Evening star., 1945-03-24
Hope Is Revived
For Agreement
On Manpower
Conferees Moy Vote
On New Compromise
Proposal Today
By J. A. O'LEARY.

Hope for settlement of the
manpoWer dispute was revived
today as Senate and House con-
ferees prepared to vote on a new
compromise, based primarily on
the Senate's labor ceiling plan,
but with penalties on employees
as well as employers who violate
employment rules.
Put forward late yesterday by
Senator johnson, Democrat, of Col
orado, this latest proposal may offer
the last chance of ending the con-
troversy before House members leave
next week for an Easter recess of at
least two weeks
Senator Johnson's suggestion is
that House conferees abandon the
labor draft principle of their bill,
under which local Selective Service
Boards could order any man 18 to
45 to stay in or go to an essential
job.
Penalty Clauses.
In return, the Senate conferees
are asked to equalize the penalty
clauses of their bill, which now apply
only to employers. If this settle
ment is adopted, the machinery for
keeping war plants supplied with
labor would be essentially the same
as that now being followed by the
War Manpower Commission, except
that the commission has no statu-
tory authority or criminal penalties
to force compliance with it's labor
ceilings until Congress acts.
Under the pending compromise,
general supervision over the man
power problem would be vested in
War Mobilization Director Byrnes,
with discretion to seek the assistance
of any Government agency in ad-
ministering the bill.
As a concession to House mem
bers, who are opposed to giving
statutory life to the War Manpower
Commission. the conferees may ac-
Icept House amendments emitting
specific reference to that agency.
But, even under the House proposal
to delegate the basic power to Mr..
ByrneS, that official would be free
to turn the task over to the War
Manpower Commission.
Merely Suggestion.
Until the conferees reconvene
this afternoon, the Johnson pro-
posal is merely a suggestion. It
must be accepted first by the other
Senate conferees, and they, in turn,
must persuade the House members
to give up the principle of a work
draft.
The johnson proposal would make
it possible to freeze workers in es-
Sential jobs, to prevent a wholesale
exodus from war industries between
the defeat of Germany and Japan,
in addition to equalizing penalties
on employers and employees who
violate ceilings and hiring rules.
There are five conferees repre-
lsenting each branch of Congress
and majority of those appointed
from each house favor the type of
bill approved by their respective
bodies. Since conferees from each
house vote as unit, there is httle
nope for an agreement except by
compromise, and some observers be-
lieve the Johnson proposal is the
most promising basis of settlement
lyet proposed.
Farm Deferment Action Urged.
The Senate voted so overwhelm-
lingly against the work draft prin-
Iciple that it is not likely to reverse
its stand. The House has twice in
Idicated its unwillingness to accept
a labor recruiting plan that places
no compulsion on the individual.
The new Tydings amendment to
the draft law, designed to halt the
induction of essential farm workers,
also is tied up in the manpower con-
ference battle and yesterday four
large agricultural organizations
Joined in urging the Senate farm de-
ferment resolution. The appeal was
made by the National Grange, the
National Council of Farmer Co.
Operatives, the American Farm Bu-
reau Federation and the National
lCo-operative Milk Producers Asso-
citation.