Evening star., 1933-10-10
REVISION Of CODES
IS SEEN BY GREEN.
Higher Wage Shorter Hours
Forecast Based on State
ments of u. S. Leaders.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
Administration agreement soon to q
reopening of existing N r. A. codes
so wages may be increased and hours
Of work shortened is looked for by
President William Green Of the Amer
ican Federation of Labor, now in the
second week Of its convention at the
Willard Hotel.
Green based his belief on statements
made before the federation convention
by two persons high in administration
councils-Senator Wagner Of New York.
chairman Of the National Labor Board,
and Secretary Of Labor Perkins
Last week, Secretary Perkins said
I'VE cannot stop" with the present
minimum wages and maximum hours.
Yesterday Wagner said some Of the
minimum. scales Should be higher, that
perhaps wages In higher brackets
should be fixed, too. and that a 40-hour
week would not reabsorb the unem-
ployed.
Those statements" Green said "cer-
tainly are susceptible Of being inter-
preted to mean that the administration
Is ready to revise the codes.
Convention Action Forecast.
"One OF the speakers was a cabinet
member The other was appointed to
his present post by the President, and
as one Of the authors Of the recovery
act probably knows as much about its
purpose and what the President wants
to accomplish with it as anybody else"
The federation president, who often
has contended that existing wage and
hour provisions are not satisfactory,
added this forecast:
The convention this week will in
sist upon a general revision of the
codes to increase purchasing power
further"
A 6-hour day, 5-day week likely will
be asked, he added
After hearing William R. Trotter of
the International Typographical Union
argue that members of the American
Newspaper Publishers Association are
exploiting" children. the convention
unanimously adopted resolution urg
ing local labor organizations to work
increasingly for ratification by the
States Of the child labor constitutional
amendment.
Trotter recalled that N. r. A. codes
are temporary and that the constitu-
tional amendment must be adopted to
Meanwhile, in an effort to prevent
what it termed the threatened passing
of the public free schools as a result
of budget balancing. the federation
convention adopted 12-point educa-
tional program calling for the utmost
endeavor for the protection Of educa-
ton from kindergarten through uni
versity"
The program called for truly. pro-
fessional standards" ip the class room,
smaller classes taught by trained
teachers, broader curriculum, an
equitable wage for all instructors with
security of tenure and decent" working
conditions, the establishment Of teacher
unions, maintenance of educational
standards, cid age pensions and oppor-
tunity tor teachers TO help formulate
educational policy.
The resolution embodying these fea-
lures was presented for the Federation's |
Educational Committee by Florence
Curtis Hanson Of the American Fedora
ton Of Teachers.
The report approved by the conven-
ton said no greater menace to indus |
brought by the closing of schools for |
economys sake It held this tendency |
was destructive" and that "only mis-
fortune can come if this policy Is con-
tinued."
Reduction of teachers salaries, AL
ways inadequate" If continued for any !
length Of time. the committee held. will
bring the passing Of the public free
schools
Convention delegates see additional
need for reopenlng the N. r. A. codes |
in figures presented to them yesterday |
by Senator Wagner. He said produc- |
=;
April to August, lost third of that |
gain in September.
Work Vigorously for Labor.
During the past go days we have |
had to adjust production downward to
meet purchasing power" Wagner said. |
What we should do, instead, iS to raise !
wages up to meet production" |,
Both Wagner and Secretary Perkins
have worked vigorously for labor in~tte |
last few months. But federation OIL
ciaIs said they would have been unlikely |
to come so near committing themselves
to revision without some indication
from higher up"
They were hopeful that when Hugh |
S. johnson addressed the convention |
tonight the N. r. A. administrator i
would discuss the same point. Manu-
facturers have told him repeatedly that |
complying even with the present wage |
and hour provisions Is dificult and in
some cases even impossible.
Johnson's attitude toward revision will
have considerable influence on the out
come.
In his speech, too, Wagner criticized |
strikes which were started without first |
trying arbitration.
ANY group which indulges in strikes |
or lockouts without first invoking the |
of the National Labor |
Board violates every dictate Of good |
policy and exhibits . complete oversight |
Of the magnificent possibilities Of our |
whole recovery philosophy and program"