Evening star., 1938-02-06

the worker than on the basic rate he may
receive per day.
In the Senate hearings on the housing
bill President William Green of the Amer
ican Federation of Labor registered strong
| protest against any attempt to seek by
national legislation to apply an annual
wage plan to building tradesmen as a SUBJ
! sttute for prevailing daily wage rates,
| contendlng that there would be no practical
way of insuring a full year of work to
mechanics unless contractor was carry
| Ing on so extensive development program
| that he could move the various craftsmen
to new job as rapidly as they completed
! previous one. He pointed out that various
| groups OF mechanics are required at differ
ert stages in the progress of a building
| JOB from the foundation to completion.
He agreed with members of the Senate
Banking Committee, however. that 1t would
pe proper and agreeable for the building
| trade workers to meet locally with con-
| tractors in different communities to dis
cuss the possibility of adjusted wage scales
covering longtime steady employment.
Know From Experience.
Senate Majority Leader Barkley sue-
! eested at this point in the hearings that
one reason for what some people regard
| as high hourly wages scales is the uncer-
/ talnty of obtaining enough work throughout
the year to support family
Mr.. Green replied that the building
tradesmen know from experience how
difficult it is to systematic building con-
structlon so as to keep different me-
chanlcal groups employed steadily. To
illustrate, he told the committee:
Il think you might seek the advice of
! building contractors and they would sup
| port that statement. because they have
experience. First of all, they start the
foundation Of building A certain group
OF people can be employed in laying the
| foundation. Then that is done and along
| comes another group of skilled mechanics
TO take their place and they perform a
| certain work. When that is done thev
move out and along comes another group.
So, as the building is erected that process
| is repeated
"A building contractor, in order to sup
| ply these different groups with work
| steadily throughout the year, must have
| such comprehensive building program,
| and 1t would be an expense if he were
to engage to pay an annual salary when
he could not employ them He would
have to have such a comprehensive build
ing program as to permit him to move
these men Systematically from one place to
another, and while he was completing
here to go ahead there, and so on
The controversy over wage standards
! became more acute when Senator Lodge,
| Republican, of Massachusetts moved in
| the Senate that the payment of prevailing
| wage rates III each community be made
condition to the issuance of F. H A. mort
gage insurance, and the Senate adopted it,
81 to II. After several weeks of deliber-
alton with the House, the conferees
Knocked out the prevailing wage require
ment, but Senator Lodge waged a fight
against the agreement that came within
two votes of sending the bill back to
conference
Issue Was Paradoxical.
The debate over the prevailing wage
issue was paradoxical in some respects.
New Deal spokesman, who had fought for
the prevailing wage requirement on
F. W. A. projects and in the Governments
slum clearance housing measure last wear.
argued just as strongly against applying
it to the liberalized F. H. A. program.
Their chief fear was that private lending
agencies would shy away from F. H. A.
mortgage insurance contracts if the wage
amendment had remained in the law. They
argued that the mortgage insurance is a
contract between lending agency and
F. H. A., and that the lending agency's
insurance might be impaired if it de-
veloped at some future time that the pre-
vailing wage clause had not been complied
with when building was under construc-
ton.
Senator Lodge made a strong fight to
retain the wage clause, but the bill finally
was approved without it by vote of AZ
to 40. Thus, the measure leaves Con-
gress without reference either to pre-
vailing wage rates, or to any proposed
annual wage plan.
Senator Wagner. Democrat, of New York,
co-author of the bill, believes that the wage
question will be solved in each community
by collective bargaining between the local
unions and builders. He also believes that
IN some cities adjusted wage schedules
will be worked out by voluntary agreement,
Where the contractors are able to promise
steady employment over a definite period
OF Time, even though it may not be for a
| full year.
Separate From Slum Clearing.
The new F. H. A. housing law is entirely
! separate from the slum clearance program
| enacted last year and now being launched
| oy the United States Housing Authority.
The latter plan is based on the theory that
| private capital, acting alone, cannot cor
rect slum conditions. Therefore, the slun
| clearance program is based on a system
| OF Federal loans and grants to State housing
agencies.
| The Government mortgage insurance
[. plan, On the other hand, leaves the fillanc-
! ing to private agencies, but seeks to widen
the range Of home ownership by making
| possible more liberal terms.
The more immediate purpose of the new
F. H. A. law, however, is to check the
| downward economic trend which set in
| last fall, not only by creating work for
| building tradesmen, but by stimulating the
heavy industries that supply building ma
| terials.
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