Detroit evening times., 1943-08-31
Nonessentia
Gravel Dieeers
Get a Raise
But II Takes 4 Months,
Yards Of Red Tape
BY PAUL MALLON

golden d + e a m life OF security
from the cradle 10 the grave
Financed by tremendous taxa
ton on wages).
I don't know how they are
getting along at the cradle end,
but they recently had helluva
time at the grave here
At one OF the largest ceme-
terieS in Washington, where at
least three persons are buried a
day Including New Dealers -
the II grave diggers started last
wi ter threatening 10 go on
strike. They claimed they could
not live on S33 a week and sup
port families of four or FIVE chill
dren, and they demanded a raise
Of SO a week.
This sounded fair enough 10
the cemetery b o ar d handling
that eleemosynary organization.
II authorized tho increase hut
NanpoWer McNutt had ruled
thai grave digging IS not an oS-
SeHtial occupation bitterly
lronlCal Judgment. especially IN
war The hoard therefore. had
10 get government approval he
fore the lnCTeaSe could he
granted and sought rs lawyer.
Then the fun tarte d, away
back last March.
DIAPERS were prepared and
case presented 70 the re-
glonal wage stablliZation dlrec-
tor The cemetery board was
forced TO get affidavltS from
each grave digger showing how
much he spent for doctors bills
medicine. children in school, and
what not and WearIng he
needed the So a week more.
The case dragged on weeks
and months, with telephone
-eaifsTiettefs-atrd- presentations
of tTrdvy DOCUMENTS containing
A lot Of pursuant theretoS
'lpSo factoS and everything
except h pluribuS unum
Finally in April, tho wage dI-
rector denied the application
He sent a printed form letter.
more legal in It's language than
any decision the Supreme Court
ever issued. At one place In il,
the form read
The following comments are
applicable Ia your eaSe";;-ffr4---
lowed by a blank space where
he inserted. None" Incl
den'aliy, have YOU ever seen a
government form among the
many you have filled our these
past years that ever gave an
opportunity 10 face the facts of
your individual case clearly -
WELL, the cemetery people
w decided 10 fight and filed
an appeal The grave dlgcers
we're grumblInC both ou'wardly
and inWardly but were kept ~
work by A patient management.
willing 10 foot all The expense
Of getting them a raise. The
appeal papers we've drawn up
containing more -aG-dal-t-.
Finally last month 'ho
mighty regional appeal board
handed down is proud mdg-
mont i TOO denied the appr-
c1'on Inserting. however
but, very large hgt
II directed that the ho7Id
switch Tho workers 10 an
hourly wage rate. and ug-lc
the rate. and work the mon
more hours 50 that they could
bc paid all but 2S cents of the
increase agreed upon Sis
months before by the grave
dlgCerS and their employers.
No more typical example
could be found of the depths of
nonsense 10 which war rccula.
tons have plunged tho average
man and woman You have 10
hlre a lawyer 10 live these daNS.
The national laws are neceS-
Sart4io Stap=lnflation= iuSt as
All these national regulations.
no doubt, are necessary. but in
the enforcement of them.
tyrranical stringency is prac-
tlced which IS absurd Bureau
Gratis from top 10 bottom issue
orders 10 each other. refusing
10 let each other deHiate one
iota from a national order.
MANY good men are in those
h organizations, but there
are also many marionettes and
Shavetail gauleitcrs who cannot
see above the letter Of tho law
10 the human beings trying 10
live
ANY reasonable man outside
the government in the above
case would have given the grave
dlggerS their raise without
moments hesitation. saving
thousand Of dollars of time and
expense in view Of the>eleemoSy-
nary. health, humane. or any
of the other considerations in
volved.
Alas, poor YoriCk. he did not
know what the world was com
ing 10. Let all these proud and
mighty officials look up the real
origin Of the cradle 10 tho
grave phrase. II comes from
an 18th century poem by John
Dyer:
4 little rule, n little sway,
\ sunbeam on a winters day.
IL all the proud and mighty
have