Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-02-28
Reynolds Proposes Presi'
dent Be Given Partial
Discretion on Scale.
BASIC PLAN CALLS FOR
PREVAILING SCHEDULE
Rate Would Be Lowered if Study
Revealed Injury to Pri.
vate Industry.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

An amendment to the $4,000, 900 600
work-rehef bill, designed as a COM
promise on the McCarran prevailing
wage amendment, was laid before the
Senate today by Senator Reynolds,
Democrat. of North Carolina.
The compromise provides for pay
ment of the prevailing wage scale on
work-relief projects. Should the pay
ment of the prevailing wage scale in
any locality tend to draw workers
from private employment to the Gov
eminent pay roll. however, the Presi-
dent would be authorized to investi-
gate, proclaim his findings and take
action with regard to the compenSa-
ton of the workers on relief projects
Senator Robinson of Arkansas,
Democratic leader, meanwhile said he
planned to confer with President
Roosevelt on the bill, which is now
before the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
Administration leaders hoped Rob-
inson would be in a position when he
goes to the White House to lay before
the President some acceptable substi-
tute or compromise for the McCarran
amendment. Negotiations looking to
such a compromise have been under
way for the last two days.
Reverses Russell Theory.
The Reynolds proposal is the re-
verse of the Russell amendment which
was written into the work-relief bill
before the committee reported the
measure recently to the Senate. That
amendment, offered by Senator Rus
sell of Georgia. authorized the pay
ment of the so-called security wage
upon which the President has been in
sisting and which would be lower than
the prevailing wage in industry. It
further provided that If it could be
demonstrated the payment of the Sc
curity wage was beating down the
wage scale in private industry. then
the President must pay the prevailing
wage.
The Russell amendment was I'M
satisfactory to organized labor and
to the Senate's supporters Of the
prevailing wage payment. They sub
stituted the McCarran amendment for
the Russell proposal by a vote of
A to 43 before the bill was recon-
mitted.
Reynolds said he believed his COM
promise proposal would be acceptable
to all parties. He pointed out it pro-
vided for the payment of the pre-
vailing wage and at the same time
showed the Senate's faith in the
President by authorizing him to
change the wage scale to workers on
relief projects in the event 1t could
be shown that private industry was
being injured.
Sees Shift Prevented.
ministration," said Reynolds, has
been that the payment of the pre-
vailing wage would put the Govern
ment in competition with private in
dustry and would cause labor to leave
private employment in order to get
on the Government pay rolls. My
amendment takes care of that stu
alton adequately. At the same time,
by providing for the payment of the
prevailing wage, it safeguards the
workers in private employment.
Senators Wagner of New York, La
Toilette of Wisconsin, Costigan of
Idaho, and McCarran of Nevada, con-
ferred today regarding possible COM
promise. The terms of this compro-
mise have been closely guarded.
Robinson expressed the hope that
an early adjustment of the differences
over the work-relief bill would be
made. He said that he believed con-
siderable progress had been made for
such an adjustment.
Until the proposed compromise has
been laid before the President him.
self, however. and shall have received
his approval. Senators believed the
public works bill would be held in
allegiance.
One of the suggestions for a COM
promise includes the payment of the
prevailing wage, but authorizes the !
President so to restrict the hours of |
employment that a worker would not |
receive more than $50 a month, the
average for the security wage proposed
by the administration.
Reynolds Urges Substitute.
Senator Reynolds addressed the
Senate in support of his proposed sub !
stitute.
Il am of the opinion that every SEN
ator Is DESTROYS of maintaining the
standard Of living of the workers of
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