Evening Star Newspaper, June 1, 1937, Page 11

Pay-Hour Bill Affects All Vast Centralization of Power in Plan Cited. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. VERY man and woman who works for a living will be af- fected in some way if the pro- posed wage control bill is adopted by Congress and enacted into law. Only a handful out of the 45,000,- 000 persons gain- fully employed will ever see or read the 10,000- word bill which § seals their fate as § workers in Amer- ica, and probably only a small num- ber of legislators . will ever read it * either. i It therefore 3 becomes a public duty to tell what 3 the unprece- g dented bill co tains and what extraordinary power the citizen will be assumed by the | Federal Government in the event the bill should become law. In the first place, the bill empowers the commission of five who are to ad- minister the proposed law to include | in its scope whatever classifications | it may desire. As finally introduced in Congress, the bill does not say | whether employers of less than 20 or | less than 15 or less than 8 will be covered by the measure, but leaves | this to be determined in the future, | presumably by Congress, but with broad powers to t ion to | make changes. | t is for this reason difficult to say how many workers will be affected by the minimum wage provisions, be- cause so many industries already have what is conceded to be the minimum that probably will be adopted, namely, around §15 a weck, and many in- | dustries likewise have a work week of | 40 hours or less. The measure, however, is not merely a means of controlling minimum wages &nd maximum It is broad enough so that, with slight changes, the whole subject of wage control can be covered. If put into law, the Cor- over the life of coran bill—so named after its author, Tommy Corcoran of the “brain | trusy"—will really put all employers | snd employes under such rigid Gov- | ernment regulation as to w conditions and possible compensat that wage scales as a w 10 be affected as well a living for those who have to b the products in which price increases will inev ernment’; ing its provisions one wonders what there is left for a labor union to do and just why any worker should | bother to pay du n all the | functions of wage r on will be supervised by the Federal Govern- ment through the Wage Control Soard. Likewise there will be use for tate governments when this bill is rnacted. Their powers over local in- <ustry and wages and hours will con- | tinue in so far as they may seek to ‘mprove the minimum wage or de- orease the maximum work week. v powers vested in the Federal Wage and Hour Board sre incredibly far-reaching. Take the | following paragraph as an example: ‘ ““Having regard to the policy of the Congress to extend the applicability of the provisions of this act with respect to an oppressive work weck to all employments within the scope of this as rapidly as possible, the board shall from time to time | by regulation or order declare such | provisions applicable to employments | within the scope of this act as rapidly s the board finds that such pro- Visions can be made applicable to! such employments without unreason- | Bbly curtailing the earning power of the employe in such employments.” | Not content with this virtual grasp | of the whole law-making function, | she Corcoran bill goes on to vest | discretion of even wider sort as fol- | Jows: “Having due regard to the mini- | mum wage standard established, the toard shall by regulation or by order | cary such standard upward or down- %ard as to all employes or as to any class or classes of employes to the extent that the board finds a varia- tion necessary or appropriate to pre- | vent the depression of general wage Jevels below those consistent with the maintenance of a minimum wage | standard of living necessary for health | and efficiency without unreasonably | curtailing opportunities for employ- ment.” There's enough in these paragraphs | of & contradictory character to make | the provision seem unworkable, be- | eause it is next to impossible to de- termine some of the broad questions #pecified, but the board nevertheless bould issue its orders right and left and cut through the whole struc- ture of business and industry as well ns all service businesses and profes- sions, because the Corcoran bill pro- Vides: “Any person who willfully per- forms or aids or abets in the per- formance of any act declared to be unlawful by any provision of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both. Where the employment of an em- ploye in violation of any provision of this act or of a labor standard order is unlawful, each employe so employed in violation of such pro- vision shall constitute & separate offense.” So it doesn't matter what experi- menting the Federal Wage and Hour Board may do, if any of its multi- farious orders or rules are violated the employer may go to jail. He can go to jail, too, for failing to keep “records required by this act or any regulation or order thereunder. If all this seems complex and ex- cessively governmental the reader will fnd that the Corcoran bill omits wothing that anybody could possibly think of to include. Thus it says: “For the purpose of regulations and orders the board may classify persons and matters within its juris- diction and prescribe different re- quirements for different classes of persons or matters.” Evidently Tommy Corcoran didn’t miss a thing, but the prize sentence in the bill reads as follows: “The singular includes the plural, and the plural includes the singular.” (Copyrisht, 1837.) THE EVE NG STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ., TUESDAY, What’s Back of It All Memorial Day Also Might Well Have Marked the Political Death of Ex-Gov. McNutt. BY H. R. BAUKHAGE. HE west wind that blew over Washington’s Memorial day week end brought 8 mournful strain from the banks of the Wabash far away. It was an 1l wfad and klew nobody good. It carried the dirge played at the political interment of the once favorite son of Hoosierdom, Paul V. McNutt, now high (hat) com- missioner of the Philippines. It disturbed the notes on the trade-conference table of the new Philippine-American Commission, which may cause the United States to do some reorienting of its Oriental problems. * ok Kk X The political funeral concerned chiefly, if not only, the debonair Legionnaire whose presidential aspirations for 1940 were buried. Of more immediate concern is the possible interference with the deli- cate deliberations now going on in Washington with the Filipinos. X ok kK Official attempts have been made to forget the issue raised by Mr. McNutt's ukase that, when the toast is passed in Manila, the President of the new Commonwealth is No. 3 man (President Roosevelt No. 1, high commissioner No. 2). But the issues isn't as dead as Mr. McNutt's career. Once more a very human in- cident plays its part in the rela- tions of nations. Friendly, able and alert little Quintin Paredes, keen-minded jur- ist and resident commissioner of the Philippines in Washington, feels that it is the man rather than the situation that has started the trouble. * ok ok % The situation has existed ever since President Roosevelt decided on the high commissioner’s rank, even before President Quezon's inauguration. But High Commissioner Murphy and President Quezon had a working agreement. They were alternately indisposed on oficial occasions arnd mever happened to appear simultaneously. Hence, there were no drinking troubles. * ok ok K Now McNutt rushes in where Murphy feared to tread and where diplomats were preparing to walk very gingerly. But, walk they will, before they finish their deliberations. “This is more than a trade conference,” says Mr. Paredes, smiling through the smoke of a fragrant Manila cigar. “It is a readjustment con- ference.” And the readjustment, it is hoped, will include all of the relations belween the two countries, economic, political and social, and including, presumably, those raised by Mr. McNutt when he didn’t raise his glass. Whether our high commissioner is a martyr or merely a martinet is a moot question. * ok ok %k The State Department says nothing, of course, but certainly there is no doubt that the cx-Governor of Indiana followed his protocol 100 per cent. * ok kX There are those, of course. who are very, very happy to see one of the most popular commanders of the American Legion from the “right State” politically, a persuasive speaker, suddenly pulled out of the presidential race. There is always danger of a succession of World War veteran candidates once they get started. * ok ok % This run on the banks of the Wabash, of course, looked very sweet from the Susquehanna. Pennsylvania's Gov. Earle, having tossed the “full- crew” bill to the railroad men, % naturally watched the HooSier fade- - out with glee. e 7 Old soldiers don't need to die, if theyll just fade away like this. * ok x % But men don't make all the trouble for your uncle: When Secretary of State Hull was looking around for a place for a lady envoy, with Mrs, Borden Harriman in mind, he just natu- rally turned toward Denmark, where ex-Ministress Ruth Bryan Owen (now ex-Owen) had served so wisely but loved too well. * K % % When. as is the custom, it was asked if she would be persona grata, the § tened Danes hesitated. The King, perhaps, what with @ll this armament going on, could not risk further depletion in the ranks of the royal guards. Now Norway's worrying. *x ok ok T s always some good comedy relief in relief, is the latest: The Workers’ Alliance, organization of the pinker shades of W. P. A. emploves, recently staged a woman's brigade “march” on Washington. There was great excitement over the first arrival at the W. A, H Q WHAT/ ax0TUER: \A:»*AN:‘_‘““;’ % { S 3 MR When the lady had shut the door on the newspaper men she was heard | through the transom: “Gosh, I'm tired. I've been breaking in a new car all the way from Filorida.” (Cop: by North American Newspaper Alllance.) Seamless Elastic ANKLET $2.00 Linen $2.89 Pair ‘These anklets are unsurpassed for qual- ity. finish ‘and fit. Scientifically ~ shaped for utmost comfort. $3.50 $4.50 Pair Seamless Elastic Silk Leggin Made of the very best grade of tested strength silk and fresh . . which of "long servi Our trained attendants assure cor- rect fit For Any Size Limb $5.00 Valu $3'49 Silk Elastic Garter Hose Used for the relfef and treatment of vari- cose ~veins. weak or swollen limbs, etc. They are seamless and well finished throughout. $6.00 Value KNEE For Perfect fitting brace for sprained or weakened knees, Comfortable support. * Will not wrinkle over the instep, wrists. | tinue until the House of Represer | picket and to muster support for the | Full-fashioned for sprained or strained THE opinions of the writers on this page are their own, not Such opinions are presented in The Star’s effort to give all sides of questions of interest to its readers, although such opinions may be contradictory among necessarily The Star’s. themselves and directly opposed to The Star’s. “Dictators” on Relief High-Handed Attitudes of Some U. S. Beneficiaries Puzzles Observer. BY MARK SULLIVAN, BOUT the matters herein men- tioned, I ought to say, like | the late Will Rogers, that “all I know is what I read in the papers.” The clippings here quoted deal with relief in various| parts of the country. They suggest‘ & condition that must be as puz- zling to others as to me: In the New York Times is a report of a gath- ering of 4,000 policemen in Brooklyn. The gathering was ad- dressed by the managing editor of the Brooklyn Tablet Mr. Pat- rick F. Scanlan. Mr. Scanlan said: “It's terrible to see the pickets outside of relief bu- reaus spitting and calling vile names at policemen. I saw that happen and | an officer said to me, ‘And we have to | take it." . . But why do the men have to stand the insults of a lot of professional parasites?” Traditional Gallic Defiance. Mark Sullivan, | agitators run ev Why, indeed: I wish some one would tell me. Does “spitting” in this con- nection mean actually spitting on a| policeman or at him? That has long | been a way of agitators in Europe. A French word for spit, “conspuez” is a traditional Gallic defiance to au thority. If New York relief agitators actually spit at policemen, who made the rule that the policemen must | “take it?” Does the rule limit this| privilege to persons on relief?> Do any other groups of citizens have the | privilege of spitting at policemen? I imagine not, I'd like to know, Again in the New York Times: “W. P. A. writers, beginning a com- bination sit-down strike and walk- out yesterday against prospective cuts in the congressional appropriation for | relief, instructed their families to ap- | ply at once for home relief Yo carry them through the period of the strike. | Insisting that the city, through its| Emergency Relief Bureau, foot the bill for the writers' demonstration, officials of the Workers' Alliance an- nounced that the strike would con- 2 tives substituted a larger sum for the | $1.500.000.000 it has voted for 1038 * * * Work in the offices of the W. P. A. Federal writers project on the sec- ond floor of 235 East Forty-second | street was halted by the strike * * | At the request of the Strike Strategy | Committee 160 men nad women sat | down and the others walked out to sitters.” Strike of Writers. If I understand this newspaper ac- count, the condition is this: Writers say they cannot get jobs writing from private employers. So they get jobs writing on a relief project. While writing on the W. P. A. Federal writers’ | project and getting pay from the Gov- ernment relief funds, they go on! strike. While they thus stop working, and therefore, I assume interrupt Seamless Elastic Knee Cops $2.00 $ l 49 Linen $2.89 Pair Custom made properly cured - lived rubber. For t sprained or weak kn. $3.50 ) Silk = 52'50 $4.50 Pair Shoulder Braces Made for men. wom- en and children. Afds in correct posture. Can be laundered. Abdominal comfortable, firm supports which give real com- fort. Used after oper- ations for fallen stom- ach, Iarge abdomen. etc’ Wide range of styies and prices Sturdy Maple Crutches 30 to 60 inch sizes. Made of strong. dur- able maple. Large stock always on hand. It is cheaper to buy & pair of these crutches than to rent s pair, Only §|49 Pair , brace 8plendid support. Fits perfectly over the eibow. Many other models in stock. Moderately priced! At These Two PEOPLES DRUG STORES 505 7th St. N.W. 11th and G Sts. N.W. | ence Huff, supervi | ever, ordered him to continue indefi- their own pay from the Government, they demand tnat the relief authori- ties provide for their families. In the Bronx (New York) Home News is a statement by a former New York W. P. A, administrator, Mr, Vic tor F. Ridder: “He declared the local precinct ad- ministrators are helpless, because agitators can take possession of the offices with impunity and if there is any trouble the ‘higher-ups’ fire the administrator. * * * ‘The administra- tor is controlled by the agitators and he is forced to do what they wish or lose his job, because the higher-ups say to him that “if you can't run your bureau, get out.” So the ad- ministrator just stays there and the ything. Things have reached such a state that these agi- tators even discuss relief situations with the administrators and give or- ders as to how their requests shall be carried out.’” “Workers’ Alliance” Doings. In The Evening Star is an account of doings by the “Workers' Alliance,” an organization composed of persons on relief: “Overpowered by police, 30 mem- bers of the Workers’ Alliance, who had staged a two-hour ‘sit-down’ in Commissioner Allen's office at the District Building, were forcibly ejected late today. * * * The delegates had marched into Allen’s office in an effort to force approval of their demands for increased relief. They also de- manded the dismissal of Mrs. Flor- 1 of the relief sta- tion at 2529 Pennsylvania avenue.” Apparently the Washington offi- s and police are not completely midated by the reliefers. But what an odd condition and state of mind: Persons receiving relief de- mand discharge of the official ad- ministering the relief. And appar- ently the public is so used to this sort of thing that the incident gets only a few lines in the newspapers. An Associated Press dispatch from Americus. Ga. quotes the superior Jjudge of the local courts as telling the Sumter County grand jury: “It would seem that the relief meas- ures that were adopted by the Fed- eral Government some four years ago have given rise to some unwholesome conditions. It is apparent that many grown-ups are equally as easily spoiled as children and, when once spoiled, | are much harder to cure.” (Copyright, 1937.) SHIPSTEAD RECOVERED ROCHESTER, Minn, June 1 (P)— The condition of ited States Sena- tor Henrik Shipstead, Farmer Labor, of Minnesota was described as “A-1" yesterday by his physician, who, how- nitely a conval gall bladder ope “Senator ce rest from a tion last December. ad would like to g0 back Mayo Clinic | physician said, “but six months is by | no means a long enough period in which to recuperate.” “Mr. MacCrummon and mysel’ are no’ exactly organ experts but we vurra soon will be.” Mrfl, | e THE MEAN MAN OF GENOA by Guy Gilpatric : { JUNE 1, We, the People Next Attack on Social Security Will Ask a Pay-as- You-Go Policy. BY JAY FRANKLIN, HE second attack sgainst the New Deal's social security program has been defeated by the Supreme Court The first took the form of the “pay envelope” propaganda during the last campaign and was defeated by the voters them- selves. The conservatives then put their faith in the Federal judiciary, but Roosevelt had the judges on the run as early as February and the good old 5-to-4 decisions against the New Deal changed to 5-to-4 decisions in favor of every New Deal measure to come before the Supreme Court. The next line of attack on the program will come through con- gressional legislation, to urge “pay-as-you-go” policy, and prevent the creation of the b'g social security reserve fund, which should approximate 46 billion dol- lars by 1980. v =\ Social security taxes are already VS 22 flowing into the Treasury at the (8 R rate of $75,000.000 a month and by S the end of the year the take should be running around a billion dollars per annum. Gov. Eccles of the Federal Reserve Board is already including these revenues in his forecast of & balanced budget. 1937. ’ / [ social CURITY | "PAY-AS-YOU-GO | PROGRAM. * X ok % This is high finance. What the fund amounts fo is an organized eflort to buy up the entire national debt and administer it as a trust fund for the aged and the unemployed. Economically, this nced cause no confusion. It simply means that the Government will collect the pay-roll taxes, pay out the pensions, etc., and release the balance by purchasing Government bonds. It means that the bankers will lose their control of Federal credit and will be Joreed 1o invest their depositors’ funds in productive enterprise or release purchasing power by dividends. * x X % It means that in future the Federal Government can finance its own program of productive or socially necessary public works through taxes instead of through borrowing. This means that Tugwell's “third economy” is on the way to creation. It is true that the fund lags behind the actuarial estimates for the first six months of 1937. It should have been a quarter of a billion by June 30. At the present rate it will barely reach $200,000.000, but that is largely because of the lag in getting collections into the treas: and apparent doubt of employers in New York and Boston of its constituti ity. This doubt has now been settled and the fund should now begin i flight to the stratospheric billions. * ok ok ok So the conservatives must brace themselves to whittle doun the security tazes by amending the law and by a campaign of educ tion calculated to persuade workers that they are being gyped by the Government. With an “economy bloc” breaking New Deal party lines in the House of Representatives, the bankers have not shot their bolt and friends of the third economy will have to look to their defenses. * Kk % % This fits into the weeding-out process in the New Deal ranks, which began with Al Smith's walk in 1936 and continues with the bat h Roosevelt reform bill. The sheep and the goats are dividing themselves automatically and those who oppose adequate relief and repacking the Supreme Court will also urge the amendment of the social security program from a right to a chari- table pittance, under the “pay-as- you-go” slogan. In the meantime, the Supreme Court issue is losing its practical force and is becoming a convenient symbol around which the con- servatives and liberals can grou themselves. Its value as a touchstone for New Dealism is too great to be dissipated by the reversal of the court on the major issues of the Roose- velt program. The President’s message on hours and wages tu additional heat on Congress and the process of converting Mr. Roosev persona ader- ship into liberal party leadership and principles continues For even though it may not bé the same battle, it is the same war. Both sides realize this at last and the country as a whole real it. This is all to the good. (Copyright, 1037.) Internal Embargoes Banned. China’s executive, Yuan, has ruled | that local authorities may not place | embargoes on shipments of foodstuff: 5,000 at Meeting. party at Tokio attracted 5000 m s |than the number that An American You Should Know Rebert H. Jackson Has Brilliant Legal Record Under New Deal. BY DELTA PYNCHON. OBERT H. JA ant Attorney Gen brilliant, progr lawy who | the most able defe ident’s Supreme Court plan not discuss size or agze. He sir reviewed decisions. “These decisions have more and itmited mply A recent meeting of the Social Mass re gathered the | war reasoning Robert 1. Jackson. (=200 Deecedzit custom which actuates the to go forwa 18 back- ' He makes col times, feels t “the New Dea effort to make our ex 4 the Bar Asso “The C ¢ that Before Jackson’s Dep the Gov Justice prevent monopolie Concentrat " within the country, the national gov- | day before to hear the premier and on ernment having the sole right. | the home minister of Japan, GLENCANNON G MAGINE the seagoing Mr. Glencannon, and a few assorted monkey wrenches, turned loose on a church organ! A profitable cargo dangled in reach as reward. He discovered the lost chord all right, but not one the organ builders ever heard of! (You readers have been yelling for more Glencannon stories— here’s one you'll thank us for.) at your newsstand today in 1 A PIPE ORGAN IN THIS ISSUE Fiction The Romance of Rosy Ridge MACKINLAY KANTOR The Mean Man of Genoa GUY GILPATRIC Sour Honeymoon GEORGE S. BROOKS Thomasheen James and the Absent- Minded Professor MAURICE WALSH The Case of the Lame Canary (Second part of Eight) ERLE STANLEY GARDNER Death on The Nile (Fourth part of Eight) AGATHA CHRISTIE Features Will There Be Wheat? NEIL M. CLARK A Truce With Men GRETTA PALMER The Colonel Left Tracks BOYCE HOUSE The Great Goldwyn ALVA JOHNSTON Reds and Rackets in Work Relief JOHN PUTNAM LOOMIS Father Meets Son J. P. McEVOY Editorials Post Scripts The Poet’s Corner Keeping Posted THE SATURDAY EVENING POST [N