Evening star., 1937-07-29
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.
An ever-mounting opposition -
the wage and hour bill TO-DAY thrca.-
ened the administrator legislative
program on Capitol Hill.
Senator Donahev. Derocrat n,
ONO, who in the past has three time
been Governor Of his State. issued
statement declaring that in h.5
opinion the bill should not pass at
this session.
He said:
L believe in the principle Of mini
mum wages and maximum hours In
my opinion, the bill now being dis
cuSsed should not be enacted at this
session
1t should be studied by special
committee during adjournment with
particular attention to lmportatlons of
low wage merchandise into this coun-
try. This should include study of
short, seasonable small business sc-
tlVlty and foreign export business"
Many Amendments Pending.
Many amendments are pending
which. if adopted. would change the
Dill materially. Minority Leader Nc
Nary has proposed an amendment ex-
emptIng from the operations of the
Dill workers in seasonal businesses.
II opponents of the present meas
ure have their way. they will either
lay the bill aside 10 take up the new
court procedure bill or the Wagner
/ housing bill. or they Will recommit the
wage and hour bill Which course
VIII be followed had not yet been de-
| termined.
In the meantime. administration
leaders in the Senate were pressing
hard for favorable action on the labor
bill
When Senate Majority Leader
Barkley left the White House last
night after conference with PreSi-
dent Roosevelt he expressed the opin-
ION the wage and hour bill would
be passed by the Senate either today
or tomorrow. The growing opposition
10 the bill, however may throw his
calculations aSkeW
Inc administration ran into another
Snag today when it sought to have
! the Presidents reorganization bill in
| cIudlng the measure reCentlv passed
by the House providing for six assist
ants to the President. taken up for
| consideration by the Senate.
Reports Understa nding.
senator McNary a member of the
Reorganization Committee. insisted
there had been an understanding with
the late majority leader. Robinson,
| that reorganization legislation should
go over and not be put through at the
present session. So strongly did SEN
ator McNary and some of the other
members of the committee feel about
the matter that they even threatened
to resign from the committee. While
these contests We're under Wav over
individual pieces Of legislation. the de-
mand for an early adjournment Of
Congress continued among many Sem
ators and Representatives
During the Wage-and- hour bill de-
bate Senator George, Democrat. of
Georgia told the Senate standards pro-
vided in the bill were poetry, and
nothing but poetry"
George, opening a Southern Demo-
cratic attack on the measure, crltl-
clzed powers proposed in the bill for
Wage-hour board, the organization
OF the board and the authority given
the board to use information compiled
by the Secretary of Labor.
Senator Austin. Republican, OF Ver-
mont, who preceded George. said the
Dill would put StraitiaCket on labor
and mean an economic loss for agri-
culture
Austin, opening the third day OF
DEBATE on the measure. argued its
enactment would hurt all phases OF
economic life and warned that Ia Dor
VIII rue the day it got itself or was
forced into this position"
He asserted the measure would
create "a statutory monopoly of the
right of labor to work"
rs it possible labor does not sea
this thing?" he asked NO laborer in
America should be so far degraded he
must submit to supreme authority
in Washington the question of how
many hours he may work"
Session Begun Early.
Senate leaders called the chambe-.
into session an hour earlier than
usual in an effort to get vote on the
bill today. Numerous amendments had
TO be acted on, however.
Austin declared every Senator
should ask. what is the price of this
legisation?'
Assuming that there are benefits
and certain amount of security that
might be enforced on the people by d
bureau at Washington, what is the
cost of it?
What does the farmer pay for it;
what does the laborer pay for it?"
Sees Economic Loss
He answered by asserting there was
an immediate economic loss to labor
in restrictions limiting the right of
labor to contract for its service. re-
strictionS curtailing labor'S opportunity
to sell the only thing labor has to sell
at the hours it desires to work and the
price per hour labor desires"
"The farmer will not be exempted
(see WAGE-HOUR. Page A-4)