Evening star., 1939-12-12
Boettiger Critic
OF Labor Board,
Probers Told
Roosevelt Son-in-Luw
Quoted as Fovorinq
Change in Policy

Change in Policy
Continued From First Page)
Edwin S. Smith, another member,
be allowed to testify following Mr..
Leiserson was termed by Represent
ative Smith, an anti-New Deal Vir-
ginia Democrat, as "a bit pre-
sumptuous."
The request was contained in a
prepared statement which Mr.. Fahy
started to read. He had progressed
through several pages when Chair
man Smith interrupted.
Called Presumptuous.
Il think you were present yester-
day when I made the statement
that it would be the policy of the
committee not to listen to prepared
statements" he said. Il think you
are bit presumptuous."
i ut sounds like an apology to me, "
added Mr. Toland.
j. II don't think it is proper time
to read a brief as to the qualifica-
ton of member of your staff" con-
Stinued Mr.. Smith. ANY person
whose name is brought into the
hearing in critical way will have
an opportunity to be heard. But
the committee will decide the order
in which witnesses will be called"
Mr.. Fahy indicated he wanted par
ticularly to get into the record with
out further delay the other side of
the picture of N L. r. B. activities
given the committee in the mass of
sintra- office memoranda which Mr..
Leiserson exchanged with his col
lagues since taking a seat on the
board June /. Thus far Mr.. Lesser
son has spent most of his time on
the witness stand identifying the
memoranda, nearly all of it his
oWn-memoranda which indicated
he felt the board had been slow in
handling certain cases and had
"mishandled" others.
Requests Testimony.
II respectfully ask that immedi-
ately following the testimony of DR.
Leiserson, the chairman of the board
and the third member of the board,
Mr.. Edwin S. Smith be permitted to
testify on matters covered by the
various memoranda introduced yes
terday during the testimony of DR.
<Leiserson," Mr.. Fahy said.
''The board, as you know. has a
chairman, j. Warren Madden. He
~, CT hn hNo ovrj
was organized upon the approval
of the enactment of Congress by
the President. The board also has,
In addition to DR.. LeiSerson, an
other member, Edwin S. Smith, who
has also been member of the
board since the beginning and in
deed was a member of the prede-
cessor board.
"These gentlemen have borne not
only the burdens of the years but,
as DR.. Leiserson pointed out, the
organization was largely built up
under them. The memoranda intro
duced before you yesterday are al
most entirely, I believe, communi-
cations between the three members
of the board-that Is, between Dr.
Leiserson and the chairman and
Mr.. Smith. They deal with only a
few of the many thousands of cases
handled by the board and relate
primarily to the secretary and the
office of the secretary. Mr.. Nathan
Witt. The secretary has also been
with the board since its beginning,
first as assistant general counsel
and then as secretary. Indeed, he
was q part of the organization of
the old predecessor board. Dr.. Lei
serson, whose criticism of his work
you have heard, has had shorter
and less adequate acquaintance with
it than either the chairman or Mr..
Smith. His memoranda now in the
record posed certain questions and
make certain criticisms. What are
the answers, specifically and gen.
orally?
Wants to Be Heard.
The chairman would like to be
heard on the subject Immediately.
So would Mr.. Smith. I have made
an analysis of some of the cases
referred to in the memoranda, and
have reported on them to the chair
man. When analyZed. the specific
criticisms of the handling of cases
by the secretary fades away.
"Dr. Leiserson pointed out the
freedom with which the organiza-
ton has indulged in self-criticism,
as a proper means of improving its
work, and he has frankly indicated
that there is at least more than one
side to the matter. He has also
pointed out that his criticism is
rather isolated, and runs primarily
In one direction. But it is important,
in view of the nature of the
memoranda, that the views and
solutions Of those to whom they were
sent be knoWn-not simply that you
know the bare contents of the
memoranda themselves. What are
the facts about the case mentioned?
These matters were taken up and
acted upon. You should know what
was done and why"
When Chairman Smith stopped
Mr.. Fahy he had two and one-half
pages more of his prepared state
ment to read.
More Criticism in Record.
After the exchange between
Chairman Smith and Mr.. Fahy,
Committee Counsel Toland con-
tinued to pour into the record ad-
ditional photostatic copies of intra-
Office memoranda written by Mr..
Ieiserson, most of them containing
criticism of delays in action on
cases before the board.
The first one, dated August Is,
relating to the case of the Union
Manufacturing Co. case, read:
This Is OK. but notice that the
V Grace Gray DeLOng