Evening star., 1937-06-08

pIo6S upon tlloU conscience or their
intelligence.
In my hand I have letters from
workers written me within the last
week saying they now work g. and
some Of them even 81 hours per week.
The same letters show that women are
working in a nearby city for net weekly
earnings Of $7.85 for a 65-hour week.
But underpaid and overworked labor
ing men and women like that can wait
in the relief line or in the sweatshop
forever while these objectors leisurely
make up their minds to seasoned,
sustained and matured recommends
tions"-and 1t won't make any diff
ference to these objectors.
But cannot agree. Nor do I think
that the vast majority Of the American
people entertain any such conception
of the indefinite and interminable
postponement of the interests of the
working population OF this country.
The idea that the Government should
do nothing to help the lowest-paid
workers SO long as it can be put Off
the prosperity OF the country only as
the prosperity of the upper classes
trickles down to the lower classes is an
idea thought had been definitely
with the unmourned de-
mise of the Hoover administration
Evidently there is today an effort to
resurrect this dead Republican ideal.
The critical Senator says that the
prompt consideration of we'll worked
out legislative proposal on a subject
which has commanded the attention
and thought OF statesmen and econo-
mists for years would be "a travesty
upon prudence" On the contrary,
should think the "travesty on pru-
dence" would be to abandon the 1886
Democratic campaign pledge and adopt
the 1896 Republican promise to do
nothing.
There may yet remain few indi-
viduals in public life who have not
thought through again and again the
terrible problem of mass unemploy-
ment; the contradiction that some
workers should be toiling long hours
when others cannot find work to do,
the contradiction that third OF the
population should not have adequate
purchasing power to acquire the neces-
stiles OF life, when millions of unem-
ployed would be happy to produce
those needed necessities If they were
only given the opportunity. But the
common man, fearful OF the future, OF
his job, his wife and his children has
thought about those things In the last
10 years as he has thought of little
else. He cannot think any harder
about it next year than he has thought
already.
N. r. A. Sidetracked Old Bill.
Most men in public life have for
years been giving the most prayerful
consideration to these problems and
to these contradictions. AS I have
said, more than four years ago 1
introduced 3o-hour-week bill which
passed the Senate. And the subject of
maximum hours and minimum wages
had been receiving the constant
thought and study Of the American
people since before that time.
My bill Of four years ago was side
tracked for the N. r. A. I then
warned against the confusion Of labor
standards with the price-f1 fixing and
production controls provided in N. R.
A. I should have been happy to join
with the Senator from Michigan II he
had then-four years ago-desired a
real study Of the subject.
But since then we have had the
lesson Of the N. R. A. experiment, the
lesson Of the Wagner labor act, the
lesson Of the greatest labor troubles
in history, the lesson of the Supreme
Courts re-examination Of the Federal
Governments powers over interstate
commerce and the lesson Of what the
American people want as demon
strated In the last election. There is
not one provision in this bill, the
substance Of which has not bee de-
bAted and redebated or even expert
mented with over the last four years
and some Of 1t long before.
We know now as much as we will
ever know from Just sitting and think
ing. We know that it is hard to set
up machinery that will adjust an
ultimate ideal Of q single national
standard Of decent working condi-
tions and Of single national stand
ard OF living and purchasing power in
. single national competitive market,
to the inescapable fact that there are
great variations of local living costs
and competitive advantage in this
big country.
But we also know that the prob
lem Will get no easier by just wait
ing for it to become easier. Hours
get longer and wages get lower while
these apostles Of delay and do-nothinp
Sit. think and talk. As a matter of
fact the problem will get harder the
longer the expectations OF those who
heard the Madison Square Garden
speech are deferred. When people
lose hope they want change. When
enough people lose hope they make
change.
States Powerless to Act,
Pending the time when the Federal
Government acts, the States can do
nothing to meet the situation. Each
State which takes seperate action to
Improve working standards only puts
Its own industry at q competitive dis
advantage with the industry of States
which tarry. This has been the onlv
legitimate objection Of employers to
useful State labor legislation. A ma
tlonal bill, on the contrary, NAV be
the good employers chief protection
against invasion of is market by un-
fair methods which his own stand
ards forbid.
To any one who actually is anxiou,
70 help the third OF our population
with the lowest income the time for
study and further delay has passed.
The time for decision and action has
belatedly arrived. The time has ar
rived to separate the sheep from the
goats. to separate those who will give
lip service "in principle" to decent
treatment to the millions who make
less than e. ON . ,no~ <.. a.,