Evening star., 1935-02-27
N.R.A. ISSUE NEARS
SENATE DECISION
Proposal for Joint Probe
May Be Taken Up To.
morrow.

with several groups Of Senators
advocating different plans Of pro-
cedure for the proposed investigation
of N. r. A., the issue Is expected to
come to a head when the Senate
reconvenes tomorrow.
Senator McCarren, Democrat, Of
Nevada and Senator Nye, Republican,
of North Dakota, who joined in urg-
ing a sweeping inquiry into the entire
picture of the effects of nearly two
years of operation of the codes, are
preparing to ask that q special select
Senate committee be set up to con-
duct the investigation.
Following an executive meeting Of
the Finance Committee today, Chair.
man Harrison gave notice his commit
tee will oppose this move. A select
committee. Harrison declared. would
hamper and delay the Finance Com
mittee." which is about to begin work
on the administrators recommenda-
tions for extending the life Of N. r. A.
The Finance Committee. the chair
man said. resents any intimation that
a whitewaSh of N. r. A. Is contem-
plated.
Wants Facts.
"What We want are facts and a
thorough study of the codes" Har-
rison continued. "Only in that way
can 1t be ascertained what II any
changes should be made in the law,
or whether N. r. A. should be con-
tinued."
The Blue Eagle organization would
expire June Is under the present law.
II the Senate decides to leave the
general investigation to the Finance
Committee, Senator Kings Judiciary
Subcommittee would still 60 ahead
with its separate study Of whether
N. r. A. has led to monopolistic
tendencies.
Today's developments appeared to
a battle in the Senate
over how the NJ r. A. inquiry should
be conducted.
Senator McCarran prevented action
yesterday on resolutions to make
funds available for the separate
N. R. A. inquiries by two different
and conferences are being
held today on the alternative pro-
posal for a special select committee.
In any event. the workings Of the
N. r. A. codes will be in the limelight
on Capitol Hill before long. either
through the proposed general inquiry,
or the hearings on the type OF bill
that should be written to extend the
code system beyond June.
More Than zoe Codes.
While these developments were TAX
ing shape at the Capitol. N. r. A.
figures were made available showing
that 546 codes and 185 supplemental
codes have been approved up to
February /. covering approximately
1916 900 workers.
The report also showed how the
organization needed to operate the
N. r. A. act has expanded. From 169
employees in June, 1888, the total ad-
vanced to 1852 in January. 1885,
with 1898 working in the Washington
Office and 1898 in the field.
Al ouIc uIfu July OA 1900. ~. ~. n.
administration expenses were $84.638,
which increased to the record high
of $l,054.4S2 in January, 1888.
The figures on employees and costs
do not include the personnel or pay
roll Of code authorities, which are set
up by industries to administer their
codes. but it was officially estimated
that this cost was Sal 900 900. which
N. r. A. men said represented few
hundredths of per cent of the aggre-
gate payrolls. or sales of products In
N. r. A. industries.
S2.5o Cost Per Worker.
The figures were published in an
NJ r. A. report on the operation of the
recovery act. It said that reduced to
the sort of figures which the worker
customarily uses in his own pocket
book calculations, the total cost per
worker has been about $3.50. that is,
less than IS cents q month, the total
outlays by both the Federal Govern
ment and the code authorities adding
up to less than $55, ,000, ,000."
The American Federation of Labor
was driving today to put the Wagner
labor disputes bill, which lie fought by
industrial leaders, into q prominent
place in the New Deal sun. After q
conference last night with Secretary
of Labor Perkins. President William
Green of the A. F. of l.. said he had
hopes that she and the administration
would support this bill.
1t would outlaw company -domi-
mated" unions, create more powerful
National Labor Relations Board and
make majority rule" the accepted
legal principle in collective bargaining.