Evening star., 1939-04-25

Elmer F. Andrews explains
new company, emigrating from
another State, with factory build
ing to induce it to settle in the
community. 1t is pleasant to find
such altruism in what we so often
are told is cynical age. but 1t appears
there was catch in this arrange
ment. Our inspectors report that
some of the Workmen who built the
factor, were forced to take half
their wages in the stock of the COM
pany Men and women were engaged
to work IN the factory and forced to
put in six weeks for nothing while
learning" the operations. When
they did get little pay, they had
to kick back 10 per cent OF 1t, also
to buy stock. 1t was this money that
paid for the factory. And now it is
charged that the Mayor of the town
is having a stooge buy up the work.
ers' stock at 40 cents on the dollar,
and as fast as the workers are sepa-
rated from it. the stock is turned
over to the owners Of the plant. So
here. apparently. you have the en-
ployes themselves paying for the
plant in which they enjoy the
privilege OF working six weeks for
nothing! The Wage and Hour Di-
vision is sitting these complaints
with view to appropriate action.
2-Cents an Hour Wage Probed.
In an Eastern town workers in a
clothing factory were paid cents
an hour-88 cents for a 44-hour
week. The employer said they were
learners and that it took anywhere
from nine months to year for one
OF them to learn to operate a sewing
machine. And this in a community
where plenty OF experienced cloth
ing workers are out OF jobs! Here
again we are gathering the facts,
and II they bear out the compla aints
the workers will be given protection.
In another case we obtained an
injunction to suppress an evil all
too common. A runaway gypsy
plant moved to a small community
in an effort to get cheap labor. The
community has been misled into be-
llevlng that 1t was obtaining a boon
an opportunity for the employ
ment OF its people. But the employer
paid cents an hour and less; wages
so low that the public relief agencies.
FEDERAL, State and local, were called
upon to supplement the earnings of
his employees to enable them to exist.
Instead OF securing boon. the COM
munity actually was providing a sub
sldy out OF the taxes its people paid
to enable an unscrupulous employer
to secure an unfair advantage over
competitors who were paying decent
wages and keeping their employees
on the relief rolls. One OF the rea-
sons for wage and hour legislation is
to prevent this sort of thing, an evil
recognized by the United States
Supreme Court when, in a decision
delivered by Chief Justice Hughes
upholding State minimum wage leg
islation, it said:
The exploitation of a class of
workers who are in an unequal posi-
ton with respect to bargaining
power and are thus relatively de-
fenseless against the denial of a
living wage, is not only detrimental
to their health and well-being, but
casts direct burden for their sup
port upon the community. What
these workers lose in wages the tax
payers are called upon to pay. The
bare cost Of living must be met. - .
The community is not bound to pro-
vide what is in effect a subsidy for
unconscionable employers"
Public Must Make Up Deficiency.
If any American imagines that he
has no stake in wage and hour leg
lslation, let him ask himself whether
ne Is willing to pay out of his own
pocket to the tax collector to feed
and clothe the underpaid workers of
industry. We propose, by even
handed enforcement of the Fair
Labor Standards Act, to make en-
F-SJ >Ao PoJ CAACAA oW1l 1dUU CCSCS dllO
not the public.
The Fair Labor Standards Act
went into effect October "a. Today,
April "a, marks the completion of
the f1rst six months of our expert
ence in administration and enforce
ment. This is an appropriate hour
IN which to sum up progress of the
first half year and to chart, If pos-
sible, the course for the future.
"A cltys slums, in the dim light of
midnight, may wear to the casual
observer a not unpleasing aspect.
Deep shadows mellow Grass outlines
and touch with beauty the sagging
roofs. But presently the sun comes
up and one sees revealed the broken
windows, and the sunken walls, and
tne ramshackle stairways, the piles
OF Nth and the rats scurrying about
among the overturned garbage cans,
Always we have had slum areas on
the edges of our economic system.
But we used to see them through the
hazy shadows of our own Ignorance