The Connecticut labor press., 1920-03-20
BIG BUSINESS SEEKS TO
 CRIPPLE LABOR BUREAU

Incensed at Statistics Showing
 High Living Costs and Need of
 High Wages, Orders Congress
 to Clip Departments Wings.
 Appropriation for Work Is
 Therefore Cut Out in House.
 Washington. March 20.-"Big busi- the United States Labor Department and make its operation as innocuous as possible. Teh quickest way to do this is by refusing to appropriate sufficient money to carry on the work.
 Recently the Bureau of Labor Sta tistics prepared family budget based upon accurate data secured by expert investigators. Figures were published showing that an average worklngman,s s family of five required a minimum ot S2 300 per year to live in accordance with American standards. This did not please heads of large industries and other exploiters who are endeavorlng to return to the pre-war wage schedule regardles of the cost of living.
 Disregarding the appeal ot Dr. Koyal Meeker, commissioner of labor statis- tics. the House last week passed the legislative and executive appropriatlon blil which cut the funds of this depart noent in two. The emasculated bill is now up to the Senate. Commenting up- on this action, Commissioner Meeker says:
 Stops Cost Investigations.
 'If Congress refuses the appropria- ton of the Bureau of Labor Statistics as proposed in the bill as it passed the House. cutting off $78,430 from. the amount on which the bureau operated in the fiscal year 1920, which is cut of $54,18O from the regular appropria- ton of this current fiscal year, it will be impossible for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to continue the cost of living survey, much less to expand this work"
 In the past few years these statistics have been widely used Iin the settle ment of wage disputes. Employers could not bring forth sound or req sonable argument why wages should not be adjusted when living costs were presented in an authoritative manner. Hence their desire to have this avenue of information choked off at its foun- tain head--the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
 Used in Wage Dispute.
 In memorandum under date of February 28 to the House committee on appropriations, Commissioner Meek CT said:
 For the short period during which I have published cost of living indexes they have been used in arriving at wage adjustments in practically all lm- Dortant labor disputes in the country. Beginning with the shipbui1ding wage adjustment board of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, United States Ship ping Board, wage agreements were made in all shipyards of the country based upon the data furnished by the bureau. The National War Labor Board made it's wage adjustments on the basis of the same figures. This principle of, adjusting wages has been recognized III the street railway industry, in machine shops and factories in pulp and paper manufacture, and in practically all other industries over which the Ma tional War Labor Board exercised any jurisdiction"
 Railway \ wage adjustments were made upon the wholesale and retail prices and cost of living indexes com piled by the bureau, as were adjust ments in the anthracite coal mining district. The committee appointed by President Wilson to investigate the bituminous coal mining industry has used the statistics collected by the bureau in adjusting the present con- troversy. The bureau was called upon to furnish all available information as to wages, hours and earnings and has made a complete study in eight of the more important bituminous mining towns. The number of employees in both anthracite and bitumiRous mining affected by wage agreements based on wage and cost of living data fur nished by the Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics is not far from 8OO,OOO.
 Governmental and private wage ad- iustment boards and industrial rela- ton services have used the statistics on wages, prices and cost of living issued by this bureau. No other agency IS set ID by the government to collect such data, and the results of its re- searches have been accepted without question by practically all employers and employees.
 Chokes the Bureau.
 Members of Congress cannot hold that this crippling of the bureau IS done in the name of economy. The small sum of approximately $8OOOC taken from it is for the sole purpose of preventing the collection of data which show what it costs the workers to live. Without this data employers believe that force of public opinion will be at least neutralized and ineffective.
 Another rap at the Labor Depart ment was taken when the appropria- ton for the division of conciliation was cut $1OOOOO, which is half the amount granted by Congress for this service for each of the two preceding tsca years. Last year this division handled labor disputes involving 1,011 900 per sons directly and 100000 indirectly Of these cases all were adjusted with the exception of Ill. Among the i'm. portant cases adjusted and in which un' interrupted production continued were the copper industry and the packing in dustry.
 Nolan Resists Action.
 Congressman Nolan of California made a strong fight in behalf of re. taining the $2OO, 1000 appropriation fo1 this service, but realized that he wa: in against a stone wall. He said: