Evening star., 1937-05-23

In the shade of an awning over the
afterdeck of the presidential yacht
Potomac. President Roosevelt, some
where on the Lower Potomac River
today will try to finish the writing OF
the special message he will send to
Congress tomorrow containing his
ideas regarding wages and hours legis-
lation and child labor.
While the President never has re-
vealed in detail just what he will ask
for in higher minimum wages and
shorter working hours, it is generally
felt that he approves Of a 40-hour
week as maximum and Accents
an-hour minimum wage, with pro-
visions for f1exibility to meet the
problems of individual industries.
Given Serious Thought.
Probably no message or recommen-
dation sent to the Congress by Mr..
Roosevelt has been given more serious
thought than this one, which will have
such a tremendous effect upon indus
try and the millions of workers.
Before the message is ready to be
transmitted to Capitol Hill Mr.. Roose-
welt will read it to Senators Robinson
of Arkansas, the Democratic leader Of
the Senate. and Black of Alabama,
chairman of the Senate Labor Com
mittee. whom he has summoned to
the White House for a conference late
this afternoon.
Senator Black is co-author With
Representative Connery of Massa-
chusetts, chairman of the House Labor
Committee, of bill which covers
this subject in way believed to be
satisfactory to the President. Mr..
Roosevelt held = conference yester-
day with Co-author Connery, who
was accompanied to the White House
by Representative Rayhurn of Texas,
Democratic leader of the House.
Connery to Introduce Bill.
Connery said that soon as the Pres
1dent's message has been read In the
House at noon tomorrow he will in
troduce his bill, and Senator Black
will act accordingly at the other end
Of the Capitol.
1t Is also significant that Mr. Roose-
welt is known to favor sidetracking,
temporarily at least, the so-called Ell
lenbogen bill providing for minimum
wages and maximum hours for the
textile industry. These provisions are
taken care of in the Black-Connery
bill.
Mr.. Roosevelt has frequently had
representatives of organized labor at
his elbow during the preliminary
stages of drafting this message, and
in the past two days has read every
word he has written on this subject
to William Green, president of the
American Federation of Labor: John
L. Lewis, president of the United Mine
Workers of America and, chairman of
the Committee for Industrial Organ
ization, as we'll as Sidney Hillman,
president of the International Anal
gamated Clothing Workers.
Service Trades Not Affected,
The Black-Connery bill will not
reach the service trades and other
purely local activities and will not ap-
ply to employers of fewer than IS or
20 employees. The measure will pro-
hibit automatically the shipment or
sale in interstate commerce of the
products of persons under the age of
is. On a finding by the Children's
Bureau that particular occupation
is hazardous or inimical to the health
and well-being of children, the age in
specific instances may be raised to 18.
Congressional leaders and others
who have read the bill assert that it is
one of the most carefully drafted
measures that the administration has
ever worked out and that it will 60 be-
fore Congress not only with the back
ing Of all the appropriate Federal
agencies, but with the informal ap-
proval of representatives of labor and
of several large industries. Based on
the experience of the N. R. A., the
National Labor Relations Board, the
Department Of Labor and other Gov
ernment agencies. it is described by
those who have seen it as conservative
(See MESSAGE. Page A-5.)