Evening star., 1943-04-01
48-Hour Week
Effective Here,
5 Other Areas
VINO Officials Soy
Compliance Is Good
To 100 Per Cent
Hy the Associated Press,

Ply the Associated Press.
The 48-hour work week went
into effect in SO labor-short
areas, including Washington,
and survey of affected cities
indicated these general results:
l. Compliance, as described by area
directors of the War Manpower
Commission, was good" to 100 per
cent" and employers are co-operat-
ing.
2. No cases of open defiance had
been reported to the VINO.
3. Requests tor exemptions were
comparatively few, and came princi-
pally from firms with a small num-
ber Of employees.
4. Few workers will be released for
other jobs, largely because virtually
all war plants and many other firms
IN the affected areas already had
gone to a 48-hour week, but en-
ployers' demands for additional
workers will be eased.
Predictions Borne Out.
The area directors reports bore out
predictions by national VINO ON
cials, but do not necessarily mean the
novel presidential order is getting
perfect results because:
l. Employers adopting the 48-hour
schedule are not required to report.
and it is too early to determine
whether silence means compliance,
evasion or unspoken defiance.
2. All requests tor exemptions are
not In yet, since the deadline for
mailing such requests did not pass
until last midnight. Submission OF
these requests constitutes COM
pliance until they are ruled on.
The order, which affects lumber
and non-ferrous metals mines
throughout the Nation as we'll as
business and industry in the SO
areas, is one of three manpower
actions carrying April 1 headlines.
The two others require:
l. Draft boards to begin reclas-
styling men in non-deferable oc-
cupations as available for immediate
induction, regardless of whether
they have wives or children. Those
registered with United States EN-
ployment Offices for other jobs will
get a 30-day stay Of induction.
VINO Officials Pleased.
2. The Army to cease granting
outright discharges to men 38 years
and older. Instead, men released
for work in agriculture or essential
industry are to be transferred to the
enlisted reserve. That means they
can be recalled to active duty at any
time.
More than 200 letters, most Of
them asking exemptions. were on
file today with the local War Man.
power Commission.
The order affecting the non
deferrables has sent more than 900
men to the local USES in the last
three days
Considering the rush to register
in the District when the nom
deferrable list was made public
eight weeks ago, manpower execu-
tives indicated they believed draft
officials would not find much Of q
pool when they tapped the remain
ing non n-deferrables.
| A local USES spokesman said q
considerable number of placements
had been made in essential work
here from the ranks of the nom
deferrables and that many semi
skilled men had been discovered.
Few Releases Here.
The adoption of the 48-hour week
has meant few employe releases here
so far, the USES spokesman said.
He explained Washington is already
a tight labor market and so many
firms are understaffed that adoption
of the 48-hour week simply gave
them more service from the same
employees.
The 200 cases filed with the VINO
here include requests for exemption
as well as statements that employees
will have to be let out If some firms
go on the longer work week. These
(See WORK WEEK, Page A-22)