The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-28
SHOWDOWN ON
LABOR QUESTION
DRAWS NEARER
Hartman (Tenn.) Blue
Eagle Action May CryS-
taIize Public Opinion.
BY RUTH FINNEY
Times Special Writer.

the Blue Eagle from the Hartman
Hosiery Company may crystalize
public opinion generally on the
issue Of organized labor, and deter
mine Just how far the administra-
ton shall go in regard to it.
The Blue Eagle was removed be-
cause the company refused to bar
gain with A. z. Of L. representatives
eelcted by its workers. More than
half the other merchants in Harri-
man have torn down their blue
eagles in protest at the ruling.
General johnson has sent two rep
resentatives to Hartman to investi-
gate.
Auto Settlement CrumbIes
Meanwhile. the social engineer
ing" structure erected in settling
the automobile strike has crumbled
rapidly. The national labor board
is on record IN a decision Just
handed down in the Indianapolis
Hosiery strike as rejecting princi-
pies on which the automobile settle
ment vas based. Apparently, the
five officials rewriting the Wagner
labor disputes bill Will take the same
stand
This means that Section IA of
the recovery act may have to be IN
terpreted all over again. The au-
tomobile settlement held that bar
gaining representatives elected by
union members should bargain for
union members only. and that work.
ers in the same plant voting for
company union representation should
have it. The labor board believes
this idea is impractical In its In
dianapolis ruling it held that rep
resentatives receiving a ma iority
vote must be recognized as bar
gaining for all the workers in a
plant.
incidentally, this decision puts a
company union in power. The A.
F. Of L. was in a minority in the
plant in which the ruling was made.
Danger of RECOMMENDATION
Trying to steer around the Scylla
of collective bargaining the admin
istration is in danger Of running
head-on into the Charybdis of regi-
menation as represented in labor's
thirty-hour week bill-a regimenta-
ton it has been trying for a year
to avoid.
Its effots to bring about voluntary
nF r. in
crease employment have met with
little success and today the A. F. of
L. charged that while business &C
tlvity in March was more than 9
per cent above the October level.
$4,000 more persons were out of
work in March than in October.
These figures show that something
more than an increase in business
activity is needed to put men back
to work" President William r.
Green commented.
Federation figures show l0,905 900
persons without jobs in March.
New PayOff Bill
Skirmishing in the house of rep
resentatives over government liqui-
dalton of frozen bank deposits took
a new turn today
Chairman Henry B. Steagall of
the house banking and currency
committee, who helped administra-
ton forces sidetrack the Mcleod
payoff bill last week, has introduced
a less drastic payof bill of his own.
It would increase the capitalization
of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation to S2,225 100000, max
ing this sum available for release
by the corporation of frozen assets
IN closed banks.
There has been no indication that
the President will accept this new
measure.
Motor Bus Legislation
Congress has been trying to get
around to regulating motor bus
transportation for years and has
failed to DO so. Now the industry
proposes to regulate itself A new
section jus tadded to the NRA mo-
tor bus code provides that members
may complain to their code author
ity about competitors whose prices
they believe are too low. The code
authority is given power to eStab-
liSh a reasonable rate" and enforce
1t throughout the industry. To con-
greSs is still left the task of equal
izing competitive rates between
railroads and BUSES.
NRA embarkS on new adven-
ture in price fixing in the automo-
bile tire code now ready for Gen
eral JohnSon's signature
The code provides that if an
emergency exists in the industry the
administration shall establish a rea-
sonable minimum price for tires
and Just as soon as the code is
signed an emergency is to be de-
clared.
NRA will then announce that no
tires may be sold below $50 for
class A, s6.O5 for class B and $500
for class c.
Henderson Recommends Move
Not the least interesting angle OF
The matter is the fact that the new
venture is recommended by Leon
Henderson. who came to Washing
ton to criticiSe NRA policies ano
remained TO become head of the d.
vision of research and planning.
Mr.. Henderson say Sthe new min
imum prices are above the invoice
cost Of tires TO the average small
retail dealer. but even then viii not
pay more than part Of his labor
costs.
When the industry came to Wash
ingtOn to ask NRA'S help in stop
ping price wars, Mr.. Henderson
asked the tire men to tell newspa-
pers they were begging for regimen
tstion. They didn't do it, but they
got what they wanted, nevertheless