Evening star., 1934-03-01
|MII Appear Personally at
Johnson's Meeting
on Monday.
PLANS FOR FUTURE
LIKELY WILL BE GIVEN
A. F. L. Demand for 30-Hour
Week Is Presented by
John P. Frey,
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
President Roosevelt will disclose his
plans for N R. A. in a personal ap-
Fpearance Monday before the group
meetings called by Administrator
Hugh S. johnson to hear complaints.
This was made known today as
criticism was received from a large
number Of persons who came here at
the invitation of Gen. johnson to air
their views.
The Presidents address at II am.
will be broadcast to the Nation. Sig
.nifcance was attached by observers
to the sudden decision to address the
conference.
30-Hour Week Demanded.
Some believed the President would
give his ideas for the future of the
national recovery act as well as take
up some Of the complaints presented
at the invitation of Johnson.
A demand by the American Feder-
alton Of Labor for establishment Of
the 30-hour week in manufacturing
industries was presented at todays
N r. A. public forum by John P.
Frey, secretary of the organizations
metal trade department.
Without it, Frey said. the country
Railways would have huge permanent
mount of unemployment. He insist
I'd radical changes must be made in
he codes if unemployment objectives
Ire to materialiZe in substantial
fashion.
The labor spokesman asked for
strict requirement for payment OF
overtime on all work done in excess
of the average work week established
j by codes, contending that by various
devices the intent of the codes was
miscarried.
Frey also opposed establishment by
codes of a differential for the South
ern States, pointing out that no pol
icy had been adopted to define the
(territory to be included.
DifferentiaI Assailed.
Frey cited one Southern plant
working under four separate codes,
leach with a different minimum wage
scale, for substantially the same work.
It was possible, he said. for man to
be working at a 25-cent-an-hour rate
in the morning and then be trans
lferred to production of an article un-
der one of the other codes, requiring
10 32-cent-an-hour rate.
More serious, however, he said was
the unfair competition between areas
started by the establishment OF the
Southern differential. Some codes ne
said, include Kentucky, giving CoV-
|ington, directly across the river from
Cincinnati, a 5 per cent lower wage
level than had to be paid by manu-
|facturers on the Northern side OF the
river. The market for manufacturers
of both communities. he said. was
identical, and therefore Covington en-
loved the huge advantage over the
Ohio city.
The same situation, he said. exists
lin some measure between Baltimore
and Philadelphia. as the Maryland
city is placed in the Southern area
by most codes.
A new attack on the steel industry
was made by E. P. CuSh. national
president of the Steel g. Metal Work
! ers' Industrial Union, who cited what
he called oppressive acts by officials
in the steel mill towns OF Western
Pennsylvania.
Textile Codes Disappointing"
The N. R. A, he said, has given
us no protection" but has allowed
the big companies to impose company
unions on the workers without voice
In the preparation of the rule.
Francis J. German. vice president
of the United Textile Workers OF
America, said he was Whole-heartedly
for the national recovery act, but
that codes for the textile industries
have been bitterly disappointing.
German criticized exceptions from
the minimum wages, the meaningless
provisions" for wages in the higher
brackets, the unfair differentials" in
wages between the North and South
and provisions of hours that were
higher than the traffic would bear"
Miss Alice Edwards. executive secre-
tary of the American Home Economic
Association, urged the inclusion OF