Evening star., 1938-05-08
Congress
Continued From First Page.)

tSOiIbllloeu IOIIl I llSb dkc.D
petition to get the measure up for
confederation, it is bound to go
through, urge the Rules Committee
now to reconsider its earlier action
They want the committee either to r@
verse itself and report out special
rule without further delay, or to bring
in a rule permitting House to vote
on the discharge motion now filed at
an earlier date. They argue that
nothing is to be gained by delay and
that there is every reason for speeding
consideration of the bill in the House
so that there may be an earlier ao-
journment.
Committee Switch Doubted.
Two members of the Rules Commit
tee who voted against the wage-hour
bill would have to change their stand
to carry out either one of these pro-
posals. That they will do so was con-
sidered very doubtful yesterday. In
the first place, they have gone on rec
ord already in opposition to the bill
To vote otherwise now would be to
leave themselves open to attack from
foes as we'll as friends of the bill In
the second place. opponents of the bill
hope that by May % considerable
sentiment against the wage-hour bill
will have made itself felt from many
parts of the country. Delay, they hold,
is in their favor.
The wage-hour bill. if it passes the
House as now expected, will 60 back
to the Senate, which passed different
wage hour measure last summer.
There its friends will seek to send
the measure to conference, it is ex-
pected. Some Of its opponents will
demand that the House bill, since it is
radically different from the Senate bill,
be sent to committee, hoping to choke
it there.
Senatorial opponents of the wage
hour bill, and even some OF the ad-
ministration supporters in the upper
house were shocked at the revival of
the measure in the House. The bill
had appeared completely dead to
them, at least for the present ses-
sion. Southern Senators yesterday
did not hold out much hope of being
able to kill the measure through fill
buster or any other route. They may
get their second wind and attempt
something against it. That will largely
depend. however, on the reaction of
the country.
Chairman Thomas, Democrat, of
Utah of the Senate Labor Committee
predicted mot much resistance" in
the Senate to approval of wage-hour
legislation at this session because no
group would want to take respon-
sibility for killing the bill"
Senate Groups Stand.
The Labor Committee, Senator
Thomas said. would recommend that
the Senate stand by its original pro-
posal and ask for a conference If the
House passed the revised measure.
He added. however, that "the two
bills are enough in agreement to make
a good strong bill out of them if We
can get it to conference.
II think we will be able to work out
a bill that will be acceptable to both
houses"
Senator Connally, Democrat, Of
Texas. who was active in an unsuc-
cessful fight last year to prevent Sen
ate passage Of wage and hour legisla-
ton, predicted the Senate would pass
some sort of wage-hour bill in this
session"
Credit for the revival of the bill was
given to three factors: First, Presi-
dent Roosevelt's letter to Chairman
Norton of the House Labor Committee
urging that the House take up the bill
again; second, to the victory of Sena-
tor Pepper, defender of the wage
hour bill, over Representative Wilcox
an opponent Of the measure, in the
Florida Democratic primary. and third
to the fact that the American Fed
Grafton of Labor this time worked fol-
the bill instead of against it, as II
| did last winter.
While supporters of the wage-houl
bill. among them Representative Mead
of New York, hail it as q measure OF
recovery. its opponents insist that In.
| stead Of aiding recovery the bill Yill