Evening star., 1921-02-20
INDUSTRY CONTROL
STIRS BITTER FIGHT
Regulation of Business Dealing With
Necessaries Occupies Forefront of
Popular Attention.

| IL also, anu tTdL tHe Oiii VIII N'A~AA o.
to the President for his approval
| Fourth, the radio bill for the gov
ernment- regulation of air communl-
! cation through a federal commission.
The bill has been introduced In the
Senate, and extensive hearings nave
been had on it. Senator Poindexter
of Washington fathered the measure.
| Fifth, the Poindexter bill to prevent
| strikes on interstate carriers. The
| bill has passed the Senate, after being
| favorably reported from the Senate
! judiciary committee A motion to re-
consider the vote by which it was
passed is now pending. having been
offered by Senator La Toilette. The
Dill is regarded as bitter bloW at
| organized labor by labor unions.
Sixth. the Sheppard-Towner bill to
give federal aid and instruction to
future mothers. the special maternity
| bill, which has been "mothered" by
the National League of Women
Voters. The measure has been passed
by the Senate and reported favorably
to the House.
Seventh, the Smith-Towner Bill for
the establishment of department of
education and the extension of gov
ernment aid in educational matters.
The last two bills are designed to
promote education and the public.
health, the federal government CO.
operating with the states. Neverthe-
less they provide, in a measure. for
regulation by the government.
Regulation Now in Effect.
Now glance for a moment at the
Ieoeral legislation providing for gov
ernment regulation of various activi-
ties, which has been put through
hitherto. The list of these measures
is not complete. but it serves to indi-
cate the trend in favor of regulation.
First and foremost is the inter.
state commerce act with its various
modification, including the last, the
Esch -Cummins transportation act.
The provisions of the transportation
act establishing the Railroad Labor
Board. while less stringent than the
provisions of the bill as it passed the
And Of course the railroads them
selves are vigorously regulated by
the measure, even to the earnings and
issue of securities.
Then there is the merchant marine
act, whose primary object, it is true,
is to aid in building up a great Ameri-
can merchant marine, but which
regulates in large measure shipping.
The La Toilette seamen's act is an
other case in point, regulating as it
does the employment of seamen. The
acts creating the federal reserve sys-
tenn, the Federal Trade Commission
and the Federal Power Commission
all provide government regulation of
activities at one time carried on with
little, if any. government regulation.
The act providing for the leasing of
coal and oil lands on the government
domain, while opening up mineral
resources of the great west, has put
a new wrinkle into the business of
prospecting and developing coal and
oil properties.
The government, through Congress.
has tried it's hand at regulating child
labor-after a bitter fight waged by
employers. The Supreme Court Of the
United States has. temporarily at
least, halted such regulation, by its
decision in the child labor case, hold
ing the law unconstitutional And
now the effort is being made to reach
child labor employers through the
power of taxation, and this, too. has
led to contest in the courts.
Other Regulatory A1s4sures.
Other regulatory measures are the
pure food and drugs act, the act pro-
viding for federal aid in the con-
struction of good roads, for federal
aid in vocational education, for fled
eral aid in the rehabilitation of those
injured in industry. for the federal
farm loan system, for the postal sav-
ings system. for the parcel post. for
regulation of dealing in cotton fu-
lures.
The government attempted to regu-
late the hours of rising and going to
work in the supmer months during
the war and put through the day
CCorr::.Jed on Third Page)