The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-07-27
WATSON VOICES
PLEA AGAINST
WAGE CUTTING
Indiana Senator Hopeful
That U. S. Steel Will
Maintain Scale.
CATASTROPHE FEARED
General Slash Would Bar
Prosperity Return,
He Declares.
By Scripps -HotcGrd Newspaper Allionce


By Scripps-HotcGrd Newspaper Allinnce
WASHINGTON, July 27.-Wage-
cutting by the United States Steel
Corporation, as limited in Wall
Street, would have disastrous conse-
quences, in the opinion of Senator
James E. Watson of Indiana, Re-
publican senate leader.
Such action would be a catas-
trophe," he said. Il can't believe it
will be done. hope the report
proves false"
Watson fears that if United States
Steel cuts wages at this time "its
leadership will be followed by other
corporations throughout the coun-
try, big and little"
IAN endless chain thus would be
started which indefinitely would re-
tard prosperity" he said.
Corporation Has Duty
"ThiS, in turn, would do more
than anything else to defeat the one
objective in which President Hoover
and his severest critics-men like
Senator Harrison of Mississippi and
Senator La Toilette Of Wisconsin,
are agreed upon, the restoration of
prosperity.
THE steel corporation has a duty
of good citizenship in this crisis
which 1 am sure it will not forget.
All corporations have this duty, but
the steel corporation, because of its
vast size, has it more than others. 8
In the face of a general decrease
in commodity prices, with farm
products selling at the lowest price
in many years, with hundreds of
factories closed because of lack of
buying, Senator Watson asserted
the best way to boost prices and to
increase demand lis to maintain
and sustain the ability of tho at
work to buy"
Resumption of the purchasing
power of the laboring people of the
country is one Of the chief needs
for the restoration of prosperity"
he said. II can not see what bene-
hts will come from a wage cut"
Would Maintain Pay Scale
Watson said the basic idea of the
Republican protective tariff policy,
OF which he is an aggressive sup
porter, is the maintenance of high
wages. The steel industry has profit
ed from this policy.
"AS a protectioniSt, I am inter-
ested in the continuation of high
wages" he continued. II am op-
posed to anything which would re-
duce the living standards of Amer
lean workingmen to the level of
those in Europe.
1.-THE United States Steel Cor
poration, with reported surplus of
$600,O00,000 in its treasury, is not
comparable in the question of wage
reductions with smaller corpora
tons, which, when confronted with
the necessity either of curtailing
operating costs or shutting down.
called in their men and laid their
assets and liability cards on the
table"
Cites Gary Interests
Aside from his interest In the re-
ported wage cut as majority leader
of the senate, Senator Watson re-
called that as an Indiana senator
he has vital interest" in the mat
ter.
AT Gary" he said. I'VE have the
second biggest steel center in the
United States. Not only have we
plants of the United States Steel
Corporation, but also of Youngs-
town Sheet and Tube, Republic
Steel, Inland Steel. Jones & Laugh
lin and others.
Should United States Steel cut
wages, the other companies would
follow suit, as well as other indus
tries. It would be tragic in its con-
SEQUENCES"