Show HOUSE DEBATES PAY HOURS BILL Measure Taken Up by Vote of f to 73 W WASHINGTON May 23 UPI The The The Then These n house se br broke t lEs rules its rules comm committees committee's ties tie's prolonged blockade of the revised revise wage-hour wage bill today by voting over voting overwhelmingly overwhelmingly over over- to debate the measure Immediately This action ratified a petition signed May 6 by members to force the legislation to the floor In spite of the rules committees committee's steadfast steadfast steadfast stead stead- fast refusal to give it preferential status Debate was limited to hours four but jut leaders said efforts of a southern southern southern south south- ern bloc t to make the measure more flexible might delay a final vote until late tomorrow It was the second time hour wage legislation had come before the house in the last six months The house rejected a a. somewhat different different different differ differ- ent version last December during the special session How Members l Vot Voted d Speaker Bankhead announced the vote in favor of bringing the bill to the floor was to 73 Joining in the vote to bring the measure before the house were Democrats 62 Republicans 7 Progressives Progressives Pro Pro- and 4 Farmer Laborites Voting against that procedure were 53 Democrats and 20 Republicans Today's debate found President Roosevelt and his congressional leaders in the unusual position of being keenly anxious for passage of the bill but opposed to its In recommending such legislation the chief executive told the congress there were industrial and geographical ical diversities which practical statesmanship cannot well ignore Measure leasure Inflexible The revised measure however makes no provision for wage variations variations variations varia varia- between the north and south or between urban and rural com com- It would establish a a. a universal universal universal uni uni- versal minimum wage for interstate inter inter- Interstate interstate state industry starting at 25 cents cent an hour and increasing to 40 c cents at the end of three years Hours Hour would start at 44 pet pee week weck and nd drop to 40 in two years 0 On n the senat senate side debate w wa was s b begun gu 1 oh on on the recovery bill already passed by the house Senator Barkley the Democratic Democrat leader indicated today he would offer a compromise version of the th disputed public utility amendment to the spending lending bill The compromise Barkley said Continued on Page Pale Two Column our Four HOUSE DEBATES PAY PAYS HOURS BILL Continued from Page One might take the form of a provision to o ban P W A loans Joans to municipal utilities except where private firms had iad refused to accept bona fide fid offers of municipalities to buy them out ut Amendment Opposed Barkley said he be was opp opposed sed to the he appropriations com committee m i t tee amendment which would ban pan aUP all aU P W A loans to finance municipal utilities competing with private firms operating under public regu- regu lation Before debate on the measure began egan Senator Adams Adama D D. Colo Cola expressed doubt the senate would accept the committee amendment After Adams opened the debate by y explaining the bill Senator Van- Van denberg enberg R R. R Mich urged adoption of f his substitute calling for federal grants rants of relief money to the states charged the Roosevelt Roosevelt Roose- Roose velt elt administration was attempting to o perpetuate the tho political implications im- im which he said were contained con- con tamed in iii the spending lending hilt bill Expenditures Contrasted He contrasted dec declining relief expenditure ex- ex between June and N November No No- vember ember in the years of 1933 1935 and 1937 with what he said aid were the increasing relief allocations allocations allo- allo made for the same months ot of f the election years 1934 1936 and the he proposed increase for tor 1938 One needs only to know that 1938 is an election year to know what lies ahead in this thia relief program program pro- pro gram ram declared The Michigan senator asserted that hat if W P A expenditures are con con- for the next fiscal year on the he basis of ot the present bills bill's appropriation ap ap- of for tor eight months they would total 00 for the year |