Evening star., 1935-03-19
COURSE UNCERTAIN
IN LABOR DISPUTES
President May Ask Depart
ment Control Pending
Court Ruling.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

Whether to nave an independent
tribunal TO decide labor disputes o.
give full Jurisdiction to the Depart
ment of Labor seems to be causing
considerable dissenSion among the
sponsors of the proposed labor dis
putes act, of which Senator Robert
Wagner Of New York is the author.
Francis Biddle, chairman Of the
National Labor Relati Board. wants
a tribunal separate and distinc. tlom
the Department of Labor.
Miss Frances Perkins, Secretary OF
Labor, wants the work centralized in
her department.
William Green. president OF the
American Federation of Labor, is in
clined to side with Miss Perkins.
President Roosevelt has thus far
withheld his view.
The issue is not academic. It has
a concrete oearing or the future of
labor controversies.
Constitutional Status Involved
If, as Ir. Biddle feels. the right
of the Federal Government to adjudi-
cate disputes over collective bargain
ing is constitutional. then a iunicial
tribunal with a procedure somewhat
like the Federal Trade Commission
would seem desirable
If. on the other hand as so many
people, including, incidentally. this
correspondent. believe the right to
regulate employer and employe rela-
tions is not vested by the Constitution
in the Federal Government, then the
task is one Of mediation and con-
Citation, and, if this is not intrusted
to the Department of Labor, it is
difficult TO see what further excuse
kins' department.
The constitutional basis for Sen
ator Wagner's position is that collec-
tive bargaining is a principle that
will be accepted by the courts ulti-
mately as necessary to the free flow
of commerce and that anything
which tends to become burden on
interstate commerce can be regulated
by the Federal Government.
Railroad Case Cited.
The New York Senator rests his
argument chiefly on a case decided
by the Supreme Court of the United
States with reference to railroad rates
inside the State of Louisiana in con-
nection with a railroad transacting
commerce within the State. The
court held that this was within the
power of the Federal Government
to regulate.
In opposition, however, is the con-
tention that the commerce here regu-
lot nf iov
and that the Supreme Court had
always said that transportation or in
strumentalities of commerce known as
common carriers were within the
Federal Governments jurisdiction
Since Senator Wagner's original de-
fense Of the conStitutionality of col
lective bargaining provisions in Fed
eral law, the District Court at Will
mington has ruled in the Weirtor
case that the business of steel manu-
featuring was not interstate COM
merce and hence that the famous
section IA on collective bargaining
did not apply. The New Dealers are
confident this will be reversed by a
higher court
Anyway, they are proceeding on the
assumption that anything which sub
stantially affects" commerce is
within the Federal power, whether it
Is called interstate or intrastate, and
that the Supreme Court will hold it
all to be within the commerce clause
of the Federal Constitution on the
ground that unified commerce can be
supervised effectively only by a CEN
tralized Government.
CIarification Held Needed.
From the foregoing differences of
opinion, it will be seen how important
1t is to have a ruling again from the
Supreme Court of the United States
on what is meant by the commerce
clause of the Constitution, either by
reinforcement or reversal of earlier
decisions and precedents of the court.
The chances of getting such a de-
cision before the october term of the
Supreme Court are remote. The pend
ing cases will hardly be argued before
that time. Because the national in
dustrial recovery act expires in June
Of this year, unless extended, in ac-
cordance with Mr.. Roosevelt's request,
for another year or two, the Congress
is being urged by labor to pass at
once a vital measure affecting the
permanent, and not merely the emerg-
ency, relations of employer and en-
ploye.
No such far-reaching legislation has
been proposed since the Adamson law
in the Wilson administration, when
the eight-hour day on railroads was
proclaimed. In that case, however, the
Federal Governments power to regu-
late transportation was conceded and
the departure was in fixing hours of
labor on something already declared
to be a business in interstate COM
merce.
Congress will be urged to delay
passage of the Wagner bill till the
Supreme Court clears UP questions
OF constitutionality If this is fought
by the labor groups and some kind
of bill is insisted upon at this ses-
sion. 1t would not be surprising if the
President agreed to the request of
Miss Perkins that the Department of
Labor should, at least temporarily,
have charge Of the administration of
questions growing out of collective
bargaining disputes
(Copyrieht