The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-03-08

| in modern economic conditions" | Richberg said to-day, charging MIRA court decisions in some cases were made in complete disregard of the facts"
 Richberg, testifying before the senate finance committee on pro posed legislation to extend MIRA another two years, urged congress l to investigate the whole economic system to determine where 1t | should draw the line between in- terstate and intrastate labor con- ditiops.
 He discussed particularly the cleaning and dyeing industry which, he said, had been a "stench in the nostrils' of the country and which had not been susceptible to MIRA regulation.
 "It. has not been merely indus trial competition, it has been in- dustrial warfare" Richberg said. Tt has involved racketeering, bombing and every vile industrial practice known. .. F. Ut has been a mistake to look at the little pants presser around | the corner and think of him as re- presenting the cleaning and dye ing inoustry. , instance, that much of the clean ing and dyeing from Washington, D. c. is done at Cumberland, Md, | and that much of the work from New York City is done in New Jer- sey.
 | 'In some decisions there has been a complete disregard of the | fo cfs m tho mart nf soma fpdeP0l I judges.
 That is what I mean when I say that we need an education of | the bench in modern economic conditions"
 Richberg urged the committee to study the situation from that | angle and decide what industries it wanted to regulate.
 "The so-called service trades have some 3,000,000 employees, some of the most overworked and underpaid in our industrial sys- tem," he said. From the begin ming the service trades have pre- scented a serious legal question as to the extent of which regulation might go.
 My own disposition is that we ought to proceed to ascertain how far it is desirable to go and how far to proceed to regulate condi- tions."
 | Richberg submitted a list of in- dustries on which MIRA codes had been suspended. Two codes defin- itely suspended were those for bar- Der shops, with an estimated em- ployment of 100000 persons; and for 1aundries, with 233,000 em- ployes.
 Codes for which trade practice provisions have ben suspended but for which wages and hours rro- held to be effective were given as 10000 employees; hotels and res taurants. 90O,0O0; motor vehicles storage and parking, 130,000: ad. vertising display, 2,000; advertising distribution 100,OOO; bowling and billiard, .16o,O0O; shoe rebuilding 10000.
 r." Richberg said the federal trade commission could not deal with tho MIRA problem. although it might be utilized more for code enforce l ment than it has in the past. Senator Gerald P. Nye, republi. can, North Dakota, vigorous MIRA critic, said he had drafted a bil to give the trade agency complete control over code-making.
 "I see nothing to be gained by transferring that authority from | NRA," Rfchberg said. He advo. cated separation of administrative and enforcement activities.
 "Isn't it true" Nye asked, "that men who write the codes have been the men who enforced them ?'
 "I wouldn't say that that was ar accurate statement" Richberg re- piled. There's been a great dea of misunderstanding about what the code authorities can do.
 "I admit there have been some code authorities, swelled with pow. CT perhaps. that have indulged ir | trying to brOWbeat people"