The Daily Alaska empire., 1945-07-03
New Labor Department
Washington Post)

Washington Post)
 Reorganization is nowhere more needed than in the Federal Governments diverse labor activities, That such reorganization is in the offng is indicated no less by the nomination of Judge Lewis Schwellen bach to be Secretary Labor than by the Presidents request for authority to effect general orienaton of executive agencies Judge Schwellenbach is cer- tainly not leaving lifetime seat the Federal bench to accept empty Cabinet title. His initial task clearly will be to create, effective instrument, the department which he is to preside If he does so comprehensvey, he will head of the most vital and potentially useful of Federal agencies It will administer some of the most important social and economic legislation developed under the Roosevelt Administration and it will play significant part in the trying period of reconversion from to peace.
 The Labor Department had it's inception as a service agency for workers Its primary function IS to foster the welfare of wage earners, improve their working conditions and advance their opportunities for profitable employment. This entails, among other things efforts to harmonze the relations between employers and employees surveillance over public laws governing these relations assistance in securing jobs and protection of labors rights. These activities are now divided among widely scattered agencies. The Consolidation Service within the Labor Department works at harmonizng employer employee relations; so does the National Mediation Board, for instance which has jurisdiction railway workers and is outside the Department. The Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Divisions of the Labor Department enforce specific labor laws so does the National Labor Relations Board which is altogether independ ent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does valuable endowment research inside of the Department; but the actual promotion of employment is carried on outside by the United States Employment Service.
 Judge Schwellenbach will have to begin by blend ing refining and coordinatng these activities In general all the service and regulatory functions of the Government respecting labor ought to be brought within his jurisdiction in order to avoid purposes and to centralize responsibility He will encounter
 special problem, however with respect to the quasi judicial bodies such as the NLRB, which not only enforce laws but also pass judgment upon issues ars- ing under them The judicial functions of such boards must clearly be divorced from executive control if they are to retain the respect of the public and serve as something more than political instruments They must be- in short in a position to judge the acts of the Secretary of Labor. And therefore they must be independent of him far the appointment and and tenure of their members concerned It might be feasible we should think, to place them within the Labor Department for budget and housekeeping pur poses and to have them report to the President through the Secretary but he should not be able to govern them
 No doubt Judge Schwelenbach with his experience on the bench will appreciate this distinction and will temper his reorganization plans accordingly. The latonship of the Court formerly called the Board of Tax Appeals to the Treasurys Bureau of Internal Revenue affords model. The term "Czar" has ironically into vogue in the war years. It is term which the new Secretary of Labor ough to eschew His authority the labor domain should be comprehensive; but it should not be absolute