The Wilmington morning star., 1942-04-29
The Presidents Message

President Roosevelts anti-inflation message,
in which the word, initiation, does not once
appear, has some good points and one bad
one.
His proposal to stabilize general prices and
wages as of the present would have been bet
ter if the ''freezing' were ante-dated, as of
the time wages and prices began to skyrocket
But it is better than leaving the trend un-
checked.
The additional proposal to put the detour
sign up for all incomes above $25. 900 and let
the excess flow into the war chest is admir-
able insofar as lit will Flap up," as the AS
sociated Press puts it, ''all corporation profits
not necessary to continued production" In
such an emergency as now exists it is not
apparent that any person or family should
have difficulty in subsisting on $4,000 year.
1t might involve the surrender of many lux
uries, the closing of many estates for the dur
alton, but that is little enough to do in present
circumstances. AS Mr. Roosevelt points out,
'We cannot have all we want if our soldiers
and sailors are to have all they need"
1t is when the President tacitly advocates
the 4O-hour week, saying that most defense
workers are not employed more than that
anyway, and should be paid time and one
half for overtime, that he misses the mark.
If most defense workers, who by now ought
rather to be called war workers, are not
working more than 40 hours a week they are
not doing their full duty toward the men in
the armed services of their country. And if
they must be given more money for all ad-
ditional hours of work, lest there be "a reduc-
ton in their pay envelopes" they are being
petted beyond their deserts and contributing
10 the very condition-inflaton-w the
President is interested in avoiding.
There is no good reason-physcal temper
amental or moral-why healthy man should
not work 48 hours a week. Above that total
there may be a decrease in production be-
cause of muscular fag. But the experience of
many generations has proved that the normal
man is not placed under damaging physical
or mental strain by working eight hours a
day six days a week The formula of eight
hours work, eight hours recreation and eight
llOuTS steep Has not peeN improved on Dy any
Of the "social gains of labor among which
the chief is the 40-hour work week and extra
pay for all hours over 40.
So much of our national success in this
war depends upon our industrial production,
and production Is so much less than it could
be on. the basis of 40-hour work week, that
derstanding Of our war needs when he fails
to recommend longer period of daily en-
ployment, and of our financial situation when
he advocates extra pay for workers who put
in extra time, up to 48 hours, on the job.
Many members of congress who are dis
satisfied with present labor laws which legal
jze the 40-hour week and overtime pay have
been quiescent while awaiting President Roose-
velts anti-inflation message. They may now
be expected to renew their fight for new
legislation which will extend the hours of
labor at regular pay. Hopefully they will be
successful in their effort to revise the labor
statutes.
No one wants to work real hardship upon
labor, but we certainly are not justified in
letting labor impose a hardship upon the war
effort