The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-04-17
new MINIMUM
WAGE BILL TO
Be GIVEN HOUSE
Measure to Be Framed as
Weapon to Eliminate
Unfair Competition.
BY RUTH FINNEY
Times STAFF Writer

WASHINGTON, April ia
complete new minimum wage and
short work week bill probably will
be laid before the house labor COM
mittee this week, framed to empha-
size elimination of unfair competi
ton rather than mere protection
of interstate commerce.
There are two reasons for the
change:
l. To increase the probability of
approval by the United States su-
preme court.
2. To hold the support Of en-
ployers. who already are indicating
their interest in the measure as a
protection against cut throat COM
petition.
Decisions of the supreme court
over the last fifty years generally
froWned on social legislation based
solely on the commerce clause Of
the Constitution.
On the other hand legislation
aimed at elimination of unfair COM
petition has met with almost uni
form approval from the court, par
ticularly in decisions rendered dur
ing the last year
q Minor re-Wording Of the proposed
minimum wage and short work
week bill can bring it within this
category.
Employers Back Plan
Since employers began grasping
the possibilities of the bill along
these lines, emphasized constantly
in all administration discussion of
the measure, increasing enthusiasm
for it has been evident here.
The most striking evidence Of this
was received when gsoUp Of Mas
sachusetts industrialistS and work
ers, headed by Governor Ely,
brought their Massachusetts plan"
to lay before the President and con-
gress.
The program favored reasonable
modification Of the provisions of the
antitrust laws to permit agreements
among members of individual in
dustries, subject to federal approval,
in order to promote the stabiliza-
ton of wages and prices for the
benefit of both the employer and
employee"
The proposal continued.
I'VE believe the President. there
fore, should seek immediate legisla-
ton to regulate the hours of work
for men and women on the principle
of the five-day week and the shorter
working day.
Prevent Worker Exploitation
1--WE believe also that authority
should be given to the President or
his administrative representative to
modify the basic provisions regard
ing hours of labor in accordance
with the demonstrated needs of in
dividual industries, provided that
such changes are not in violation of
the object of furthering the utmost
practical reabSorption of the unem-
ployed.
Also, to protect workers from ex-
ploitation and to preserve price
stability there should be coupled
with such measures minimum wage
schedules suited to each industry
and based somewhat on the cost
and standard of living in the var
iouS sections of the country"
The plan pointed out that any,
thing done along these lines must
be done on a national scale to avoid
discrimination between geographical
sections and industries.
Wage Board Proposed
The United States Chamber of
Commerce special committee on
working periods in industry rec
ognized this need of protecting in
dustraliStS from sWeatShop competi-
ton in its recent report suggesting
that employers be allowed to enter
into voluntary trade agreements es-
tablishing minimum wage scales and
maximum hours of labor.
The Black bill, in the form in
which it passed the senate, was con-
demned by officials of the chamber
as dangerously lacking in infex-
Utility.
A new bill. drafted to provide for
industrial boards, with power to fix
different wage scales and labor
schedules for different industries,
might meet this objection. and
cause a reversal of the chambers
attitude when the whole subject is
discussed at the annual meeting the
first week of Nov