Montana labor news., 1939-01-26
WAGE AND HOUR BILL
BRINGS Side SHOW
TACTICS FROM FOES
Legislative Gossip.

Legislative Gossip.
Perhaps the biggest show of the
current legislature was staged in the
House chambers on the public hear
ing of House Bill %, the wages and
hours bill.
The proponents were led by Syl-
vester Graham and presented their
case in a clear unprecedented manner,
explaining the purpose of the bill,
which is a substantial copy of the
applied to interstate industry. Nor
Federal Wages and Hours Bill, as
man Lefever Of the Butte Miners
Union was the first speaker and
pointed out the advantages of
spreading employment and fixing a
floor under wages that left little to
be said. Joe Hunter of the United
Coal Miners left no doubt as to the
attitude of the coal miners of the
state, and Ed O'Byrne, ex-labor
commissioner of the state, cited
specific cases showing that labor,
particularly female labor, was being
shamefully exploited in the state.
Chester Bates of the Ho~dcarriers
Union, Bruce Steinmetz of the Cas-
cade Trades and Labor Council, Lee
Metcalf of the attorney generals
office, Homer Whitmore, secretary
of the Cascade Trades Council, and
others from Cascade county spoke
very forcefully but it was left to
Miss Elizabeth Gilbert Of the Clerks
Union of Helena to really put some
pep in the presentation. She asked
the business men present not to be
Charlie McCarthys to the men who
were pulling the strings and the
logic of her position was dem
onstrated by the replies she received.
Ray RhuIe Stages Act
The second act was staged by the
employers, Ray Rhule of Butte act
ing as interlocutor, Carl Traurman,
said to represent some small mining
men, and Charles McPharlan of
Helena, disappointed druggist, act
ing as end men; Mr.. Hoover of the
A. c. NJ, Otis Mugg of the Asso-
ciated Merchants of Montana, and a
Mr.. Gale of Billings representing
the Independent Merchants of Bill
lings doing the heavy work, and
representatives of various industrial
interests from all over the state
hoping to contribute something that
might have been overlooked.
There can be no doubt that some
of the opponents were sincere in
their fear that such a law, if passed,
would seriously injure their bust
ness and there is no doubt that
these men put their business con-
Germs far above the interest of the
country as a whole. The arguments
used were a rehash Of the argu-
ments used against the eight-hour
amendment when that measure was
up for referendum together with an
attempt to appeal to the self interest
of the farmers in the legislature
without regard to the welfare of the
state as a whole.
The Associated Industries of Bill
lings, answering a charge that girls
employed in stores and on
at So per week, admitted
that such had been the case but
claimed that these wages had been
raised to $12 a week by the mer-
chants themselves, presumably as
the lowest amount upon which a girl
could exist and remain moral. Carl
Traurman felt that additional time
off in the small mines would result
in the miners drinking too much and
felt sure that if miners were given
two days off each week, they would
be drunk for two days and then use
less the third day while they were
SOLDERING up.
A representative Of the small
newspapers felt that it would de-
stroy the business of all small news
papers if they were forced to pay
delivery boys the minimum wage.
Silk Stockings at $50 a Month
One enterprising restaurant man
Continued on Page 81