Evening star., 1942-03-19

ment as: There are no double pay
Sundays on Bataan."
Pepper Suggests Codes.
Senator Pepper, Democrat, Of
Florida suggested, meanwhile, that
voluntary war industry codes be
established to govern wages, hours,
working conditions and profits.
Senator Pepper told reporters he
believed that codes similar to those
employed In N. r. A. days could
be evolved which would standard
ize labor relations by industries.
If labor, in accepting such codes,
agreed to make sacrifices to further
the war effort, then management
probably would be willing to limit its
profits drastically, he predicted.
Senator Pepper and other admin
istration supporters made 1t plain.
however, that strenuous efforts were
being made to work out agreements
between management and labor by
which Sunday double time pay could
be waived in all essential war indus
tries.
Thomas Hopes for Compromise.
Chairman Thomas Of the Senate
Labor Committee said it was his
opinion that some compromise could
be found for this particular problem
without resorting to legislation.
Senator Thomas has opposed repeal
of the 40-hour week law, which
specifies time and a half payments
for extra hours worked over that
quota.
Opposition to the enactment of
restrictive labor legislation was said
to have been expressed also by
Marvin Mcintyre, presidential sec
retary, and James v. ForTeStal, Un-
dersecretary of the Navy, at an in
formal luncheon yesterday with sew
eral Senators.
Mr.. Mcintyre was said to have
supplied detailed information sup
porting President Roosevelt's state
ment to his press conference last
Tuesday that the production pro-
gram was going along very well as
far as labor was concerned.
Four production officials. headed
by 1t. Gen. William S. Knudsen,
opposed repeal of the 40-hour work
week law in testimony before
Senate Appropriations Subcommit-
tee yesterday.
Chairman Thomas said, however,
that they agreed something must
be done about Sunday double time
pay, particularly instances where
employees laid of" during the week
in order to work Sunday and collect
double.
Wallace Reports Public's Ire.
Public dissatisfaction with some
aspects Of the war production pro-
gram was said to have been re-
f1ected in a report carried to the
President personally yesterday by
Vice President Wallace.
Mr.. Wallace, who recently re-
turned from a visit to his home
State of Iowa. was described as
disturbed at the widespread nature
OF complaints he heard while there.
Undersecretary OF War Patterson
told the subcommittee yesterday ad-
ministration officials nearly won an
agreement from union spokesmen
three weeks ago for elimination of
double time pay on Sundays, holi-
days and In some instances on Sat-
urdays.
Spokesmen for War and Navy De-
partments and the Maritime Com
mission all agreed that some workers
were dropping out on regular days
in order to earn double time on
premium periods and thus increasing
costs without increasing production.
Senator Brooks, Republican, OF
Illinois asked Mr.. Patterson If Con-
gress should act to end this double
time complaint, but the War De-
partment spokesmen said officials
preferred to work this out on a
voluntary basis.
Serious Strikes Denied.
All four Of the production officials
who testified yesterday joined in op-
posing any new legislation or other
drastic methods which might up
set present working relationships.
They said strikes had not been seri-
Gus since Pearl Harbor and that
conditions we're improving as pro-
duction increased in most lines.
Gen. Knudsen said that drafting
labor won't work in this country;
it might in Others" when Senator
Overton, Democrat. Of louisiana
asked about suggestions that Con-
gress place labor in a strait jacket
for the duration Of the war"
Senator Thomas mentioned sug-
gestions that Congress draft labor
and send workers to shipyards, fac
tories and even farms. Mr.. Patter-
son, former Federal judge, said
that probably the only constitutional
way to do this would be to induct
the men into the Army or Navy and
then assign them to production
work.
That certainly is foreign, of
course, to anything we have ever
done" Mr.. Patterson remarked. ex-
pressing doubt production increases
would follow such methods.
Admiral Emory S. Land, Maritime
Commission chairman. also opposed
the regimentation of labor or anti
strike legislation at this time, not
ing that "our labor leaders are
playing BALI and that drastic leg
islation might bring "recalcitrant,
Bolshevik feeling-'To hell with it. "
that would seriously interfere with
production.
Shipyard Schedule Cited.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Ralph A. Bard testified that some
workers in shipyards we're working