Evening star., 1940-02-04

WIInOuI LeISeISOn
Declares Letter Confers
Only After Attorneys
Submit Tentative Drofts
BACKGROUND
Special House committee has
been Investigating National La
Dor Relations Board since De-
cember. Evidence OF dtssension
on board and charges OF par
tiality totDard C.. I. o. haze been
heard. Object OF committee is to
recommend any needed changes
in Wagner Act.
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.
Further evidence Of conflict
among members of the National
Labor Relations Board was given
yesterday by Chairman J. Warren
Madden to the House committee
investigating enforcement of the
Wagner Act.
It is the practice of the board,
Mr.. Madden pointed out, to receive
from its review attorneys verbal re-
ports summarizing the evidence
taken at labor dispute hearings.
Board Member William M. Lesser
son does not take part In these
conferences, the chairman said, ad-
ding:
II think that when DR.. Leiserson
came over to the board he felt
somewhat overwhelmed at the vol
ume of our work, at the hours we
had to work and the pace, really,
with which we had to carry on.
We do spend many hours in this
conference business, and after a
few days of it, as I remember, DR..
Leiserson said I just can't stand
this. have got to spend more
time to myself and I have got to
make up my mind from the inter-
mediate report chat of the trial
examiner who presided at the hear
ing), and the complaint and the
answer, and to whatever extent I
find it necessary from the record
in the case"
Mr.. Madden said DR.. Leiserson
did confer with the review at
torneys after the tentative draft of
decision had been prepared by
them. II suppose" Mr.. Madden
added, that he does more of that
than the other members of the
board, which would be quite natural
since he wasn't in at the original
conference"
Questioned by Halleck.
Mr.. Madden was questioned close
ly by Representative Halleck, Re-
publican, of Indiana as to whether
the board adequately could pass on
evidence which it has not heard,
depending on records which its
members did not have time to read
and had distracted for them.
When the committee member
asked how the board could deter
mine the weight of evidence without
hearing it and with receiving only a
secondhand summary of it, Mr..
Madden said:
Il have said many times that
when it is a problem of the credible
ity of the witness and we are not
satisfied from the record as whole
as to whether the credibility is on
this side or on that, we do expressly
reply upon the trial examiners res
olution."
"Is that based" Mr.. Halleck in
quired, "on the theory that he prob
ably knows more about it than any
one else could possibly know from
even a reading of the record
YES"
why wouldn't it be better, if that
is true, to call these trial examiners
in and have them report to the
board as to what the facts in the
case are?"
Time Element Cited.
Mr.. Madden said by the time a
trial examiner could come to Wash
ington and make his verbal report,
the record in the hearing would not
be as fresh in his memory as in that
Of a review attorney who had just
read the transcript of testimony.
The chairman added, however,
that if the board had funds to en-
ploy enough trial examiners of suffi-
cient competence, it might be better
to bring them before the board
after a hearing. He added:
There is no question but what
there is a great duplication there,
and it may well be that we have
done our work too meticulously
When we are told that our records
are better than other records which
go to court, we get good deal OF
satisfaction out of that, out of hav-
ing done an orderly and workman
like job
Mr.. Madden defended the boards
review attorneys-numbering more
than 1OO-as an unusually intelli-
gent and competent group. Against
the evidence developed by Commit
tee Counsel Edmund M. Toland
that considerable number of them
| WcIC yOuUlllul dlAN WAVAASuo ~Soe>
experience when they came to the
board, Mr.. Madden said 1t was diff
ficult to get experienced lawyers to
abandon their practice and go to
work at the salary the board could
pay.
He denied that the review at
torneys decide" cases, declaring
they are determined "by the board
and nobody else"
Denying the charge which Will
liam Green, president Of the Amer
ican Federation of Labor, made
earlier in the week that the board
has Disseminated against 1t and
favored the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, Mr.. Madden said the
labor leader could not have read the
boards record or he would not have
made such statment.
D~,~nSul>l ~ Craan TAefinaOnv