Evening star., 1939-10-19

A~" WAKE anu
maximum hour standard. Thousands
of them do not know that any en-
ploye can report violations and that
labor unions are specifically in
structing their members to notify
the authorities of any deviations
from the law.
Mistakes have been made on all
sides and antiquities in the statute
are numerous as in the regulations
already issued. Congress is RESPONSE
BILE for the vagueness of the law, but
the Wage and Hour Enforcement
Division can write regulations which,
to some extent at least, can be help
full, though clarifying amendments
to the law will be necessary before
the statute can really be workable.
Reason Is Official Secret.
Whether Mr.. Andrews failed to
enforce the law as drastically as he
should, or whether the regulation
were not written in practical form,
or whether the conferences between
the Government and the industrial
committees, like the textile group,
have not resulted in the necessary
cooperation, is not known because
the reason for the change is some
what of an official secret.
But 1t is important, on the other
hand, to note that, when Mr.. Roose-
welt wanted difficult and complex
job done, he turned to ar Army Of
flcer. This is not surprising because
he has at his elbow, as one of his
private secretaries, Brig. Gen. Edwin
Watson, who has turned out to be an
able adviser and helper and it is
natural that, if one Army officer
makes good in civilian post, the
President will be tempted to try
others
Ordinarily, there is in Government
q prejudice against Army officers for
certain types of work. They are apt
at times to be too rigid and inflex-
lble, but, when it comes to handling
delicate matters of administration
in which undue pressure might be
exerted from political quarters, as
in the award of construction con-
tracts, they are ideal public servants.
Only Bit of Evidence.
1t Is not clear whether Mr.. An
drews permitted himself to be in
f1uenced by pressure groups. The
only evidence bearing on that point
came recently from his own lips.
1t occurred in connection with the
amendments to the present law
which would have exempted white
collar workers earning 5000 month
or over from any limitation on hours.
The amendment was approved by
Mr.. Andrews and by President
Roosevelt and by the chairman of
the House Labor Committee. Then,
a few weeks later, Mr.. Andrews
calmly announced that he had
changed his mind and that he had
done SO because certain labor or
CARNATIONS wanted the shift made
and he felt that he owed labor groups
a debt of gratitude because they had
been fighting his battles.
The presumption is that Mr.. An
drews referred to the difficulties in
Congress, where every now and then
Labor groups come to the fore and
do lobbying for appropriations or
against changes that might affect
administrative bureaus. To confess
publicly that he was beholden to
labor groups was frank and honest
as we'll as naive, but at the same
time, 1t raised storm of protest as
to the duty of an administrative Off
Ger exercising the vast discretionary
powers of Government bestowed
upon him.
Army Officers Big Help.
Maybe the incident had nothing to
do with Mr.. Andrews resignation.
Maybe the co-ordinating tasks we're
OF a nature which required another
sort of personality, but it is diffi-
cult to think of an Army officer doing
anything but enforcing the law, ir-
respective of whether one group
helps him in his job more than an
other.
AS administrators, Army officers
have been big help in Government,
and, for that matter so have Naval
officers. Not long ago. Col. Harring-
ton, an Army man, was put in charge
of the w. P. A.
Since America isn't going to war
and since all the time of Army
officers isn't taken up with troop
activities, there are many who can
be spared to solve some of the ad-
ministrative complexities which re-
quire vigorous enforcement and an
insusceptibility to the wiles Of politi-
cal or economic pressure groups.
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