Evening star., 1942-10-18
Senate Committee
To Start Manpower
Hearing Wednesday
Labor Maps Fight to
Exclude CompuIsion
From Legislation
BY JESSE O. IRWIN.

SAooG W. I'M
The Senate Military Affairs !
Committee announced yesterday
1t would start hearings on ma
tional service legislation We'd
nesday and organized labor,
informed sources said, was pre-
pairing to make strong presenta-
tions before the committee to
keep the yoke of compulsion off |
the American worker.
why all this clamor for compul-
sorry labor legislation when we
haven't scratched the surface with a
program of utilizing labor power in
the good old democratic way?" one
member of the labor panel of the
War Manpower Commissions Man
agement-Labor Policy Committee
asked. Other members of the COM
nittee were equally emphatic.
The committee concluded its
weekly meeting yesterday, members
said, no nearer an agreement on the
national service bill drafted by COM
mission staff members than when it
vas first presented month ago.
The American Federation of Labor
members of the panel-Frank P.
Fenton, organization director, and
John P. Frey, president of the Metal
Trades Department-have been in
str,Ipted hv octioy, of thu fa5oro+io,,,e
Toronto convention to refuse to rec
ommend employment control until
the need is obvious and until ade-
quate provisions have been made to
assure against misuse of control
over employment"
Safeguards Chief Obstacle.
The Congress OF Industrial Or
ganizations members-Clinton Gold
en-, assistant to the president of the
United Steel Workers, and Walter P.
Reuther, vice president of the
United Automobile Workers-have
similar views, it was reported.
Safeguards demanded by both
industry and labor have presented
one of the chief obstacles to the
drafting of the manpoWer legis-
lation, Fowler V. Harper, deputy
manpower chairman, explained. In
dustry, for example, is insisting that
there be no infringement on its
peacetime right to hire and fire.
Labor, on the other hand. also wants
assurances that its unions. during
the process of transportation al
workers from one area to another,
will not be weakened or smashed or
otherwise rendered impotent after
the war ends, Mr.. Harper said.
Labor's stand against compulsion.
1t was pointed out. has the support
of the House Special Migrant In
vestigation Committee headed by
Representative Tolan. This group
is on record of viewing the rising
demand for compulsory powers as.
"one of the most damaging fea-
lures of the present trend in man
power mobilization" The House
committee holds that compulsion
should not be used except as last
resort. "a
The Senate Military Affairs Com
mittee. following an executive ses-
sion, voted to start hearings on the
three pending universal service or
total mobilization bills. These are
the measures introduced by Sena-
tors Hill, Democrat, of Alabama;
Austin. Republican, of Vermont, and
Taft, Republican, of Ohio. Each OF
these measures seek to place admin
istrative control in the hands of the
Selective Service System. Senator
Pepper. Democrat. of Florida, said
he would oppose this move.
McNutt to Be First Witness.
Chairman Reynolds of the Mill
tary Affairs Committee said the first
witness to be heard would be Paul
v. McNutt, chairman of the Man
power Commission. He said the
hearings were expected to continue
for about two weeks. Mr.. McNutt
has asserted that legislative man
power control was Imperative
Senator Pepper said the plans of
the Military Committee would not
affect procedure of his Education
and Labor Subcommittee, which Is
now conducting an inquiry into the
manpoWer situation. He took the
position. however, that any man
power legislation outside the field
of the military, falls properly within
the jurisdiction of the Education and
Labor Committee.
After hearing testimony from j. C.
Capt, Census Bureau director, that
the Nations civilian force is now
actually 100000 smaller than it was
two years ago, Senator Pepper COM
mented that "it would be interest
ing to the country to know thai
while we are preparing to coerce
people into national service, We do
not know the basic facts on which
a sound policy should be based.'
Elmer Davis, director of the Office
of War Information. informed Con-
gress in September that he had re-
quested the manpower commission
to issue clarifying statement. The
commission has not indicated when
this statement would be released.
Entrance into tie labor market of
housewives, students and other non
workers to fill war jobs, Mr.. Capt
said, has not been widespread
enough to counter balance the ex-
tensive Withdrawals of men to the
armed forces. He added that out
of the 40,o00,0O0 persons IA years
old or over listed as nom workers,
~'only 100000 are males" and s.
100000 of these who are too old or
permanently unable to work" while
100000 are students, mostly lin the
younger age bracket"
Labor Force of 58,400,0 900.
Out of 29, 100000 housewives listed
as non workers, 6,5O0,oOO said in re-
sponse to survey made last March
that they could take full-time jobs,
and most of those who so responded