Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 19.pdf/329

 THE GREEN- BAG tance and one not to be lightly decided against the power of the National Government. It seems to me it is worthy of more elaborate treatment and fuller discussion than is devoted to it in the opinion to which I have referred." CONSTITUTIONAL LAW (Executive's Power over Legislature). James D. Barnett has the first part of an article on ' ' The Execu tive Control of the Legislature," in the MarchApril American Law Review (V. xli, p. 215). "The methods of the executive control of the legislature in the United States consist, for the most part, of the recommendation of legislation, the approval and veto of legisla tive measures, the call and limitation of special sessions of the legislature, changing the place of the legislative sessions, the adjournment of the legislature, and the issue of writs of elec tion to fill vacancies in the legislature." The first two are considered in this number, the discussion being wholly from the- legal point of view with copious citation and discussion of cases. The article will be concluded in the May-June number. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW (Michigan). "Some Suggested Changes in the Constitu tion of Michigan," by John A. Fairlie, April Michigan Law Review (V. v, p. 439). CONSTITUTIONAL LAW (see Japanese Compromise). CONTRACTS. "Some Option-Contract Quandaries in Illinois Law, "byGeorge Packard, Illinois Law Review (V. i, p. 571). CONTRACTS (Labor Union and Employer). A suggestive article for all interested in labor questions is Frank W. Grinnell's in the MarchApril American Law Review, entitled " An Analysis of the Legal Value of a Labor Union Contract" (V. xli, p. 197). The writer deals "with the contractual relations of a labor union and an employer from the inside, espe cially in the light of certain recent decisions in New York and Massachusetts. Because of its simplicity for the purposes of discussion, the form of contract recently considered by the Massachusetts court in the case of Berry v. Donovan, 188 Mass. 353," is used. The principal points covered by this con tract are: 1st. The use of the union stamp label on goods as an advertisement. . . 2d. The

retention and employment of union men only. This is the " closed shop " clause. 3d. The cessation of strikes and lockouts and the refer ence to arbitration of all questions of wages and conditions of labor which cannot be mutu ally agreed upon. This is the so-called " arbi tration " clause. The first of these three points is merely incidental to the second and third. The author's analysis leads him to the fol lowing conclusion as to the " closed shop" clause. "1 st. The principles of liberty demand that the 'closed shop ' agreement be held illegal as to the non-union man who is forced out of his job, as in Curran v. Galen, Berry v. Donovan, Martell v. White, and Boutwell v. Marr. "2d. That the same principles demand that the ' closed shop ' clause be held illegal in the sense of being unenforceable against the employer, as in the decision of the Appellate Division in Jacobs v. Cohen. "d. That the same principles demand that the employer shall not be prevented by a court from carrying out such a clause if he sees fit, as in Mills v. U. S. Printing Co. of Ohio." . By the " arbitration clause," it is mutually agreed that the union will not cause or sanc tion any strike, and that the employer will not lock out his employees while this agree ment is in force. All questions of wages or conditions of labor, which cannot be mutually agreed upon, shall be submitted to the State Board of Arbitration. The decision of this Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding upon the employer, the union, and the em ployees. The union agrees to assist the employer in procuring competent workers to fill the places' of any employees who refuse to abide by the above, or who may withdraw or be expelled from the union. This sounds very fair but Mr. Grinnell puts the following case " suggested by actual experience." "A shoe manufacturer, in order to stop a strike in his factory, decides to try the experi ment of the ' closed shop ' and the ' union label,' and signs a contract in the form above quoted for three years, the contract being also signed by the general president of the union and by the officers of the local union, and the