Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-27
PRESIDENT SILENT
ON STEEL PAY CUT
White House "GentIeman's
Agreement" Was to Run 6
+, Months, Says Report.

President Hoove is refusing to be
drawn into the controversy whether the
white House agreement of November
81. 1929, has been violated by the
United States Steel Corporations de-
cision to reduce wages by 10 per cent
on october /, announcement Of which
has led to a lowered pay rate in many
other corporations.
New light on that agreement was Of
fered yesterday by Senator James j..
Davis, Republican, Of Pennsylvania,
who was Secretary Of Labor at the
time. Reached by telephone at Lam
caster, Pa, Senator Davis confirmed
reports that there was an unwritten
"gentlemen's understanding" that the
agreement between capital and labor
announced on that day by President
Hoover was for a fixed period. While
the Senator said he could not recall
how long that period was to be- others
quoted Mr.. Davis as having said at the
time that it was for six months.
In view of the charge by William
Green, president of the American Fed
Grafton of Labor. that this great cor
poration has broken its promise" the
incident is considered important not
only for its bearing on the immediate
situation, but also as a matter of record
in the relations between capital and
labor.
Believe Hoover Facts Proper.
In some quarters the incident has
been regarded sufficiently important to
justify an importuning of President
Hoover to state the facts. The matter
was submitted to the White House yes
terday with request for a stand from
the President. The answer given was
that the White House declined to COM
ment on the question in any way.
Yet 1t is becoming increasingly ap-
parent that the President, while adj
herring to his stand for maintaining the
American standard of living, has no in
tention of decrying or objecting to the
cuts that have been announced. Ad-
ministration officials incline to the
view, however, that the President may
have something to say II the down.
ward movement of wages should become
too general and extend to lines of en-
ployment which have not been hit by
the depression.
That there was q time limit on the
wage agreement has not hitherto been
stated authoritatively. It was only q
short time after a stock market crash
and the prevailing opinion in the Pres
ident's office was that the main thing
to do was to avoid a bad psychological
reaction on business.
BrotherhoOds Fall In Line.
1t was in this spirit, it is said, that
certain leaders of the railroad brother
hoods at first baked at agreeing not
to seek higher wages. Senator Davis
is credited with having brought them
into agreement with the rail- executives
on the unwritten understanding that
the agreement would be for no more
than six months. After that the brother
creases. The railroad brotherhoods
were persuaded. it is said, not to insist
upon having the period written into
the agreement announced by President
Hoover at the end Of q day of exhaust
i've efforts with heads Of industry and
organized labor.
Whatever promise Industrial leaders
made at that time was made to Presi-
dent Hoover and transmitted to Presi-
dent Green and the labor leaders. In
the public announcement issued by the
President that evening nothing was said
about the duration Of the truce between
capital and labor, save in this final
paragraph:
The purpose Of these declarations Is
to give assurance that conflicts should
not occur during the present situation
work and thus to maintain stability Of
employment"
Changed Condition Cited.
Without undertaking to discuss the
action OF the steel corporation now. 1t Is
pointed out in responsible administra-
ton quarters that conditions have
changed subsequent to the agreement.
The United States began to feel effects
OF the drop in the purchasing power of
European and Latin American powers,
it is explained, and other causes com
bined to prolong the depression longer
than Government economists expected.
These who justify the steel corpora
tons action so far as the wage agree
msnt Is concerned, take the view that
the whole spirit of the egreement was
that it applied to conditions then ex-
istent and that in any event the six
month understanding, whether apply
Ing merely to the railroad field or TO the
entire industrial field, could be cen
strued as touching the entire agree
ment.
Wage cutting figures announced yes
terday by the Labor Department showed
that the movement, which started early
this year, is spreading among corpora
tons. The departments Bureau of
Statistics reported that for the month
ending August is, pay cuts were
ordered in 22l factories and affected
20,739 employees.
The cuts ranged from to 81 per
cent. the report showed.
However. a decline was noted for this
period in comparing the statistics with
those for the month ending July Is
when 23S ests blishments ordered pay
reductions, affecting 3323s employees
and ranging from 4 to IS per cent.
CONGRESS- MAY ACT