Evening star., 1938-01-04
MRS. NORTON SET.
FOR PAY BILL WORK
Committee to Meet Next
Week to Decide Course on
"a Wage Measure.
By the Associated Press,

By the Associated Press.
Chairman Norton Of the House
Labor Committee, encouraged by
President Roosevelt's renewed demand
for legislation to end starvation wages
and intolerable hours" said today
she was ready to go to work all over
again on a labor standards bill.
Her committee will meet next week
to decide on course of action.
Mrs. Norton said she personally
favored reopening public hearings and
drafting new wage-hour bill, rather
than trying to patch up the tattered
measure which a rebellious House re-
jected at the special session. She
expressed belief. nevertheless, the ad-
ministrative features of the latter bill
on which much Of the controversy
centered-were splendid" and should
be retained
Some foes Of the defeated bill
pointed quickly to President Roose-
velt's recommendations of "a floor
below which industrial wages shall
not fall and a ceiling beyond which
the hours Of industrial labor shall
not rise"
"Only = Stairway"
Representative Dies, Democrat, of
Texas, one Of the leading opponents,
interpreted this as meaning the Pres-
dent was opposed to the old bill be-
cause, Mr.. Dies said, 1t contained
"only stairway" on which a Federal
board could flx minimum wages all
the way from / cent to 40 cents an
hour
Representative Ramspeck, Demo-
crat, Of Georgia, a supporter of the
bill, said the President had made it
plain he favored flexible" legislation
rather than that proposed by the
American Federation of Labor, which
would have imposed q fiat minimum
OF 40 cents an hour and a 40-hour
week on all interstate commerce.
In reference to Mr.. Roosevelts as
sertlon that more thought should be
given to the workers total pay than
to his hourly remuneration, both Rep
resentative Fitzgerald, Democrat, of
Connecticut, member of the COM
mittee, and Mrs. Norton agreed that
organized labor would not support
that type of legislation If 1t meant
reducing hourly rates.
Neither William Green, president of
the American Federation of Labor nor
John L. Lewis, chairman of the Com
mittee for Industrial Organization.
was in Washington yesterday to hear
the message in which Mr.. Roosevelt
advised labor to cooperate more with
the Government, for the general well
fare.
In their absence, their lieutenants
refused to comment for publication,
but they probably talked a great deal
in their private conversations about
the Presidents statement that power
and responsibility must go hand in
hand"
Most demands for union RESPONSE
bility" have come from employers.
They were accompanied by demands
for various types of Federal legisla-
tion which would restrict the freedom
Of labor unions. Some have called
for restrictions on the right to strike
which labor leaders generally con-
slider their most precious privilege.
Another question Of prime labor
interest was whether Mr.. Roosevelt
was limiting at Federal Intervention
in the A. F. Of Lie. I. o. dispute when
he said:
unfortunate divisions relating to
jurisdiction among the workers them
selves have retarded production within
given industries and have, therefore,
affected related industries