Evening star., 1955-03-07
Disability Bill
Defended and
.Hit in House
Trade Bourd Leaders
And Mitchell Clash
Before District Unit
By Harold B. Roqers

Legislation for a separate Dis
trict workmen's disability COM
pensation law was defended and
attacked today before a House
District Subcommittee.
Spokesman for the Washing
ton Board of Trade, sponsor of
the pending bill and several en-
ployers supported the proposal,
but Secretary of Labor James P.
Mitchell strongly recommended
against enactment.
District Commissioner Samuel
Spencer testified that the Board
of Commissioners were divided
two to one.
Opposition Seen.
Strong opposition will be reg
iStered at 10 am. tomorrow when
the Judiciary Subcommittee
headed by Representative Harris,
Democrat. of Arkansas will con-
tinue hearings.
The pending bill, introduced
by House District Committee
Chairman Mcmillan, Democrat.
of South Carolina would estab-
lish a workmen's compensation
law for the District. Such a new
act would separate the present
system of handling disabilities
for workmen on the job from
the LongShoremen and Harbor
Workers Compensation Act.
The proposed District law
would be administered however,
by an agency of the Labor De-
partment which now is handling
the administration of the long
shoremenS' law.
Witnesses tomorrow scheduled
to oppose the pending bill will
represent the American Fedora
tion of Labor and the Washing
ton Central Labor Union, AFL.
Bills Approved.
Commissioner Spencer testi-
fled his two colleagues on the
board had approved bills intro
duced in the Senate last Friday
to liberalize the benefits for
District workers by amending
the longShoremen's act, now in
effect here for employees of
private industry.
Explaining that the majority
of the Board of Commissioners
are opposed to enactment of the
House bill for a separate law
Mr.. Spencer said the majority
would not object to enactment
of the House bill if it were
amended to carry liberalization
of benefits with administration
to be handled by an agency of
the District government rather
than by the Labor Department.
Commissioner Spencer said
that as a minority on the board,
he feels that since the Long
shoremen's Act has operated
very satisfactorily in the Dis
trict since 1928 there is no need
of a separate act for the District
of Columbia or a change in the
present method of administra-
ton" He emphasized that he
favored continued administration
of workmen's compensation here
by the Labor Department.
Board of Trade spokesmen,
headed by Edward Schmuck,
achairman of the boards Insur-
ance Committee, and George
Chadwick urged enactment of
the Mcmillan bill to give the
District an act of its own instead
of having it subject to the same
provisions of the longshoremen' S
law for the entire country. They
emphasized it would be beneficial
to both employers and employees.
The benefits available for dis
abilities and death would be
substantially the same proposed
in the District act as in the
current longshoremen's law, they
said. But several amendments
would be carried to improve
certain details.
The Board of Trade wit
nesses were questioned at length
on many details of the present
law, the State laws of nearby
Maryland and Virginia and what
effect the pending bill would
have.
Strongly Opposed.
Secretary Mitchell, in a letter
to the committee, said he was
strongly opposed" to replacing
the present longshoremen's law
and its administrative machiney
with completely untried. legis-
lation."
Witnesses testifying for the
bill included Bourbon A. Dawes
of the District Hotel Association
Horace Walker, executive direc-
tor of the Metropolitan Retail
Gasoline Dealers Association;
Abner L. Roe for the Washington
Building Congress. Hugh M
Steinberger of the Merchants
and Manufacturers Association
and the trucking association
John S. Cockrell of the Wash
ington Restaurant Association
and Maurice Long, jr., of the
Laundry and Dry Cleaners Asso-