Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1937-06-24
SEEN and HEARD
around Me
NATIONAL CAPITALA
BY Carter Field Z
FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

Washington. - There is more to
the uneasiness of certain high labor
officials to government fixing OF
minimum wages than is being made
known. What some of them think
about it down in their hearts would
not arouse any enthusiasm if stated
in plain English. 1t would not be
good politics, and in politics a man
who has become a labor leader is
apt to know his way around.
One objection is stated frankly.
They are afraid that if the govern
ment fixes a minimum wage it Will
tend to become the standard wage.
A good deal of publicity has been
given to this. But most of it is just
talk. A good many workers suspect
that the social security payroll taxes
are more menacing to pay adj
vances than any governmental edict
that not less than a certain amount
can be paid for a definite job in a
definite place.
Every once in a while there is a
hint that the fixing of wages is a
matter which should be left to col
lective bargaining. That comes pref
ty close to being the heart of the
real objection. The same danger
was realized by labor leaders dur
ing the MIRA regime. Obviously If
the government should eventually
control all working conditions, par
ticularly hours and wages, the inn
portance of union labor leaders
would shrink considerably. There
might even come a time when work
ers would doubt the wisdom of hav-
ing highly paid union officials with
liberal expense accounts. The gov
eminent would be doing the job that
the unions set out to do and have
been doing.
There was a small contingent of
the original brain trust which saw
this very clearly, and welcomed the
day when it would mature. They
wanted all power lodged in the fed
eral government. This line Of
thought never triumphed. The time
was not ripe for it.
Moreover the election was APP
preaching and the administration
did not know then that it could
have been reelected even if all the
labor unions had been just as strong
ly opposed to it as they were in
favor of it.
See Danger There
But the dangerous germ of
thought is still there. The admin
stration intends to march on it's eff
forts to straighten out the waving up
and down curve of business booms
and d~epressions. 1t intends to con
troll business more and more, es-
pecially in the matter of plant ex-
%pansions.
With the regulation of wages and
hours, not a part of the program
for the present session of congress,
the regulation of business comes
closer. Sooner or later may come
another move. 1t has not even been
limited, so far, but as a matter of
fact it has lots of advocates, some
of them inside the New Deal breast
works.
For if governmental control is
to be exercised over business in
order to avoid hectic booms and
gloomy depressions-with the idea
being to keep the curve of prosper
ity in a straight line, with no ups
and downs-it will become impor-
tant not to have cessations of work
due to labor troubles. They are apt
to play hob not only with produc-
tion-bearing in mind that the goal
of the New Deal is to have pro-
duction geared down to the capa-
city of the market to consume
but with government revenues.
The millions of taxes paid to the
federal government out of the an
nual profits of the steel corporation,
for example, and out of personal
incomes derived from dividends
from that company, might conceiv-
ably disappear entirely for one year
due to strikes which might turn the
black ink figures of that company
into red.
All of which has labor leaders a
little perturbed as they see the start
made on government regulation of
wages. =.
Ohio in Congress
The Ohio delegation is an interest
ing example of what is happening
to the President on the Supreme
court enlargement bill, and on in
surgency in general. 1t is typical OF
most of the delegations from states
which are normally Republican, and
at present have heavy Democratic
majorities in the Capitol Hill con.
%tingents.
Ohio now has % Democrats anc
only 2 Republicans in the house:
although if there is such a thing any
more as a normal majority the
Buckeye state should have abour
200, 900 Republicans.
A month ago a confidential pol
was taken of these % Ohio Demo
Gratis. 1t showed 10 of them were
against the President on the Su
preme court issue, and only 9 will
him. But just a few days ago the
% Democrats were again polled
opd fhic Tina thnro wnre IL oooipc