Evening star., 1938-05-31
Forum
Continued from Page B-14.)


but If the administrative Secretary un-
der the House bill may catch up with
them, 50, too, may the board under
the Senate bill, which would scarcely
think Of requiring as much as 40 cents
an hour in most industries and excuse
a particular industry from living up to
as much as three-eighths Of the stand
ard rate. 1t Is safe to say that, given
year Of the boards administration,
there would not be an industry in the
country paying less than rs cents an
hour for work, while mostly they would
be paying 40 cents an hour. Let us
answer this by passing on to the next
point Of discussion as between the
Senate and the House bill. It Is on the
question Of jurisdiction.
Compliance Faces Employees.
The House bill provides that the
Secretary'of Labor should make an in
ventory Of industries and then would
go ahead. As I read the measure
jurisdiction is general and not par
ticularly either an issue or point. do
not want to minimize this legislation,
for If 7 am persuaded in conference I
shall tight Just as hard for it on the
floor as would for my own bill, and
this Is true Of any other conversion
that might come to me in conference
on any Of these points. But, having
introduced the jurisdictional cause into
the Senate bill myself, I am quite
warm to the idea Of letting as much
OF industry alone as possible. This
easily may be done under the Senate
plan. It is simply that Government
has not anything before it when .
concern already Is found to be paying
its employees 40 cents an hour and
working them only 40 hours q week
Here we have the let-alone theory
working. no hearings, no witnesses, no
peremptory orders, no red tape and no
tape Of any color.
It Is my thought, and believe It
Is accepted thought, that II COM
pany were paying IS cents an hour
1t would gladly increase this amount
to 40 cents and keep the Govern
ment out Of its business. It would
be worth the extra nickel to be un-
regulated. The same conclusion Is
valid for the House provisions also
This, then, Is the jurisdiction clause.
Once, however. that Jurisdiction Is
taken for lack of this standard OF
pay roll, or hours. is the Government
a heckler under the Senate plan. at
least? Not at all, for II q decent
showing may be made q given In
dustry will save itself from disloca-
tion. It Is my thought that where
exceptions are necessary they will be
made, but II all industry wants at
q moment to resolve that 1t can pay
If every one else will and thus in
crease the standard of living gen.
orally. and will accept this law as a
patriotic proposition, the only people
the board will have to deal with will
be the chiselers and those who really
cannot, at least for the first few
months, meet higher pay roll with
out disemploying persons and curtail-
ing their output. We have then In
the measure good insurance against
q recessive trend.
Little Contrast In Hours.
There is little contrast in the mat
ter of hours Of work. There Is no
question but that some labor works |
long, arduous hours, and to no pur-
pose except that In almost every COM
munity will be found sweatshop to
set the pace. Recent research into |
the subject Of fatigue would indicate |
that an industry could ignore the
pace set by sweatshop and still re-
tain profitable operation, but there |
is the tendency to follow q poor lead, |
and many believe that they have to |
keep up with the worst lead. however
much it hurts them to do 80. There
fore the Senate bill proposes 10 hours
q week maximum be attained as soon |
as it can be without dislocating in
dustry.
The House bill proposes a hours q
week maximum to be scaled down to
40 in subsequent years on an absolute
basis. There Is no essential difference
If one happens to have been working I
50 hours week or more. Either would
be heaven-sent gift. A 44-hour week |
ought to provide two-day vacation Q
week in many industries, and stimu-
late motor travel, provide adequate
rest, recreation and culture, and dis
tribute employment over wider range.
I know Of large employers who adopted
the five-day week during the N. r. A.
and never have returned to the six.
Their employees are blessed. The con-
cern have in mind Is making plenty
Of money, and I think has not lost
any during the recession.
We have special problems when we
consider certain types Of industry. We
have the case Of the single miner on
q hill in g sparse State who would
rather return out Of the hills to his
family and spend some time with them
before going back to the hinteriand
again. We may mention those miners
who are showed In for weeks at a
time in our high mountains. These
are real cases. They have been called
to my attention, and take them Sc
riously. There are the problems cre-
ated by seasonal employment, and
being from Western State could
mention canning and sugar refiniing.
There are the necessary exemptions,
perhaps, to the child labor clause, one
of which viii be found In each bill,
exemptions to take care Of the Shirley
Temples. and the children Of Farmer
Brown who help him In the garden.
Rule of RHason an childrer