Evening star., 1940-05-04

y
greS in the next elections, avoided
taking a position on the wage ane
hour bill and, as consequence, the
smoothly functioning machinery O.
the minority went to pieces.
Jus why the Republican leader.
ship decided to scuttle the Wag'
and hour issue and assist the ad.
minist'ation in killing the measure
will probably never be explained
because, unfortunately, the various
votes on the amendments are no
recorded. The practice of going
into the Committee of the Whole
where only 100 members are needed
for a quo,um and where there i:
no roll cal and votes are taken by
voice only, makes it possible for E
measure to come out of the Com
mittee of II e Whole in a form thai
nobody wishes to see passed.
Farm Extremists Step In.
All this, of course, has beer
known for sveral days on Capito
Hill. The Republicans were tolc
some time a,o that they were not
to be held o party strategy, but
could vote Without regard to the
consequences % the bill itself. Sub
stantial support had arisen in the
House for certain moderate amend
ments to the wage and hour law
but the extremists in the agricul-
tural group waited so many eXemp-
tions that it ws impossible to write
a satisfactory measure on the floor
Usually legislation is carefully
considered in tie regular commit
tees of the Hose and the party
leaders know in advance how they
wish to see their followers line up
The crisscross of influence on wage
and hour Legislation is not new. A
year ago something of the same sort
faced the House rhen efforts were
made to get exemptions for agri-
cultural workers. Then, as now
amendments deemed desirable by
the administrations had a chance OF
passage.
The fight goes ba& to the original
controversy when the law was
passed. Except forRepublican aid
from New England !tates. the wage
and hour Legislation would never
have been passed. The New Eng
land Republicans say a chance to
put their Southern brethren in a
dilemma by forcing On the statute
books a law that 'ould tend to
raise costs for Southern business
men, particularly in he textile in
dustry. The sectionl differences
amounted in reality to an old
fashioned tariff fight.
Leaves Inequiies
Today, as a consequence of the
selfish groups in Congress, the wage
and hour law, with it MANY in
equitable provisions tha affect mil
lions OF workers and their possible
income. remains unamerded and the
chances are no bill viii be resur-
fected at this session Congress.
The idea of putting minimum
wage into law has been welcomed
by liberals as a desirabk move in
social progress. But the fixing of
maximum hours no longer has any
thing to do with health or sweat
shop conditions. 1t is a device to
raise labor costs by compelling
time and half" to be pad for all
time worked above a certain maxi
mum. Since in most businesses there
cannot be an extra shift employed
economically and the time
half" provision means more expense
than can be passed on, the conse-
quence is a reduced output nr man
and corresponding economic loss
to the nation.
In France the insistenceI on a
%0-hour week frustrated the proper
developments of armament plans
and had more to do with the hpre-
paredness of the French il the
present war than any other Jingle
factor. Today the 40-hour weet has
been repealed in France unde the
impulse of war necessity. In America
an expenditure of $5O,0O0,0OO buys
only $4,000 tons of warship consruc-
ton, whereas, in Great Britain it
buys $4,000 tons and in Japan 1900
tons. All this occurs Notwithstanding
a limitation of 10 per cent alrtady
imposed by law on the profits hat
manufacturers can make on nlval
contracts in the United States
Small Businesses Included.
Since Congress has assumed the
right to fix minimum wages and
maximum houcs-a right which The
Supreme Court has never affirmed
the public has been expecting
thoughtful confederation on the te-
lationship between wage and houl
laws and the opportunity of small
businesses, in particular, to continue
to meet rising costs. Small buS-
nesses, however, are forced to accept
the same reguhtion as their more
financially powerful competitors.
AS for wage Increases, the middle
bracket of emplUes has unquestion-
ably suffered ly reason of the
arbitrary levels imposed by Congress
without concern sor the flexible con.
ditions that used to permit wage
Increases on the basis of efficiency
and merit.
The wage and hour law has meri-
torious provisions relating to mini
mum@wages, but he fixing of maxi
mum hours constitutes an inflexible
formula which draws no distinction
between persons Who earn as much
Tor instance, $1,000 year and ought
to work more thar 40 hours week
and those who earn $1,000 a veal
and deserve somt OF the money
Whlch otherwise hts to be paid tt
the high salaried employees.
Congress was il mood tt
straighten out someot these kinks ir
the law, but the Republican leader
snip, despite its ,rotestations oi
interest in the fate # small business
IN America, looked tie other way.