Montana labor news., 1933-09-28
A. F. OF CONVENTION WILL CENTER
ATTENTION ON THE RECOVERY ACT
CONGRESSMAN AYERS FLAYS FARM
CREDIT ADMINISTRATION IN TELE-
GRAM TO PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
Says Delay in Carrying Out Provisions of Emer-
gency Relief Act Due Largely to the Unfriendly
Attitude of Old Regime in This Area, Which At
titude He Finds Prevalent Over District.

The following telegram was sent
Thursday to President Roosevelt by
Congressman Roy E. Ayers who re-
turned the first of the week from a
lengthy trip over various sections Of
this congressional district:
Lewistown, Mont, Sept. IA, 1888.
President Franklin d. Roosevelt,
The White House,
Washington, D. C.
My Dear Mr.. President:
81 am constrained to report to you
that there is still a failure of opera
ton of the farm credit administration
in Montana's second congressional
district comprising thirty-nine agri-
cultural and stock raising counties
Stop Everything connected with the
farm credit administration here is still
in the hands of the old regime and I'M
friendliness on the part of this regime
both to the agricultural industry and
to the administration seems to prevail
and is evidenced by inactivity in many
instances and by absolute refusal Of
merited relief in other instances Stop
When an alleged effort is made to adj
minister a provision of the emergency
farm mortgage act that effort is along
the lines of hard and fast chain bank
rules instead of along the lines and
within the spirit Of the act Stop
This is arousing unjust criticism
tistics report is based almost wholly
on Northern mills, as the Southern
district" had fewer than 900 women
employed in the 8 mills covered. Aver
age hourly earnings in the South oil
cents) were far below those shown for
any Northern state.
Applying the terms Of the Wool
Textile Code to women's average
hourly earnings as reported in this
survey, it appears that the minimum
wages set-$14 for the North and
S13 for the South-should benefit
many thousands of women.
In two states in the North average
hourly earnings in 1882 were such
that a 40-hour week would have paid
above $14-$14.16 in Rhode Island
and $16.36 in New Jersey. In other
states, however, the minimum fixed
in the Code is above 1882 earnings
as estimated for a 40-hour week by
A or 5 per cent in Maine and Massa-
chusetts, by 10 or IL per cent in New
York and Connecticut, by 81 per cent
in New Hampshire, by 25 per cent in
Pennsylvania, and by 80 per cent in
Vermont. In the Southern district
the $13 fixed by the Code exceeds by
81 per cent the average that a 40
hour week would have produced in
1882.
A Canadian Defense of the Minimum
Wage.
"The right of a woman to live from
the results of her labor whether in
dustry is making money or not" is
upheld as the principle underlying the
Ontario minimum-wage law in the
1882 annual report of the Minimum
Wage Board Of that Province. The
report stresses the many difficulties
of minimum-wage administration dur
ing a depression period. 1t points out
that while some few employers are
taking advantage of the unemploy-
ment situation to exploit male work
ers, at is clearly the duty of the mini
mum wage board to see that the work
ing women of the provinces are not
similarly sacrificed on the pseudo al
tar of economic necessity"
at must be kept in mind" contin-
ues the report, chat we are not adj
ministering a fair wage law but a
minimum-wage law; that we do not
fix wages but simply set the cost of
living levels below which wages may
not fall. The minimum-wage law
asks no more for working women than
society demands for its criminals, i'm
beetles, and paupers, viz, sufficient
food, proper shelter, and modest cloth
ing. When this is clearly understood,
surely there can be no argument as
to its desirability."
Puerto Rican Women at Work.
Daily wages for women industrial
workers ranging from Is cents to
$3.50 and for workers on plantations
from 10 cents to rs cents are cited
in the report of the Puerto Rican La