Evening star., 1933-12-18
CHANGES IN n. R. A.
ACT ARE DROPPED
Administration, After Six
Month Trial, Decides Not
to Seek Amendments.

Continued From First Page.)
help of dominant congressional element.
for harmony.
The automobile industry has filed
with N. r. A. request that its code
be extended until September /. 1884
and Gen. johnson said 1T will be
granted"
The present code expires December
81, having been, like that of the steel
industry, submitted and approved for
trial period only. Steel men last month
asked and obtained continuance to next
May, and pronounced themselves highly
pleased with operation of the pact.
1t had been expected the automobile
men would do likewise. The request
was for renewal of the entire code, un-
changed.
johnson said he would not move To
take out the merit" clause, subject OF
long controversy. because he considered
the issue disposed Of by President
Roosevelt's statements
Since the clause. reServing to en-
ployers the right to hire and fire men
on merit regardless Of union member
ship, went into the auto code it has
been banned from all others, but the
Chief Executive issued his own state
ment. saying this right existed but was
not to be used to discriminate against
unioniSts.
Hour Limit Modified.
The N. r. A yesterday modified the
Blue Eagle voluntary Unemployment
agreement or blanket code to permit
all employers under 1t to work their
help overtime at the year-end for in
ventory purposes.
In a general order. issued at the
recommendation of the National Com
pliance Board. johnson gave permission
to all under the voluntary agreement
to break the limited work hours of their
employees for two weeks, provided, how
ever. all such overtime is paid for at
least at rate of time and one-haf
Most industries under permanent codes
already have this privilege.
The increase In hours must be limited
to those necessary to complete cal
endar year-end inventory" and may not
be extended for any other purpose.
This order was issued while N. r. A
was extending conciliatory gestures tc
consumer groups by inviting two OF
their number to sit in on administra-
tive procedure as special. unpaid as
sistants to johnson with freedom to &C
into all records accessible to the as
sistant administrators for industry and
labor.
Leon Henderson Of the Russell Sage
Foundation and F. ]. Schlink. direc-
tor of consumers research. were given
the posts Saturday night after johnson
heard vigorous protests against the linn
~ ronraSnntaf finr
so far in N R. A
johnson. talking with newsmen later
made it clear he was not changing any
ing the status of Mrs Mary Hartman
Rumsey or the Consumer Advisory
Board of which she is chairman.
He outlined the tentative plan which
he evolved two weeks ago to meet labol
demands for representation on code
authorities Instead Of giving direct
say in supervision of industry either tc
labor or consumers. he is planning tc
name only one Government representa-
tive with veto power on each authority
and give him two Assistants or advis-
ers" selected from labor and consumer
interests. If they hear of anything they
do not like in the management of the
industry, they may advise the Govern
ment member to act.
Disclosure of that plan, he said. had
not brought any attacks from the labor
side. which was then pressing hard for
direct representation. It still has to be
submitted to President Roosevelt for
his approval.
However. yesterday, an attack on the
same point was made by the Public
Affairs Committee Of the Socialist Party
which, in a report by Norman Thomas
and Louis Waldman. said N. r. A. has
been packed against labor except at
the top of its organization and If the
condition is not remedied by giving labor
larger representation on the code au-
thorities. the gains registered during the
first six months Will be destroyed"
Principal Socialist criticism was that
code wages were too low, hours too long,
that there Is no equal partnership be-
tween labor and business; that price fix
ing powers will run the cost of living out
of relation to purchasing power, and
that too many N. r. A. officials are not
in sympathy with labor.
Names George L. Berry.
johnson had just made a break with
the N. r. A. tradition by naming a
union leader to one Of the highest posts
in the organization. George L. Berry,
president of International Pressmen's s
Union, will temporarily, at least. relieve
C. c. Williams administrator of one
of N. R. AS four big divisions. because
Williams has illness In the family.
OF Berry, johnson said: I'm the
whole course of this administration I
have known nobody who more fully
understood or who was more devoted
to the Presidents program. -" George
Berry has the confidence Of both in
dustry and labor"
Berry is a member of the Labor Ad-
visory Board and the National Labor
Board. He has repeatedly proved to
be the one man who could get COM
promises in delicate situations.
As to prices going too high, johnson
said he had few fears. He said when,
in early N. r. A. days, there had been
a sudden upward swing Of retail prices,
particularly in textiles. there was a
buyers strike which Immediately taught
merchants they could not boost prices
to the limit.
He intends to hold frequent sessions
at which complaints against profteer-
ing may be filed, probably monthly,
but he pointed to the fact one sched-
uled for December 16 had to be can
celed for lack Of documented cases, as
evidence that gougtng Is not as prev
alent as many feared.
He conceded there had been price
in many lines, but pointed
out this had been accompanied by in
creased costs under codes.