Evening star., 1935-09-28
PRESIDENT EYES
WALSH BILL AGAIN
Significance Is Attached to
Casual Attitude Taken
at Press Conference.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


tude toward the Walsh bill-a measure
10 regulate standards of labor on all
Government contracts-is believed to
have significance far beyond the
passing mention which he gave 1t at
his last press conference before leav-
ing Washington.
1t will be recalled that the Walsh
bill passed the Senate at the last ses-
sion, but not the House. This was be-
cause the leaders did not press for
q vote.
Now the Walsh bill is by all odds the
most comprehensive measure that has
been drafted as yet for Government
regulation of business and industry.
The New Dealers hereabouts have
frankly conceded that. given the Walsh
bill and the Federal Trade Commits
sion, the Federal Government could do
about anything and everything that 1t
ever hoped to do under the N. r. A.
before it was held invalid by the Su-
preme Court.
Believed Constitutional.
The Walsh bill differs from all the
other New Deal regulatory measures in
that it is probably constitutional. In
deed, the National Association Of
Manufacturers, in brief filed against
the measure, conceded that Congress
had the right to prescribe the stand
ards under which work under Govern
ment contracts should be conducted,
irrespective of whether the companies
are engaged in interstate or intra-
state commerce.
This is because the Government
has the discretion that any other dis
penser of work has as to the condi-
tions under which he will award the
work for a given project.
But if the Walsh bill had become
iaw 1t would have been difficult for
any company doing Government work
10 have one set of standards for the
public projects or for materials sup
piled to the Government and another
set of standards for private work. The
lmpossibility of separating the hours
of labor or wage scales on different
parts of the plants or work Of large
manufacturing corporation is obvious.
Diminishing Interest.
Why then has the President shown
a diminishing interest in the Walsh
bill? What he told the correspondents
earlier this week was that, If industry
doesn't chisel on ontracts, then there
is no need of the Walsh bill and that
he hoped that industry would solve
the problem.
Now what is meant by this Is SIM
ply the same difficulty that arose
after the N. r. A. was held unconsti-
tutional. Would industry maintain
the practices that it had agreed to
under codes? Would it cut wages and
rates per hour in particular, and
lengthen hours?
There have been, of course, many
changes here anG there throughout
industry since the N. r. A. codes went
out Of existence, but, in the main.
there has been no general trend Of
wage-cutting. Rather the wage rates
of labor have shown an increase. Un-
fortunately, this has been Offset to
some extent by the rise in the cost
OF living, so that the laboring man
has had. in some instances, a cut In
his purchasing power.
But, supposing the Government
found at the end of a few months,
certainly by next January, that there
had been some violations Of the codes;
that is, deviations from what must
now be considered voluntary observ-
ance of codes. What would the Gov
ernment do abou: it? Would it in
sist on the Walsh bill?
Task Would Be Increased.
The answer is that, If the Federal
Government ever undertakes the re-
sponsibility Of prescribing labor stand
ards for all companies that bid on
Government work, especially these
Gays, when there is so much public
work, the whole problem of regulat-
ing industry so it can earn a return
on its investment becomes a tremen-
oous responsibility for the Federal
Government to assume. The Presi-
dent became pretty well worn out with
the controversy over minimum wages
growing out of the McCarran amend
ment, and he presumably sees now
that, II a mere effort to pay security
wages means constant conflict with
labor unions, the job of the admins
tration in trying to regulate wages in
all industries because of the Walsh
bill would be 10 times as difficult.
1t is not surprising, therefore, that
Mr.. Roosevelt is stepping away from
the implications of the Walsh bill,
particularly because, if he pushes
that measure in January, the so-called
breathing spell for industry will come
to a sudden expiration date over
night.
(Copvrirbt