The Washington times., 1936-11-11
NEW ERA SEEN
BY SIR0VICH
FOR LABOR

(ThiS Is the first OF tho drtt-
cleS based on an eTcluSiUe inter-
UietD NTH Representative Siro-
Dtch, one OF the pioneers in NRA
legiSlGtion.J
BY JAMES L. KILGALLEN
Copyright, 1896, by International News
Service)
NEW YORK, Nov. IA new
NRA, which will assure the work
erS Of America adequate wages,
better hours and a general i'm
provement in the standard Of liv-
ing is foreseen as mot far away"
by Representative William I. Siro-
vich of New York.
Sirovich, in an interview today,
said this will be one of the first
major problems Congress will grap-
pie with when it reconveneS in
January.
The new NRA, Sirovich pre-
dicted, will be minus the code
feature of the old NRA. 1t will be
legally bomb-proof and so legis-
lated the United States Supreme
Court cannot nullify it, in his
opinion.
Presidents Attitude
President Roosevelt's attitude
toward the proposed legislation
Sirovich regards as Of paramount
Importance. He said:
"If the President, after his
great election mandate from the
American people, came out for a
flat amendment to the COnStitu-
tiOn creating an NRA on a new
model it would be enacted into
law within a years time. This
would be the easiest way to re-
vive the NRA. There are two
alternatives, however"
The two other ways NRA legiSla-
ton might be put across, Sirovich
said, would be:
First, Congress could pass an
NRA law applying to all indus
tries operating in interstate COM
merce. The various States of
the Union would have to follow
to protect their own industries
operating within State lines.
Thus all industries would be
taken into the NRA.
Secondly, Congress could
draw up an amendment to the
Federal Trade Practice Act un-
der which the Federal Trade
Commission has jurisdiction.
This commission, you know, now
has the power to issue orders to
cease and deSist'."
FOUR PRINCIPLES
Any new NRA legislation should,
in the opinion of Sirovich, emoody
the following four fundamental"
principles:
/. Establishment of minimum
wage-a wage ample to live on.
2. Establishment of maximum
working hours-with view of cut.
ting down unemployment which
has resulted from the mechaniza-
ton of industry.
8. Abolition Of child labor
which would automatically pro
vide jobs for grown-ups.
4. Right of collective bargain
ing.
Sirovich characterized these
principles as "the four pillars
which are the superstructure upon
which the future prosperity of The
country is dependent. He con-
tended the application of these
principles would "humanize cur
economic life" He added.
"A great mistake was made by
Congress in enacting the old
NRA legislation. The mistake
was made when we set up codes.
"The code arran & ement
enabled every industry to set up
q constitution of its own. The
business leaders selected their
own people who acted as police
in enforcing the code that ap-
piled to their own industry.
"What happened? The Su-
preme Court said this was un-
constitutional - that Congress
had delegated its power to en-.
force the law to people who were
not entitled to such powers. It
was as if the industries had been
delegated to collect their own
income taxes"
Sirovich said this m S axe
would not be made again by Con-
gress. He is now working with
leading lawyers, professors and
economists on NRA legislation
which will be put before a Con-
gressional committee shortly after
Congress convenes on January S
next. He believes President Roose-
velt will have something impor-
tant to say on NRA revival in his
annual message to Congress.