The Wilmington morning star., 1940-07-19
RALEIGH
BRIEFS
BY N AvER1LL

BY HENRY AvERlLL
RALEIGH, July 1s.-Commis'
| sioner Of Labor Forrest Shuford is
hot under the collar about the way
in which his department has beer
ignored by Federal Wage-Hou1
publicists in releases regarding the
current .checkup on North Caro-
lina's lumber industry.
Reading the releases, which are
prepared in Washington, one gath.
err the impression that Wage-Hour
inspectors Of this regional unit are
waging a single-handed drive;
when as a matter Of fact most OF
the work. is being done by employ
ees of the North Carolina depart.
ment of Labor. Some time ago II
was announced with great fanfare
Of publicity trurnpets that the state
and the Federal Wage.4our folks
were launching into the first great
cooperative enforcement program
in the nation.
It seems, however, that the Fed
eral notion Of cooperation Is tor
the State Department Of Labor to
do the work, while the Federal
folks sit back and claim all the
credit.
MI. Shuford himself isn't saying
anything, but your reporter learns
that he has sent a fiat ultimatum to
the Washington office demanding
that it give the State people due
credit. Otherwise, Mr.. Shuford pro.
poses to follow n Of two courses:
Either start issuing publicity him.
self. or quit the cooperative agree.
ment cold.
Attorney General Harry McMul-
Ian plans to have his Office repre-.
scented, probably by Assistant At
rorney General Wade Bruton, at a
conference with the United States
Attorney General In Washington
early in August. The meeting has
been called, under auspices Of the
National Association of Attorneys
General to work out a program OF
full cooperation in problems arts
in from the National Defense
plans and from the current war
emergency.
It's the School Commission which
is now suffering from the Negro
teachers salary headache, b t
the ailment is sure to extend into
every administrative school unit in
the state before it's over with-and
probably in aggravated form.
The State pays all teacher salar-
les and so the Commission is bear
ing the burden now that salaries
alone r under examination; but
once the Federal courts have de-
creed, as they are practically Ger
tain to do, that Negro teachers
must be paid equal salaries for
equal work, many other questions
are sure to bob up.
There will be demands for equal.
ly good buildings, equal Transport
tation facilities, equal janitor ser.
vice-in short, equality in every
respect. These demands will be uni.
formly backed by more Federal
court decisions if they are brought
to a showdown.
It is the counties which will have
to worry about building the equally
good school houses, and furnishing
the equal transportation facilities.
There has been for some time 4
lot Of publicity about the Commits
sion and it's study of the present
salary schedule and speculation
about what it will do with the extra
money it has to dole out this year.
It hardly seems worthwhile get
ting very excited about; for after
all there is only some $3.50, 600 to
be distributed among nearly Is, 900
teachers, which makes it certain
there cannot be an average raise Of
more than one dollar a month for
each teacher.
Utility companies telephone,
power, etc. r already beginning
to lay the groundwork for argument
that the national defense program
will greatly increase their opera.
ting costs. At least one big COM
pany has informed Utility Commits
sioner Stanley Winborne that it will
have to station guards at vital
on its system in order to be
insured against sabotage efforts.
None has yet indicated directly
that it will seek to increase its
but that is the next logical
step in view of what they are pre-.
sently telling the Utility Commits
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