The Daily Alaska empire., 1938-06-27
Wages and Hours
Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Enactment of a wage-hotlr bill was so long on the White House agenda that it's achievement in the present session of Congress was almost taken for granted at the start. The difficult road it had to travel at the end due to conditions unrelated to the economic philosophy of the proposal itself.
 How the law will work whether it will fulfill the hopes of its sponsors, whether in the main 1t will perform a service disservice to those it is framed to benefit, are questions only time can answer
 workers in industry entitled to reasonable living wage; that many do not now receive such wage and that the national welfare requires that they shall The principle is easier defend than the evil is to correct
 The wage-hour bill is of course a composite of compromises It is not quite what any Of its sponsors wanted It was put through Congress largely because the administration pledged to such an enactment Congress rejected the advice of business and agricul ural groups that federal control of hours and wages is neither feasible nor desirable"
 Elaborate government machinery must be set up to administer the act reminiscent of the days Of NRA with its multitudinous codes and it's far flung forcement organization Under the law the govern ment proposes undertake which would require the wisdom of Solomon and the onniscience Of super men to perform
 No one argues that the modest initial wage mini mum set by the bill-s1l for 8 44-hour Week-is higher than worker needs or. fl conditions permit should have. However, the rate of pay any industry can pay and still keep alive cannot be fixed by law but must be worked out in experience
 It is quite possible that some marginal industries. finding it impossible to pay the wages this law re- quires will be forced out of business Other industries may find it good policy to dismiss marginal employees who not worth the modest minimum wage set by the law To this extent the cannot be said to serve those who most need its protection
 Conceivably too industries embarrassed by the requirement of the law will hasten the mechaniza tion of processes now performed by hand Here again. legislative action conceived in philanthropy and fair dealing would fail class of employees most en- titled to government assistance
 As has been many times explained the wage-hour bill establishes two sliding scales; wage per hour scale increasing from year to year to 40 cens and an hour scale descending from initial A per week to final 40. It is fair criticism that body of men even if they wise and represen- tatives, able to say in 1888 what industry can afford to pay it's employees in 942. This depends conditions beyond human ken While the meas ure provides certain flexibiy it makes no adequate provision for the uncertainties of the economic pen duum.
 To the ordinary difficulties of administration must be added those incident to the voluminos exceptions 1t sets up exemptng industries and groups from the laws operations. Here again memories of the NRA bring visions of nerminabe disputes of endless trips to the capital of costly speculations to what the law means in certain of its sections.
 The purposes of the wage-hour bill are beyond question humanitarian and sound Its prohibition of child labor under IA is a constructive step It's n- clusion of diferential recognizing that conditions vary between industrial sections is essential to it's fairness
 In spite of its obvious merits, however one cannot well escape the conclusion that Congress has em- parked on economic waters which are uncharted perilous and inviting only to the lnwary question: ing nation will hope for the best but keep it's fingers crossed!