Evening star., 1937-05-21
ACCENT PAY LEVEL
HELD PRESIDENTS
LABOR BILL PLAN
Administration Proposal Ex-
pected to Provide 4O-Hour
Work Week as Well.
FORMULATING BODY
PLANNED, is BELIEF
Measure Is Expected to Prohibit
Child Labor Alto
gether.
By the Associated Press.

AIS lie noooNiotto itS>.
Congressman closely in touch with
labor matters predicted today the ad-
ministration's general labor legislation
would seek to establish a 4O-hour work
week and basic minimum wage of 40
cents an hour
The administration bill, to be recon-
mended by President Roosevelt in
special message to Congress, will be in
troduced by Chairman Connery of the
House Labor Committee.
Connery would not discuss details.
but other members said the provisions
of the bill probably would be flexible
so as TO take care of industries having
labor problems peculior to themselves.
hTe bill. they indicated. would set up
commission to work out details of
the program. They said the commits
sion probably would have power to fix
maximum hours in some cases of 35
hours week and to establish minimum
wages in brackets ranging up to a
limit of $500 year.
The bill was expected to provide
fiat prohibition against child labor.
Applies to Interstate Business.
Representative Ellenbogen, Demo-
crat, of Pennsylvania, author of a
bill to create a little N. r. A." for
the textile industry. said the Presi-
dents wage and hour program would
not become effective for individual
industries until the commission so
decided.
Chairman Keller of the labor sub
committee holding hearings on the
textile bill. said it had been decided
not to sidetrack the Ellenbogen bill.
I'VE have had the Presidents bill
before u.s." he said. "and see no rea-
son Why we should not go ahead with
hearings on the textile measure In
fact, We see every reason why We
should"
The Presidents bill Al pages long.
sets up detailed standards for appll-
cation Of its minimum wage and maxi
mum hour provisions, it was learned.
and is designed to apply to interstate
business.
There are at least several hundred
businesses in that category" Ellen
bogen said, land if a commission can
arbitrarily decide when they should
come under the bill, why can't Con-
gress do it?
Licensing Bill Proposed.
To decide that question intelligent
lv the commission would have to hold
months of hearings for each industry.
and we've already been doing that for
two years with textiles"
Representative Hartley. Republican.
OF New Jersey, proposed, meanwhile,
that Congress regulate wages and
hours by licensing bill applying both
to industries operating in interstate
commerce and to labor organizations.
This bill would deny licenses to
businesses operated in excess of 40
hours q week without overtime pay
ments, employing persons under 16
years OF age or failing to pay "just
and reasonable weekly wage sufficient
to permit workers to maintain stand
ards of living of decency and comfort"
The minimum wage would be S12.
Labor organizations would be refused
licenses If they forced workers to join
by threats, coercion or violence, in
jured or destroyed property, ordered
strikes in violation of an agreement
or to force violation of contract, or
used force or intimidation in connec-
ton with strike.