The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-10-21

and other programs undertaken by the Federal government stimulated employment which, in turn, iIn- proved labor conditions generally.
 It has been my pleasure, while serving in the House of Represeu- tatives for eight years, and in the Senate for five years, to vote for every measure benefiting labor ana agriculture.
 There has been no period of my service in Washington that has been more interesting to me, from the standpoint of labor measures con- sidered, than the period since 1888. During that time we have been struggling with peculiar problems of labor. We have been considering legislation to give economic force to labor iri it's quest for employment, reasonable hours and desirable wages. We'have been wrestling with the problem of proper labor stan- dardE for men and women, and have been successful in eliminating child labor in many regions. We have done much to, advance the principles Of collective bargaining, by declaring collective bargaining to be . national policy.
 Let us look at the labor record since 1883, of this administration.
 Outstanding, perhaps, is the Wag- ner Labor Relations Act creating 8 permanent national labor relations board of three members, to promote equality of bargaining powers be- tween employers and employees and to diminish the causes of labor dis putes. This permanent board re- places the old temporary National Labor Relations Board established under executive order of President Roosevelt.
 This act provides that all en- ployes shall have the right to self organization, to form, join, or as- SisS labor organizations, bargain col- lectively through representatives of their own choosing, to engage in concerted activities, for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection" Five gen- eral principles are laid down by the board combating unfair labor prac- ticcs, and already during It's short existence, 1t has made much pro- gross toward solving one of the most difficult of the labor problems.
 Labor also benefited by the es- tablishment of National Employ ment system in the Department of Labor, in cooperation with State employment services. ..r..
 The Highway employment act has each year provided for the in- crease of employment by authoriz- ing appropriations for emergency construction of public highways and related projects. The Forty Hour Mall act approved in 1885 provided a forty hour week for 123,000 postal employees. The Kick-Back Racket Act of 1884 was aimed at the so- called "Kick-back racket" by which contractor pays wages at the rate required by the government but forces employees to give back part of the wages. The Walsh -Healy government contract act provides conditions for the purchase of supp piles In the making of contracts by the United States government and stipulates that in public contracts in excess of $i0,000, made by, the Federal government, contractors must pay not less than the prevail Ing wages for persons employed in the industry or similar industries operating in the locality; that they shall permit no person to work in excess of eight hours day, or for- ty hours in any one week, and that they shall employ no male persons under sixteen years of age and no