Evening star., 1937-12-20

that the Supreme Court of the United
States has within the last year up
held their constitutionality, revived ef-
forts are being made to apply the
regulations. Thus a great economic
and social experiment is being car
ried on which is really just beginning,
and deserves encouragement rather
than Illustration by the Federal au-
thority.
It was wrong, therefore, for the ad-
ministration to attempt, especially IN
these times, virtually to ignore State
action and put the whole problem OF
wage and hour regulation up to a
Federal commission or a Federal de-
partment. There is. 10 be sure. a
function and responsibility devolving
on the Federal Government in con-
nection with the operation Of State
minimum wage laws just as there IS a
Federal power being applied today to
safeguard those States which have
adopted laws prohibiting the sale OF
prison made goods But the Federal
arm should be used TO protect States
with decent standards against the
competition Of nearby or adjacent
States which ignore the need for
minimum wage laws and deliberately
invite industries to come to their
jurisdiction to escape the expense OF
the laws of other States.
Senate Was Obedient.
The administration, however. wrote
an impossible bill and handed 1t to
Congress to pass. The Senate was
obedient and with relatively little de-
bate passed it last summer. This cor
respondent pointed out at the time
the clumsy and unworkable nature OF
the bill with its many exemptions and
exceptions and the extravagant dele
CATION of arbitrary power written In
its provisions. The revolt in the House
last session was confined to the COM
mittee where the measure was sup
pressed. Then was the time for the
administration to have learned how
vital it was to rewrite the proposal or
to postpone action till there could be
agreement on the fundamentals.
Even labor has been divided within
It's own ranks as to how the bill should
be phrased, indeed labor union execu-
tives have feared that because the
whole theory Of the measure was to
regulate wages 1t might become the
entering wedge for the formal regNa-
ton Of all wages by the Federal Gov
errment, thus eliminating the neces-
sity for the collective bargaining proc
ess and dues-paying.
Within the States, too, there are
considerable differences of opinion as
to how minimum wage laws should be
applied.
Subsistence Basis Urged.
The problem of the minimum wage
ought never to be settled on the basis
Of merely measuring the return to
the individual for the service rendered
because this is essentially a matter
for the individual or for collections Of
individuals operating through unions
or other organizations. The basic
principle of minimum compensation
ought to be directly related to the fact
that every man and woman who works
should not be paid less than q sub
sistence compensation. The State has
an interest in seeing that the COM
pensation>paid covers subsistence be-
cause otherwise by direct relief or dole
the difference must be made up and
this imposes on the taxpayers-a small
group who pay income taxes as a
rule-the burden of making up that
difference. It Is far better for the cost
of relief to be borne by spreading 1t
through the whole price structure, and
If each State takes care Of its own un-
employed as we'll as sees to it that the
employed get enough wages in fam
lily at least to live on without State
aid, then the Federal burden will be
correspondingly decreased.
President Roosevelt, on the other
hand, has been looking at the mini
mum wage problem as largely mat
ter Of redistribution of income and an
increase in purchasing power for the
millions Of persons in the under
privileged" class. He has insisted that
one-third Of the Nation today are "ill-
nourished, ill-housed and ill-clad."
Mr.. Roosevelt is right in his state
ment that there are many In the
handicapped groups, but he has never
permitted fact-finding study to be
made to determine Just how many
persons there are, whether it is one
third or one-siXth or one-tenth OF
the population, and just where these
underprivileged classes are from
geographical standpoint.
Southern Wages Low.
It is notorious that the South pays
its labor very much below the North
ern standard and that Northern in
6ustries recently backed up their Con-
gressmen who wanted to see the mini
mum wage law passed as q means Of
eaualizing Northern competition with
the South. But the South, due to
warmer climatic conditions and COL
ored labor, believes that Southern
,wages can be lower than the North
without undue hardship. Here il
where the passion for uniformity
through Federal laws runs counter tc
sectional considerations of an eco
pornic character.
Doubtless the best thing the House
could do at the moment would be to
adopt the resolution proposed by Rep
resentative Robert L. Bacon of New
York for q thorough inquiry by .
Joint congressional committee of all
the facts relating to the minimum
wage problem. In this way intelligent
legislation supplementing the State.
could be framed. When liberalism
writes bills hastily, arbitrarily choose,
to invoke the Federal power without
regard to State laws, and attempts tt
Jam measures through without ample
debate or preliminary fact-findinl
studies. it deserves to be beaten. The
tragedy is that because OF the bungline
~ the administration those conserva.