in order that forestry in 

 Pennsylvania could be raised to a standard to meet the 

 State's needs. He took hold of the work aggressively, 

 and in two years of service with the Department of For- 

 estry so aroused public interest and- accomplished such 

 far-reaching results in forestry, that the impress has 

 been felt throughout the country. 



In his enthusiastic and able manner he obtained pub- 

 lic interest and support in forest protection and forest 

 practice unparalleled in any state in such a short time. 

 Stressing the vital need of forest protection from fire, 

 he secured an appropriation of $1,000,000 for forest pro- 

 tection, an unprecedented record for State work, for the 



biennial period June i, 1921 to May 31, 1923. He also 

 secured legislation authorizing a reorganization of the 

 Department of Forestry along highly constructive lines. 

 An important and significant provision of the Act is 

 that the Commissioner of Forestry and his Deputy, and 

 the heads of bureaus and offices handling technical for- 

 est work, must be men of technical training and ex- 

 perience in forestry. 



The Pennsylvania Department of Forestry made won- 

 derful progress under Mr. Pinchot's administration whicji 

 was marked by efficient conduct of business, intelligent 

 leadership, close cooperation with the public, and the 

 spirit of public service. There was no drastic over- 

 turn in personnel in the accomplishment of it. Each 

 member of the Department was put to the task for which 

 he was best fitted, and a fine esprit de corps developed. 

 A standard of public service was thus created in the 

 Pennsylvania service of the type which has characterized 

 the United States Forest Service since its inception. 



In the' larger field now open to him, Mr. Pinchot 

 will demonstrate without question the high standards of 

 efficiency, conduct and accomplishment which have 

 marked his entire career. He is amply fitted by training 

 and experience in public service to meet the problems 

 of the Keystone State. 



