yee nothing may be a debatable
one. It is indeed conceded by the opposition to be such. But if our
recent cases mean anything, they leave debatable issues as respects
business, economic, and social affairs to legislative decision. We could
strike down this law only if we returned to the philosophy of the
_Lochner_, _Coppage_, and _Adkins_ cases."[143]

Workmen's Compensation Laws.--"This Court repeatedly has upheld
the authority of the States to establish by legislation departures from
the fellow-servant rule and other common-law rules affecting the
employer's liability for personal injuries to the employee.[144] * * *
These decisions have established the propositions that the rules of law
concerning the employer's responsibility for personal injury or death of
an employee arising in the course of employment are not beyond
alteration by legislation in the public interest; that no person has a
vested right entitling him to have these any more than other rules of
law remain unchanged for his benefit; and that, if we exclude arbitrary
and unreasonable changes, liability may be imposed upon the employer
without fault, and the rules respecting his responsibility to one
employee for the negligence of another and respecting contributory
negligence and assumption of risk are subject to legislative
change."[145]

Accordingly, a State statute which provided an exclusive system to
govern the liabilities of employers and the rights of employees and
their dependents, in respect of compensation for disabling injuries and
death caused by accident in certain hazardous occupations,[146] was held
not to work a deprivation of property without due process of law in
rendering the employer liable irrespective of the doctrines of
negligence, contributory negligence, assumption of risk, and negligence
of fellow-servants, nor in depriving the employee, or his dependents, of
the higher damages which, in some cases, might be rendered under these
doctrines.[147] Likewise, an act which allowed an injured employee an
election of remedies permitting restricted recovery under a compensation
law although guilty of contributory negligence, and full compensatory
damages under the Employers' Liability Act did not deprive an employer
of his property without due process of law.[148] Similarly, an elective
statute has been sustained which provided that, in actions against
employers rejecting the system, the inquiry should be presumed to have
resulted direc