Evening star., 1939-12-27
Industrial Leaders
Escape Call Before
n. |. R. B. Probers
House Committee
Will Dig Deeper Into
Files Of Agency
By JAMES E, CHINN,

Dy ShNAAo SAAAA~ASs
The Nations industrialists are to
escape an appearance before the
special House committee investigat-
ing the National Labor Relations
Board 1t was disclosed today by Ed
mund M. Toland, chief counsel for
the committee.
Industrial leaders, he said, would
be called only if it is found abso-
lutely necessary to use their teSti-
mony to complete a picture of the
strife on the American labor scene
since enactment of the Wagner
Labor Relations Act.
The committee. now in holiday
recess until January S, plans to re-
sumo the inquiry by digging deeper
into the voluminous records it has
taken from the files of the N. L. r.
B.-data intended to show whether
this agency created by the New Deal
to administer it's emerging labor
policy has been fair and impartial"
Will Question Subordinates.
Present plans, according to Mr..
Toland, are to proceed with an ex-
animation of the boards records,
and not deviate into any other
phase of the prescribed course of
the investigation for several weeks.
This means, he said, that many of
the boards employees are to be sum-
moned to the witness stand to iden-
tify memoranda and to explain
their activities.
The primary object of this tenta-
tive program, it was said, is to give
Congress early in the new session
convening January 8, all possible
information it may need in decid-
ing whether amendments to the
Wagner Act are urgent. The new
information Mr.. Toland hopes to
reveal, it was intimated, will be con-
siderably more in detail than that
brought out during the first eight
days of the committees public hear
ings.
So far the committee has con-
cerned itself primarily with the
activities of the top-ranking off,
cials of the board and several re-
gional directors. Now, it proposes
to go down the list of some of the
lesser lights in subordinate, eXecu-
tive positions.
Detroit First Stop.
Mr.. Toland declined to comment
on the disclosures during the COM
mittee's first public hearings. Let
the records speak for themselves" 1"
was his only remark.
After the committee finishes the
examination of board officials and
employees and the memoranda taken
from their flles-a procedure that
is expected to take 10 days or two
weeks-it proposes to visit some Of
the country's leading industrial CEN
ters.
The first stop will be Detroit,
which Chairman Smith has de-
scribed as "hotbed of American
labor troubles"
From Detroit, the committee will
60 to the West Coast, stopping in
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle
and several smaller cities in which
tIClc lldS UccIl COlllllCJ DeCWeeIl
labor and industry since creation
of N. L. R. B.
Clerical Staff Busy.
All Of the committee members
Chairman Smith being the only ex-
ception-left Washington for the
holidays. In their absence, Mr..
Toland has remained at his desk
making preparations for resump-
ton of the inquiry. and the COM
mittee's staff of clerks has been
busy classifying the veritable ava
lanche of newspaper stories and
editorials relating to the commit
tees activities until it recessed
Arthur Reilly, public relations di-
rector for the committee, and q
former Washington newspaperman,
said from his observations of the
newspaper clippings, the press Of
the country has been generous"
In its praise of the fairness" with
which the committee ard Chair
man Smith thus far have conducted
the public hearings.