Evening star., 1945-09-06

| ely ul tIldb VIC uO llOl
wait for consideration of such a
complex question before enacting
this much-needed emergency legis-
lation.
2. Fair Labor Standards
Act
In addition to those workers who
will temporarily lose their jobs, there
will be millions of others whose in
comes will fall sharply with the end
of war production. These will be
added to the several million wage
earners who even now have hourly
earnings much below what is neces-
sary for a decent standard of liv-
ing.
The inadequacy of these wages,
in many cases, has been tempo
rarily concealed by wartime increases
in take-home pay resulting from
overtime work. AS these props to
income are removed, however, low
wage earners will be hard pressed
TO feed, clothe, and house their
families. This flies in the face of a
sound public policy. Failure to cor
rect this situation will slow down,
If it will not actually stop. our drive
toward an expanding market for
business and agriculture.
The foundations of a healthy ma
tional economy cannot be, secure
so long as any large section of our
working people receive substandard
wages. The existence of substan-
dard wage levels sharply curtails
the national purchasing power and
narrows the market for the prod
ucts of our farms and factories.
In the Fair Labor Standards Act
of 1888, the Congress adopted a
program intended to provide a min
imum wage standard for a large
number of American workers
In that statute, the Congress de-
clared it to be our national policy
to eliminate, from interstate in
dustry, wage levels detrimental to
the maintenance of minimum
standards of living. The establish
ment then of a minimum wage of
Is cents per hour represented first
step toward the realization of that
policy. The goal of 40 cents per
hour, which under the act was to
be made effective by 1945, was ac-
tually made fully effective more
than a year ago by the voluntary
action of the industry committees
Minimum Obsolete.
I believed that the goal of a 40
cent minimum was inadequate when
established. 1t has now become OBJ
Solete.
Increases in the cost of living
since 1888 and changes in our ma
tional wage structure require an
immediate and substantial upward
revision of this minimum. Only in
that way can the objectives of
the Fair Labor Standards Act be
realized, the national purchasing
power protected and an economy of
full production and abundance pre-
served and maintained for the
American people.
The high prosperity which we
seek in the postwar years will not
be meaningful for all our people If
any large proportion of our indus
trial wage earners receive wages as
low as the minimum now sanctioned
by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
I therefore recommend that the
Congress amend the Fair Labor
Standards Act by substantially in
icreasing the minimum wage speci-
, fled therein to a level which will
/ eliminate substandards of living
and assure the maintenance of the
health, efficiency and general we'll
being of workers.
The scope of the Fair Labor
Standards Act also should be clari-
fled and extended. In view of
changes which have occurred since
1888, I believe it is no longer
necessary to exclude from the mini
mum wage program the large num-
Der of workers engaged in agricul-
tural processing who are now ex-
cluded. There now exists a twilight
zone in which some workers are
| covered and others, doing similar
work, are not. Extension of COW
erage would benefit both workers
and employers by removing COM
petitive inequities.
Our achievements in this field
during the last seven years of es-
tablishing minimum wages have
been gratifying, but we must con-
tinue to move forward, step by step.
I urge that the Congress act
promptly. The wage structure on
which businessmen may make fu-
ture plans should be settled quickly
3. Wartime Controls
One of the outstanding achieve
ments of the war has been the
success of the Government in hold
ing the line against imitation. This
is the first time in any major war
that the United States has been able
substantially to stabilize its economy
That fact now permits us to enter
into the difficult period of readjust-
ment without the threat of a dis
astrous price collapse
: For this result much credit is due
to the Congress; which in the face
of great insistence from many in
. terested pressure groups refused
steadfastly to take the easy way.
Great credit is due to the Office
of Economic Sterilization, the War
Labor Board, the Office of Price Ad-
ministration, the War Food Admin
istration, the War Production
Board and the other stabilization
agencies. Despite great pressure
!, and often unjust abuse, they con-
tinued to hold the line for the
benefit of the great mass of Amer
leans.
And above ali, great credit is due
to the people of the United States
the great body of average citizens
who, for four difficult years and
!, with only few exceptions, subordi-
mated their personal interest to the
long-range interest of the Nation
as whole.
Many of the demands of the war
for commodities have now decreased
They will decrease further during
the initial period of unemployment
which will come with the cancella-