Evening Star Newspaper, June 27, 1933, Page 5

THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, D. C, TUESDAY, J UNE 1933, DUSTRY WORKS FOR TEXTILE CODE First Test of Roosevelt Re- | covery Program Starts in Cotton Industry. __ (Continued From First Page) to raise wages generally throughout the textile s as the first step in the general upward shift, are President T. M. Marchant of Greenville, nt of the Lmerican Cotton ifacturers’ Association, represent- hern mills, and Robert Amory speaking for the hearing there were indications that be presented to th scale provided in the agreeme For Nerthern mills this scale was pleced at 811 for a 40-hour week and in the South $10. No workers wouwd be permitted to work more than 40 hours and preductive machinery could be operated two 40-hour shifts a week Granted Right to Bargain. uired by law. the agr an kers the rig to bargain collective manner they chose rearing was held in the merce Department Build: i 800 persons in 2 were his rds \dustrial and la- r leaders and those named to rep- resent the consumers On the industrial side of the stage was Walter C. Teagle of Standard Oil, rd Swope of General Electric, Al- fred P. Sloan, jr. of General Motors, and Waltgr S. Gifford, American Tele- phone & Telegraph On the labor side of the stage Sec- retary of Labor Francis Perkins w seated between Green and Pr John L. Lewis of the United Workers. Donald R. Richberg, general counsel for the recovery administration, in out- lining the procedure to be followed at the hearing sai there should be a clear iden Mine understanding that this was not a judi- | cial investigation, but rather an admin- istrative inquiry for the purpose of ade- quately advising the administration of the facts upon which the exercise of administrative authority must be predi- cated. He said the law lays down no re- quirements for any public hearings upon | codes. Therefore there are no statutory limitations for control upon procedure, adding: “It should be clearly understood that no representative of a private interest favoring or opposing a code has any Jegal right to control or direct the pres- entation of evidence of the procedure in a public hearing, which will be subject to the sole control of the deputy ad- ministrator in charge, acting in con- formity with any general regulations or specific instructions of the administra- tor.” To provide for the orderly handling of these hearings, the following pro- cedure, Richberg declared, had been tentatively adopted, with the under- standing that no binding precedents are established and that the practice | outlined may be changed at any time to improve the conduct of the hear- | ings: “1. The actual hearing upon a code will begin with the presentation of the tode by its sponsors, who will be allotted such time as may be appropriate for the initial presentation of the code 2. Before a hearing is given to those | offering objections, addition to or modi- fication of any code provision, a spe- Peific statement must be filed setting forth without argument a request for the elimination of the specific provi- sion of the code. Give Objection Chance. #3. Inasmuch as this is the first public hearing held under the admin- istration of the national industrial re- covery act, and some misunderstand- ings of proposed procedure may have developed, an opportunity will be given to 11 objectors to present in writing their proposal for elimination or modifications of, or additions to, code provisions before June 28, 1933. Fur- ther, in accordance with the notice of hearing, issued June 19, an oppor- tunity will be given up to noon, June 29, for persons not previous and to file written objections. “4, Since the purpose of the public hearings is to provide evidence of facts upon which the administrator will be justified in recommending approval of codes to the President, these hearings will not be appropriate for the presen- tation of arguments upon issues of law. If any party in interest desires to raise any issue of law in connection with a proposed code of fair competition, he may file a written argument thereon with the deputy administrator, but oral arguments upon questions of law will not be permitted during the public hearing. “5. The control of presentation of t timony during hearings will rest en- y appear- | ing to make supplemental appearances | i(irnlv with the deputy administrator, | | witnesses being presented for question- | ing by him. and by no one else, un- less he shall so direct. | Regarded as Witnesses. “g. ‘There is no restriction upon representation of parties in these pro- ceedings by attorneys or specialists, but | such representatives so far as heard in | | these proccedings should regard them- | selves ‘at witnesses subject to the ques- | tioning of the deputy administrator, and not as counsel conducting a law- | suit.” it | Acting upon the request of Johnson, the code left general busin: pract to a_later agreement, and covered only | the labor questions. Prior to the hearing, leaders of the | industry sought to iron out some re- | maining difficulties. These centered on elimination of child labor, and modifi cation of the “stretch-out” system under which there is no limit to the number of machines a worker may be compelled to attend. This has been regarded by labor as the outstanding weakness of the code submitted by the | manufacturers. | Oper: were reported receptive to a modification of the system. ng of the hearing threw d into action one of the greatest| machines ever created by the Government, with its goal the rai ing of wages and purchasing power, and a general stabilization of industry. | Sloan Feilows Richberg. | Following Richuerg, Sloan led off for | the textile code by reading it slowiy | to show that under it one of America’s | greatest industries offered under Gov- | ment supervision to fix a minimum wege for unskilled empl cept | apprentices and outside workers — of | 810 pe | | week in the South and $11 in the difference being base rer living costs in_the North. The code also stipulates t no em- | ploye would be worked more than 40| hours a week and that p e ma- | chine vould not operate more thaaj two shifts of 40 hours each per week: | that would be made to thel dent every four weeks showing| actual hours worked by the various cccupational groups of employes and minimum rates of wages addition, machin be presented regularly and reports of production. sales stocks and order. As required by the law, were guaranteed the right to organize and bargain collectively through rep sentatives of their own choosing and be free from interference, restraint or co- | ercion of employers of labor. y data would Industry Highly Competitive. Sloan pointed out that the industry was highly competitive with many units and many small mills. Many communities are dependent on it, he said, and a high investment cost is present and it suffers from great mechanical overcaparity. There are 30,000,000 spindles in place in the country and on a three-shift basis the country’s consumption can be | taken care of by less than 15,000,000 | spindles. i Reduction in mechanical operations | to two daily shifts would do much to! eliminate the threat of overcapacity, in | Sloan’s opinion. He estimated the re- | duction” in hours to 40 weekly would | | provide employment for more than | | 100,000, thereby bringing the total in ! | the industry to a figure above the 1929 | level. | The textile representatives were cau- | tioned by W. L. Allen, deputy adminis- | | trator, who had taken Jonnson’s place, | | presiding, that criticisms invited at the meetings on the code “must have no animosity.” Attempt at Partnership. He defined the true spirit of the meeting as “an attempt at a partner- ship*between industry and the Govern- ment.” adding that the spirit of co- operation and partnership “has been | | displayed to the utmost by the cotton | textile group.” i | Without citing the tariff as such, he | made it plain the industry would ex- | pect to be protected against loss of markets because of cost increases due | to the code. | _“By other activities of the Govern- | ment we are faced with an increased | | cost of raw materials,” he said. “While it is desirable to increase the purchasing power of the cotton farmer, | we must be sure the increased costs | | are not curtailing consumption.” { Allen asked about small mills which Sloan had mentioned as concerned about the code. “Are there many small mills in the list2” Allen asked | “There are, sir,” Sloan replied. “The problem warrying them tuie most is how | National Trade Associations | Invited to Inspect Offices ~National Press Bldg. e ——————— Greater Shaving Comfort Here's good news for men who dread their | daily shave. Barnard's “Razor Aid” Shav- | ing Cream instantly produces a rich, creamy | lather that makes stubborn whiskers | as “meck as a lamb.” Enables you smooth, comfortable shave | effort. Leaves your face cool | shed, too, because it is “Tced.” Get the giant size ube for 39c today at Peoples Drug Stores. i Barnard’s Shaving Cream GRAND STAND FREFE What to Wea TROPICAL WORSTED SUITS SEERSUCKER LINEN SUIT SPORT COATS .......... FLANNEL TROUSERS WASHABLE TWILL SL * No D.J. KAUFMAN irc! 1005 Pa. Ave. TICKETS Wash. SENATORS vs. | Cleveland INDIANS Double-Header SAT. July 8th See this dramatic HOMECOMING GAME “on me.” A FREE GRANDSTAND | TICKET With each $15 of pur- chase! Buy Anything ! !'! r on the “4th” %9.75 9,75 4.95 1.49 Cash needed on the Budget Plan. {a week should result s ] | they will compete with two and three first giving careful study to the ques-‘more than the average hourly wage | some 200 workers in Massachusetts lnd’ shift mills. feel the code goes as far as possible and yet does not threaten con- struction of the small concerns. The immediate thing we believe is to make a beginning.” ‘Will Banish Child Labor. his testimony. Sloan predicted that within 60 to 90 days after the code ces effect child labor would be elimi- nated from the industry through the minimum wage provision under which a would be paid as much as an | older employe. : Applicants for the code did not con- sider the matter of sufficient impor- tance to discuss in view of their premise hat the matter would eliminate itself, | but he said they would be willing w‘ consider the question. Johson, as Sloan concluded, praised | the textile operators for their willing- ness to co-operate and said “whatever caste this has will be in a large measure butable to you.” 1 understand that the child labor provisions eliminated _themselves by making this & minimum wage for everybody and there would be no ad- vantage in child labor.” Johnson said. “That is correct,” Sloan replied, “ex- cept for the provision for six-week ap- prenticeships.” ¥ Johnson then suggested that if such were a fact, there should be no objec- tion to a provision that would wipe the question out. Want to Run at Night. Sloan suggested that certain strong contcrns want the privilege of running all night with three shifts, contrary to the two 40-hour shifts provided in’ the code, and added that in order to ob- tain this “they may come here prepared to offer higher minimum wages, which smaller, one-shift mills cannot meet and which would kill them off in this time of emergency.” He concluded amid applause and was informed he would be recalled later. Upholding the $10 minimum wage provided for the South, William D, An- derson of Macon, Ga., pointed out there must be taken into consideration the background of the Southern textile workers, who have been drawn chiefly from farms, and the resultant close interrelation between the textile indus- | try. the farmers and the towns. He said that as a result of this gen- eral dependence of the surrounding farming regions and the textile towns on that industry, the $10 minimum was wanted. Would Increase Work. Anderson predicted that under the 40-hour, two-shift weekly plan, one-half of the idle spindles should be put in operation this_year. He estimated that because of the in- | ability of some mills to operate the two full 40-hour shifts, the average for the industry would not be over 60 hours a week. Heard at his own request, Senator | Byrnes of South Carolinn—one of Pres- | ident Roosevelt’s closest congressional advisers — attacked the “stretch-out system” whereby a mill worker attends many looms and advocated “regulations restricting the machine load on em- ployes during the emergency.” The reduction in hours to 40 hours in greatly in- creased employment, bui he expressed some concern that the number of ma- chines each employe would attend might be increased and thereby defeat the purposes of the code. He had a memorandum from a man in whom he had complete confidence which showed that in one mill alone | 45 men were tending the same num- ber of machines in 1933 that in 1929 required 70 attendants. Roosevelt Would Favor It. Asked if the President favors his recommendations for elimination of the retch-out system,” Byrnes say T had any direct word from the President, but the President would be in favor of it.” Johnson asked the Labor and In- dustrial Advisory Boards each to ap- point & member of a committee to follow up Byrnes' suggestion for an investigation, and he himself will name a member. “I know it is difficult to arrive at an intelligent conclusion as to how the situation should be remedied without Up Goes the Price at the Stroke of 6 P. M. on Friday, June 30- AUTO RADIOS Now, $ 3 9.95 Will Advance to Stroke of 6 P.M. on Friday, . June 30 30. %5 (Main Floor. 1744 Pa. Ave. 14th and Eye Phone Orders and Adjustments, DI. 9400 replied | sulting from this code permitted by the WORD from Majestic that they can no longer afford to sell their famous auto- mobile radio sets to retail at only $39.95. They notified us of an increase of $5.00 ef- fective on the stroke of 6 on Friday, June | thinking of automobile radios to make their purchases now, and save the difference. All sets are complete with tubes . . . and the price INCLUDES INSTALLATION! delivers a Majestic 90-day service guarantee THE HEC tion.” Byrnes said. | "“It is manifest that an employe | working on improved machinery and | with a fine grade of cotton can operate a greater number of machines than the employe working upon old machinery and with an inferior grade of cotton “I have therefore suggested that a committee be appointed by the adminis- trator, representing labor and the manu- facturers, to immediately make an in- vestigation and report to the adminis- trator with recommendations as to the restrictions that should be placed in the | code to make certain that the object of this agreement is not thwarted and nullified by the extension of the ‘stretch-out system.’ Early Action Urged. “I realize the importance to the in- dustry of putting this code into effect at the earliest possible date. “I believe that a sufficient survey can be made and a report filed in time for | the administrator to make provision for | this all-important factor before the code is put into effect, and the commit- | tee shot instructed to report by that date. “However, if for any reason it should be deemed impossible, then before this | code goes into effect there should be inserted a provision that the maximum machine load as of a certain date be retained until the administrator has re- ceived the report of the committee and | determ:ned the maximum machine load. “It cannot be contended that in mak- ing this request in behali of the em- ployes of the textile industry that we zeek to restrict inventive genius so far as the textile industry is ccncerned. “We do, however, say that during this emergency, when the object is to put men back on jobs, that there should be no opportunity for some manufacturers | to defeat that object by stretching the machine lcad of employes in order to| put men out of jobs.” Condemns Three Shifts. Immediately after Sloan's testimony, Amory condemned the operation of three shifts with consequent midnight work in the cotton industry as an anti- social practice. “Workers of the third shift,” he con- | tinued, *can be re-employed in other mills in the daytime or afternoon.” Hailing the industrial recovery act as a law which gives the textile in- dustry an_opportunity to put its house in order, he declared “Qur first objective is to increase em- ployment and to eliminate that type of competition which succeeds by cutting wages or working long hours at low wages. “Our objective is to base competition | on sound merchandising and good manufacturing. The act calls for uni- form hours throughout the country that more people can be employed and no one locality hog the business by running over long hours. “I believe that 40 hours per shift, | with a maximum of two shifts for | producing machinery which is spin- | ning and weaving, will permit the needs | of the country to be taken care of with- |out any shortage which might cause unreasonably high prices. Any less than two shifts might easily cause such |a shortage.” Discussing the fact that the industry has agreed upon a minimum wage of $10 in the South and $11 in the North, | Amory explained that in the North| | minimum wages would most largely affect frame hands, doffers, battery hands and the like. { Require Dexterity. | “These,” he went on, “are light jobs, | but require considerabie dexterity and | quickness of hand. They are particu- ’larly suited for girls who might be expected to live with their parents. | These jobs are not easily handled by grown men, heads of families. “I know of one instance where heads of families would be expected to work at the $11 minimum wage. By paying | these present weekly wages for a 40- hour week, production cost and price of goods would be increased considerably. “The average weekly wage would be in the neighborhood of $15. The aver- age hourly wage would be afmost three times as much as was paid in 1909- 1914. The average hourly wage re- ‘industry would be about 27 per cent 44.95 at the We urge all of our customers who are | Radio Store—The Hecht Co.) T CO- existing in 1926, as quoted by the Bu- reau of Labor Statistics. “It must be clearly kept in mind that a minimum wage is a minimum wage, net a standing wage. The minimum wage must be paid regardless of the ability of the worker. On piece work the earnings of the average may be far above the minimum, yet some workers may, from lack of dexterity, or even lack of effort, fail to earn what they should. However, under the code, they must be paid the minimum whether earned or not. Would Not Change Wages. “The minimum wages proposed, so far as the North is concerned, would not change the present weekly wages of the better paid mills, but would make for many less hcurs in which to earn this wage and would permit the hiring of many additional workers.” Amory expressed the opinion that after a study of the whole subject, fair judgment scems to indicate that, based jon the same standards, the only differ- ence in the cost of living between the North and South is in the item of coal for house heating. “No_difference,” he said, “can suc- cessfully be calculated for thrift dis- played in household economy In some of the older textile centers.” Referring to the subject of rents, particularly, he emphasized the point that while the mill village was a neces- sary thing to be created at the outset, nevertheless in such communities there is too great a tendency toward frater- nalism. eventually future raises in wages may occur to allow Southern mills to charge cost of fair rent for their mill houses, thereby giving the workers the choice of owning their own homes. Textile Plan Example. The textile operators were the first of the major industries to come forward | with their plan and consideration of it is to be pressed so that it will stand as an example for other industries which are now considering codes. All preliminaries to the hearing were completed yesterday with ratification of Johnson's organization by the Cabinet Advisory Board, headed by Secretary Roper. Meanwhile. an opposition statement was issued by Robert W. Johnson, presi- dent of Johnson & Johnson and the Chicopee Manufacturing Corporation, a manufacturer of surgical goods. Expressing concurrence in the move to limit the hours of work for employes, Johnson said the provision that no tex- tile machinery shall operate more than 80 hours per week, divided into two 40-hour shifts of eight-hour days, would “work a serious injustice” in some instances. “Instead of increasing employment, which is the prime purpose behind the Roosevelt national recovery program.” Johnson said, “this provision would actually force our company to discharge He expressed the hope that | | 200 in Georgia. Advisory Board Personnel. “We see nothing but good in oper- | ating the most' efficient equipment the | greatest possible number of hours, and any attempt to limit this, we believe, | would be against the dictates of sound | | economics and would run counter to the | best sociological principles.” | The Industrial Recovery Board has approved the appointments by Johnson | of the following members of the Con- | sumers' Advisory Board Mrs. C. C. Rumsey, chairman, daugh- | ter of the late E. H. Har.man and| prominent as a social worker in New York; Prof. Frank Graham, Chapel Hill, N. C., president of the University of North Carolina; Prof. Willlam Og- burn of University of Chicago, econ- omist and statistician: Mrs. Joseph J. Daniels, Indianapolis. Ind., president of | Indiana League of Women Voters, and Miss Belle Sherwin of this city, presi- | dent of National League of Women Voters. | The Consumers’ Advisory Board, whose function, as ts name indicates. is to represent the consuming public in the consideration of code., participated in the public hearing, | Leaders of the textile industry as- sembled iere last night in an attempt to iron out remaining difficulties on the eve of the hearings of the industry’s | code. —_— Onion Sauce. 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