Evening star., 1921-10-13
REPORTS DISAGREE
|ON UNEMPL AS
| CONFERENCE ENDS
Majority of Manufacturers
Committee and Minority
Labor Group at Odds.
SELFISH INTERESTS HIT;
CUT IN WAGES OPPOSED

Conclusions Not Recommendations.
Standing Committee Named to
Reconvene at ANY Time.
TIE national conference on unem-
plcymenr. after creating standing
vene the full conference at any time,
|concluded It's deliberations today and
adjourned = sine die.
Divergent views as to needed eco
nomic readjustments for relief OF
unemployment were presented to the
conference today by its manufactur-
ers' committee.
AdamsOn Law Opposed.
Majority members. through James
\. Campbell of Youngstown, ONO,
committce chairman, recommended
several sweeping measures. ih;iu"' 'hS
repeal of the Adamson eight-hour
railroad law and 4 denuncia ION OF
any group seeking in its own inter
vSts "to RESIST economic adjustment
Minority members, through samuel
;urap, rs. president of the American
.'ctic alton of Labor, in another re-
ort strongly emphasized that there
must hc adopted no policy OF Wage
duction."
The TWO reports were among
Iumb,r from various suucommi'tees
Gems Sidrrcd today by the conference at
rs final session Conference officials
rXpiained that the reports were NOT
10 be taken as Recommendations OF
the conference. bur as expression OF
opinion by various groups.
Railway Relief Urged.
The majority manufacturers commit
Zee report was signed by chairman
Campbell. William NJ. Butler OF Boston
L. +, Edgerton of Nashville, A. l..
Humphrey, w. II. S:ackhouse of Spring
field, Ohio. and John A. Penton OF CieNe-
land 1t recommended:
Prcmpt enactment of legislation pend
ing in Congress for funding the obIlga-
tons incurred by the railroads during
federal control: expenditure OF payment
Of government obligations to the rail-
roads growing out of rental obligations:
transfer of the functions now performed
by the Railroad Labor Board to the In
t..rs;ate Commerce Commission; repeal
OF the Addmson eight-hour law prompt
enactment by Congress of a law free
from ambiguity providing Ior a suDs.an.
tial downward revision of taxes; prompt
enactment of satisfactory tariff bill
embracing such rates of duty as may
properly safeguard the prosperity OF en-
ployer and employe, and that every e!e-
ment ii. our citizenship should frankly
..griculture. business. labor or trans
portation, that selfishly undertakes to
resist necessary economic adjustment IN
any narrow endeavor to protect its per-
sonaI interests at the expense of the
permanent betterment Of our national
life"
Dissent With Majority.
The minority report. filed by Mr.. Com
pers, Mrs Sara A. Conboy Of New York.
v.,t tod Tav Ia
,rf America, and Roy Dickinson. East
orange. ". j.. associate editor of Print
as Ink, categericaliy dissented from
III. conclusion and decisions of the ma
J.rity members of the committee. 1t
,aid. in part:
There must be adopted no policy of
wage reduction. On the contrary. there
must be policy calling for the highest
possible rate of wages in every indus
try In terms of industrial well being
this means the adoption OF policy
placing in the hands of all of the people
the highest average of buying power in
order that there may be the greatest
possible consumption of commodities
ard the greatest consequent demand for
the production of commodities. Reduc-
tion of buying power stops purchasing,
which. in turn, inevitably stops manu-
featuring and creates unemployment.
Profiteering Raped.
= The minority members also recon-
mended adoption of business standards
which eliminate profiteering, place COM
modities upon the market at the lowest
possible cost per unit and enable manu-
facturers to base unit costs upon 100
per cent utilization of the productive
capacity of plants" Proposal was made
for uniform cost accounting and public
ity for production accounts by law, the
minority stating they saw ''in this pro-
posal a constructive and logical substi-
tute for state regulation or control"
Reports Are Approved.
The conference yesterday approved
reports on remedial measures of the
committees on shipping and ccnstruc-
ton.
Secretary Hoover, chairman of the
conference. announced that the con-
ference would end it's present activ-
tiles today with reception of reports
from subcommittees and suggestions
for continuing it's usefulness from the
organization committee.
Pleasing responses have been re-
ceived. he said, to the appeal by Pres
ident Harding and the conference for
making effective it's recommendations
for relief of the unemployment emer-
gency. The railroads. he said. have
added about $4,000 men to their pay
sections of the country are preparing
to increase employment.
Part of the construction commit
tees report, which asserted that the
Interstate Commerce Commission
took away from the construction in
dustry the use of open-top cars with
out full hearing. was stricken from
the text at the suggestion of Mr..
Hoover.
A suggestion in the report that
..jurisdictional controversies' should
be abandoned was described by Sam
uel Gompers as "pious wish," but
impractical.
At NJ Foover's suggestion the rec
ommenda ton was retained. with the
addition of the phrase 'if construc-
ZION is stopped"
Wished to Dissent.
Mr.. Gompers also declared he
wished to dissent from any express
sion in the report which coupled the
human element of labor with inani-
mate things such as articles of COM
nerce and commodities where con-
struction factors were listed. Mr..
Hoover asserted that the report had
in mind the costs of labor rather than
labor itself.
Suggestions for both emergency
and permanent measures were report
cd by the shipping committee. AS
measures the committee
urged American shipowners to give
preference TO American seamen. the
:: :bolition of overtime work in steve
doring, declared split time was de-
sirable, and suggested the breaking
up of the Shipping Boards wooden
ships as means Of providing work.
as we'll as the overhauling of ships
tied up and the use of idle shipyards
IN other lines of industry.