Evening star., 1935-01-13
DELAY IS FORCED
ON 3O-HOUR BILLS
Proponents Await Recovery
Moves and Attitude To-
ward Proposals.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

q
through Congress, are waiting for
President Roosevelt's recovery pro-
gram to be fully revealed before 60
ing ahead.
They are awaiting, too, the develop
ment Of the attitude of the adminiS-
tration toward the 30-hour work week
bills In some quarters it has been
predicted that the administration may
hold the 30-hour work week as club
over industry, in order to make it ac-
cept not only the continuance of the
N. r. A. and the codes of fair COM
petition, but also to make it willing to
go along with the codes if and when
all provision for price-fixing, or what
amounts to price-flxing, have been
removed from the codes
Senator Hugo Black of Alabama in
the Senate and Representative Will
liam Connery of Massachusetts, in the
House have both again sponsored 30
hour work week bills in the new Con-
gress. These bills, while they have
the same purpose, differ considerably
in some important details. They both
provide for the five-day week with six
hours of work They both seek to see
that the same wages that are now
paid for longer hours of labor. be re-
tanned for the shorter working week.
They do not merely present plans to
'sfare the work" so as to place more
employees on the pay rolls OF indus
try, but they seek to have the rate
of wages increased, with resulting
very large increase in the size OF in
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Foreign Work Barrier.
Mr.. Connery has again insisted on
placing in his bill authority to halt,
one way or another, imports coming
into this country from foreign nations
where the 30-hour work week does not
prevail ,and which threaten ruinous
competition for American industries.
In his present bill the President is
given complete authority to deal with
the matter of imports. Senator Black,
on the other hand, not only does not
have such provision in his bill, but
1t is understood that he is opposed to
its inclusion.
Unless the administration comes
forward with proposals to meet the
unemployment situation which ap-
peal very strongly to labor. it will
have a tough time heading off 30
hour work week legislation at the
present session. In the opinion of
House leaders, a 30-hour work week
bill would pass that body if it was
brought to vote; indeed. it was only
by tying such a measure into a
double bowknot, by parliamentary
tactics and gag rule, that its passage
was prevented in the last Congress.
The Black bill did pass the Senate
by an overwhelming vote. The
American Federation of Labor is on
record in favor of the 3o-hour work
week legislation.
The plea was made by the admin
istration during the last Congress
that the N. R. A. be given full op-
portunity to work out the re-employ-
ment of labor at shorter hours and
better wages, before anything like
the drastic 30-hour work week bill
was attempted. The supporters of the
30-hour week, however, now insist
that the N. r. A. has not succeeded
in restoring the workers to the pay
rolls and the time has come to take
other steps.
Before Labor Committee.
The Connery bill has gone to the
House Committee on Labor, of which
MIR. Connery is chairman. 1t seems
probable that he can get the bill
reported out by the committee and
placed on the calendar. Under such
conditions it would not be necessary
to invoke the committee discharge
rule, which has just been made more
difficult by increasing the number of
names signed to petition to a ma
jority Of the House membership in
stead of 145. Provided the bill was
reported out fairly early in the ses-
sions, there would seem to be no way
Of heading off vote
The bill introduced by Mr. Connery
declares national emergency" exists
because of unemployment. It is be-
1ieved to be water tight from the
point of view of constitutionality. The
President is empowered to declare
the end of the emergency when he
deems that the employment situa-
ton has been rectified.
In certain respects, Mr. Connery
has modified his bill this year to meet
objections raised during the hearings
on the bill by Secretary Perkins of
the Department of Labor and by
Donald Richberg, but in the main
his bill remains the same. The PreSi-
dent is authorized to make exemptions
in the case of industries under the
codes, where the hours are no longer
than 40 a week, for periods of 80
days. The proposed law would become
effective 80 days after its passage
and approval by the President.
Representative Smell of New York,
the Republican leader of the House,
Is waiting to see what his Democratic
colleagues are going to do about this
30-hour bill. Undoubtedly some of
the Republicans in the House would
be found voting for its passage. And,
in the opinion of Mr.. Smell, it would
pass the House. Whether it could
be passed over a presidential veto,
II the President disapproved the meas
ure, is another matter
Senator Blacks bill has plenty of
"teeth." 1t declares that all goods
IN interstate commerce must have
been made under the 30-hour work
WIN. 1OI 1dI Ill.
produced goods when they are shipped
by the farmer himself.
There is exemption from the 30
hour work week also for employees of
the Government.
The Black bill fixes definite, two
year period for its operation. 1t
seeks to prevent a reduction in wages
when the change is made from longer
hours to the 30-hour week. It p,o-
vides that before any reduction can
be made, the employers must give the
workers every opportunity to organize
and to deal collectively, and that the
employers must then discuss the mat
ter Of wages with them. it also
provides that all Of the codes Of fair
competition specifically must provide
the 30-hour work week. And 1t de-
clares that every contract made by
the Government shall call for the 30
hour week, and that the contractors
doinc hllsiness with the Government