Evening star., 1933-08-04
STEEL STANDS PAT
. ON HOURS AND PAY
Lamont Says Industry Can
Go No Further on Either
Matter.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, August 4.-Robert P.
Lamont president of the American Iron
& Steel Institute, today addressed a
communication to the administrators
Of the national industrial recovery act
in which he announced the steel indus
try could 60 no further in the matter
of maximum hours of labor and mini
mum rates Of pay.
I'VE call attention to the fact" said
Mr.. Lamont, that in accomplishing
the great purpose of the national re-
covery act, the members of the code
have already gone beyond anything that
can be justified by present conditions
They can justify themselves to their
stockholders only by the realization OF
the hopes aroused by the efforts Of the
national administration. They cannot
go further"
Practical Questions Involved.
Concerning hours of labor and rates
of pay, Mr.. Lamont said: We deem IL
unnecessary to reply to what was said
on this subject or to add to the facts
stated and the statistical data fur
nished by Mr.. Lamont. We do desire
to emphasize that practical, not theo-
retical, questions are involved and that
they cannot be solved merely by math-
ematical computation, since there Is
probably no industry in the country
involving so many variable factors as
the steel industry"
In providing in the code that the
published prices for steel should be
prices at various basing points, it was
stated that the industry did not un-
dertake anything that is new"
1T is the general understanding, the
communication stated, that the ma
tional industrial recovery act was not
intended to upset the normal and Gus
tomary course Of operations Of indus
tries in the country, especially where
to do so would disrupt the course of
business in the industry and require
extensive readjustments, with resulting
losses and increase in unemployment
during the period of readjustment.
Price Establishing.
"In the preparation of the code long
and careful consideration was given to
the subject Of basing points and to
the question Of what basing points
should be included as basing points for
the respective products coming under
the code. It was the accepted view OF
members Of the code that the practice
of establishing prices for products in
the industry upon basing points was a
sound economic practice and should be
continued without substantial change"
In the matter of protection which
the steel codes affords to consumer
interests, Mr. Lamont said:
"It is believed that the steel code
is the first code which has been sub
mitted to the President under the ma
tional industry recovery act that con-
tains definite and detailed provisions
designed to remove from the industry
to which it relates unfair and destruc-
tive competitive practices which have
prevailed in the past by regulating the
manner in which members of the in
dustry shall establish the prices for
and sell their products.
The trade practice provisions OF
the steel code are designed solely to
eliminate these unfair trade practices
which tend to demoralize industry and
are injurious to the public interest. The
very definiteness of the provisions o1
the code in this regard, and the man.
ner in which they are made to operate
under the steel code, constitute thu
greatest safeguards Of the interests Of
the consumers of the products Of the
industry"