Evening star., 1933-07-17
Textile Code on Trial.

The workers in cotton, silk and rayon
mills throughout the country today are
on a forty-hour work week basis and
with minimum wages Of $l2 and $l3 q
week, depending upon the location OF
the mills. The first step in the actual
operation of the industrial recovery act
has been taken. Furthermore, all work.
ers under sixteen years Of age are
banned in these mills, and a prohibition
against child labor in industries that
are found in many States Of the Union
has become effective.
These are changes OF great importance
in the industrial scheme Of the country
The management Of industry-by itself
In agreement with the National Gov
ernment-is under way, as at no period
in the peace-time history Of the coun-
try 1t is estimated that from 100000
to 100000 workers are affected by the
operation of the cotton textile code OF
fair competition, the provisions Of which
have been extended, at their request,
to rayon and silk mills.
The forty-hour work week Is expected
to make room in these textile industries
for many thousands more employees.
The minimum wage provision OF the
code will boost wages, for there is q
general understanding that the pay in
creases will be graded upward for the
more skilled employees. The wool manu-
facturers, through their national asso-
citation, have submitted code Of fair
competition to the industrial recovery
administration which follows in many
of its details the cotton textile code,
although the minimum wage proposed is
$13 in the South and $14 in the North,
an increase over the minimum wages
to be paid In the cotton mills.
The administration of the industrial
recovery act, under the direction of
Gen. Hugh S. johnson, Is fairly
launched today on the operation of this
great experiment in control Of indus
try. a control which has been under
taken for the benefit of industry and
its employees, and, indeed, for the bene-
nt Of the entire country. The pro-
posal has been attacked from many
quarters. More particularly has it been
attacked since prices Of wheat and
cotton and other commodities have
risen in the past two months to heights
that q year ago would have seemed mi
raculous, and since many factories have
begun to operate full time that hitherto
have been closed or operating only
part time. These critics OF the in
dustrial recovery act have maintained
that recovery is here; that 1t is not
essential to make use Of the fair codes
and the control Of industry as outlined
in the new law. It is true that there
have been signs Of recovery. But to
throw overheard, without a trial, the
new plan Of industry control and man
agement might in q moment undo all
that has been done toward bringing
this country back toward recovery.
So serious does the President con-
slider the present situation that he and
the administrator OF the recovery act
are at work on blanket orders relating
to minimum wages and hours Of labor
for all kinds of industry, for white
collar workers as well as for the ma
chinist and the mill operative. It is
essential, If real progress is to be main
tanned, to increase the purchasing
power Of the people As q whole. That
can be done only by increased en-
ployment and increased wages.