Evening star., 1933-10-08
Small Likelihood of Political
Alliance Between Labor and Farmers

to which the codes apply. In this re-
spect the codes are failures.
It can also be said-if the matter be
observed with the eyes Of labor-that
the codes are failures in respect of the
minimum wages which they establish.
Labor has contended that there should
be minimum wages which would pre-
vent the recurrence Of the situation
which existed from 1922 to 1929, when,
as labor claims, too much money went
to profits and too little to pay rolls.
The result in that period, according to
labor, and according also to the Presi-
dent, as an "unbalance" in the dis
tribution of the national income. No
maintain that the minimum wages in
the existing N R A. codes are in prin-
ciple adequate to redress that "unbal-
ance."
On both maximum hours and mini
mum wages, therefore, the American
Federation of Labor sees before it a
long vista Of great effort yet to be
made. On minimum wages it cannot
very we'll seek congressional action. A
bill establishing wage scales for the
thousands upon thousands Of different
sorts of wage workers in the United
States would make even a tariff bill
look simple and comprehensive. For
better minimum wages the labor lead
ers must look to further pressures upon
the National Recovery Administration.
For maximum hours they could rely
upon a statute few paragraphs long.
Such statute, in this writer's judg-
ment. might have hospitable recep-
ton in the next Congress next Janu-
fnya Iva vail of
that time be out of work
Congressman from industrial districts
will be under strong pressure from
home. Congressman from agricultural
districts. however much they might re-
sist legislation regarding wages, will
offer only slight resistance to legisla-
ton regarding hours. Such legislation
next January seems now to be strong
possibility.
On the point Of labor representation
in the bodies authorized to enforce the
rules of the N r. A. codes, the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor Convention
will be fighting a battle against what
it regards as the potential "Fascism'
which the codes contain. The tend
ency in the codes so far adopted is to
put the enforcement bodies in the con-
troll either OF the employers or OF the
Government. The true ultimate chance
is that the Government might dictate
both to the employers and to the en-
ployes.
That would produce a situation SINH
lar to the one which exists in Italy
under the Fascist government and
which is technically called the corpo-
rative state The cooperative state is
based on collective bargaining between
employers and employees. but rises at
the first pinch to final absolute dictated
decisions by the government.
The whole N. r. A. movement has a
momentum In that Italian direction.
The American Federation of Labor has
long denounced "Fascism" and has long
set itself up as the great defender of
industrial democracy" 1t is now
faced in this matter with the most puz-
zling problem in its whole history. Its
present convention can merely begin
to try to solve it. The step taken at
this time is likely only to be definite
and stringent demand that on the en-
forcement bodies of the codes there
shall be labor representatives freely
and directly chosen by the employees
Copyright. 1881