Evening star., 1943-03-25

put ceiling on David Lawrence.
prewar salaries and actually re-
duce them. The Presidents action
in allowing the words Of a statute
to be twisted to imply something
that Congress had directly and spe-
ciflcally rejected has now been met
by step that rescinds the execu-
tive order.
This does not mean that the Con-
gress has removed limitations on
wartime salaries. Far from it. The
Congress has merely written a
statute which enables the President
to freeze salaries on the same basis
as wages, namely, the highest point
that such salaries or wages reached
IN the period between January /,
1912, and September IS, 1912.
The action of the Congress is di-
rected against what might be called
"smart-aleck" government-the ten
dency OF some of the Presidents
-trusters and appointees to
distort the words OF q law so as to
accomplish their social reforms un-
der the guise OF aiding the war
effort.
Preserves Important Point.
Actually the new law preserves a
very important point-the freezing
OF salaries at whatever level they
may have reached before September
Is, 1942-and to this extent the
legislation ratifles the policy which
the President, by regulation, had
put into effect as a power which he
felt was granted to him under the
anti-infiation law of October 3, 1912.
But If anybody got a salary OF
any size whatsoever prior to Sep
tember Is, l942-and many men in
prewar days had established their
worth in the market OF executive
talent-he can retain that salary
just as any worker who had achieved
a certain wage level cannot have
that wage reduced. But no employer
can now 60 beyond that September
Is, 1912, level and give an increase
without the approval of the Bureau
OF Internal Revenue or the War La
Dor Board-the former for salaries
and the latter for wages.
The new statute is very brief, but
1t includes very important phrase
which is of widespread interest. The
provision reads:
No action shall be taken under
the authority Of this act the law
of October 3, 1912 with respect to
wages or salaries = for the pur-
pose Of reducing wages or salaries
for any particular work below the
highest wages or salaries paid
therefor between January i, 1912,
and September IS, 1912"
Term Is Defined.
What Is meant by the phrase
'for any particular work?" This is
answered in the unanimous report
of the Senate Finance Committee
which says:
The words any particular work
refer to the particular work OF
particular employe and not merely
to a particular type of work. For
example, this section, as amended,
Is not intended to invalidate or pro-
hibit any wage-sta bilization order
establishing 4 maximum wage for
any particular type OF work, so long
as exception is made allowing the
payment OF wages higher than such
maximum wage to any particular
employe for that particular type OF
work where such higher wages were
being paid to such employe for such
work at the time the order was
issued"
Thus the new law prevents a re-
duction of either wages or salaries
below the September Is. l942, level
and does away with the tricky stuff
about correcting inequities" which
was inserted In the October 3, 1912,
law with assurances from the Ad-
ministration that this would not be
used as it subsequently was used.
The new law means that II one
employe earned a salary for a par
ticular type of work and resigned or
died or was dismissed, someone else
can be hired to do that very job and
get the same salary, or that pro-
motion to that job can be given
some other person in the organiza-
ton at the same salary as was paid
for the particular type OF work in
volved prior TO September Is, 1912
This means that II a company paid
q certain salary to its president for
. particular type OF work, new
company entering the field could
doubtless pay its president the same
salary for that particular type OF
work There is, therefore, no dis
elimination between persons doing
the same work no matter how high
their salaries or wages were prior to
September Is, 1912, but above that
level there can be no increase with
out the approval of the govern
mental agencies which administer
the wage and salary regulations.
Reproduction Rights Reserved