Show II A I L I p i It Washington It has been stated frequently that 90 per cent of the residents of Wash- Wash Washington ington are located News here Because it is the site and scat seat of the federal government In other other oth oth- er words Washington is a great grant cit city because it is the capital of the nation The statement is not completely com corn the truth but a bare analysis by jy whomever made cannot fail fall to demonstrate that there are thousands thousands thou thou- sands who live in Washington for forthe forthe the he reasons mentioned I consequence of this condition Washington news docs does not get into the newspapers of the country as does other news The Thc Washington da date e line in ninety-nine ninety out of each one hundred cases eases is over a story that deals with some phase of government or politics Since Washingtonians have no vote Washingtonians cannot be in poli poll ties tics Nevertheless sometimes there is news about Washingtonians that Is of interest to all aU of the country The observation ration is pec peculiarly true of a circumstance that has lately devel devel- Moreover the case in point holds a lesson for the country as a whole Lately congress passed a law establishing establishing es- es a minimum wage for women workers in the Dist District of Columbia The statute was rather loosely drawn as it had to be if it were vere to work at all It left much to the discretion of a controlling agency called a minimum wage board One of ot the reasons why so much discretion was left to the l lo local lo cal agency agency however was because the he subject with which the legislation legislation legisla- legisla tion ion deals contains political dynamite dynamite dyna dyna- mite and congress did not want ant to lo establish a precedent by going too far ar in fixing wag wages s. s So the District of Columbia was left a rather wide scope within which to build its minimum minimum minimum mini mini- mum wage structure That was the basis for the circumstance cir cir cir- above mentioned the pews news about bout Washingtonians the leson lesson les les- son on for the nation The wage board started out to hold told hearings to obtain facts about the wage level and what was needed needed need need- ed by the women workers workers stenographers I raphers office workers clerks in stores and this and that and the theother theother theother other type of employed w women Fi Fl- Finally Finally nally the board got around to waitresses waitresses wait wait- and their wages That Tha was where the lid blew of off because who does not kno know that waitresses col cal lect considerable money mon in tips Promptly up bobbed a red hot question ques ques- tion should the tips or the average monthly take In tips be considered considered considered consid consid- ered as a part of the wage of waitresses waitresses wait wait- Well the question has not been settled yet et and even when an order orders is s issued it will vill not have been set- set tied Jed It will go on and on and there will vill be some racketeers who will organize organize organize or or- a society or something to toIght fight Ight for exclusion of tips as part of the wage if that be the order If I the board eventually decides to exclude tips and fix a minimum wage without regard to tips the employers will carry carryon on a drum fire of criticism about it Why Because the question strikes at the very heart icart of the tile relationship between employer and worker Any worker naturally wants as much of a return for his or her labor la- la bor bor- boras as can be obtained Any employer employer employer em em- feels equally that he is entitled entitled en en- titled to obtain needed labor as cheaply as is possible The waitresses waitresses wait wait- therefore took the position that the proprietor had bad no right to consider the tips as a part of the wage On the other hand the proprietor proprietor pro pro- probably with the same justification said in effect that without the job the waitress will not get tips and that the owner who takes the risk ought to be allowed to count those tips ps as part of the tile compensation tion Further the customers of the restaurant restaurant res res- were ere entitled to some consideration consideration consideration con- con S sa said a i d Consider the t h e proprietors Customers That is they argued argued ar ar- ar gued that tha t the customers customers customers cus cus- were charged prices for food and service that would yield the proprietor a fair profit The tips it was held were gratuities on on the part of the customer and they vary in amount some some large some small If the wage rate was to to be raised and the tips excluded somebody excluded somebody would have to pay more for food The waitresses used the argument that the tips were gratuities Just Justas as the owners did but since they are gratuities said the waitresses in no wise was it fair tail to include them in the thc wage vage scale And so the argument went But the lesson remains No better Il Illustration illustration il- il Is possible I think than the Washington waitress wage controversy controversy controversy con con- there is no better way to show how bow utterly silly it if Is for government to mess into private af af- af- af fairs Whenever government sticks its hooked nose into private n affairs just there begins an art unbalancing of human nature That is to say there Is no substitute for negotiation between between be be- tween humans each fair each desirous o of ot gaining justice according according ac ac- ac cording to his light Government can and does function function function tion admirably bly as s the the agency for protection of rights that are Important important im Im- Im rights of life liberty and pursuit of happiness It can and does prevent encroachment upon in individuals in individuals where such Individuals can not protect themselves But in matters of earning a living just plain making money government in my opinion has no place Labor has organization where organization is is necessary Such organization does protect labor gen generally rally speaking speak speak- ing jag because it has has' the right to strike And in all probability fixing fixing fix fix- ing of wages will hurt more than help labor 0 Ii While on the subject of expansion of government into every cranberry patch it it- itis is inter inter- Butting esting to note that Into Business some of of the left wing New Dealers would like very much to put the I federal government i into to the business business business busi busi- ness of making small industrial loans I think trunk probably it will be some time tune yet before the nitwit section gets anything g tangible into the open on on the newest of f their schemes but it is true that they are arenow arenow arenow now planning along those lines The thought of this group of f so- so called presidential advisers Is that the federal government should start loaning money to small businesses so that those b businesses will be independent independent in in- dependent of the great banking I trust In short it is proposed that the federal government should be equipped t to make a loan of ten thousand or twenty thousand or fifty thousand to a small manufacturer so that he can expand his plant and take on new workers etc etc It is suggested that perhaps there ought to be he De' De Dea a new governmental agency cre created ted to th handle this work so that t tit it will be done sympathetically and with an understanding It all ll comes comes about apparently from the fact tact that the present administration administration administration ad ad- ministration has discovered after five years in office that there are gr great t monopolies s or trusts trusts' or something some some- tiling thing ng else in lh the w way y of combinations combinations in existence They have found I that these monopolies are in control so far that the little fellow in business business busi busi- ness can not borrow money when he needs it to carry carryon on his business Something must be be done pone for them or else they can not have the more abundant life and the prosperity of plenty President Roosevelt has become Intensely interested in having business business business busi- busi busi busi- ness become ho horne home e owned or something of the thc kind He has shown for example in his shots at utility holding companies how much he likes the thc type of operating company campany com cam company pany that serves its patrons and doesn't mix up in the tangle of corporations that operate in more than one town or city They are aregood aregood aregood good according to the President and they ought to have tion It might be that federal money loaned to them would save them from bankruptcy or or it mi might ht be that if il they cant can't make a go of their tiler business they will go bankrupt any any- way If U the federal government had hada hadn a n loan and a mortgage on their assets assets assets as as- sets they would become federal federal- owned after foreclosure That surely surely surely sure sure- ly would b be one way for the federal fed fed- eral cral government to enter the pub public ic utility business It is just jus a possibility possibility I mean S SEvery Every now and then some information information information mation leaks leaks' out about emergency action that was Emergency taken by gov govern govern- rn- rn Action meat ment officials during dur dur- ing lag the thc hectic days daj's of the Hoover depression as distinguished from Crom the Roosevelt de de- de- de The depression that was wason wason on when President R Roosevelt took office omee in 1933 was labeled the Hoover Hoover Hoover Hoo Hoo- ver depression In N New v e Deal prop a- a ganda One of these incidents incidents came came out before beCore the She senate committee on public lands the t c other day The Thc committee was investigating the nomination of E. E K Burlew t to be assistant secretary of the interior and that formed the basis of an In Inquiry inquiry in in- into general practices of the Department of the Interior which is headed by Secretary Ickes Mr Burlew was answering questions questions questions ques ques- as to how the tile department spent much of the tile three or four bil bU lion dollars appropriated to it for public works Those were pump priming appropriations 1 If you remember remember re re- re member although as far as I 1 can see sec the water has not not- started coming com corn ing log out of the pump yet Anyway Mr Burlew let the fact drop that Secretary Ickes had bought two new automobiles automobiles- in 1933 He said the purchases were due to the emergency emergency emergency emer gency and of course course- money for Cor them came from the emergency ap ap- Senator of Oregon asked what was ws meant by bythe bythe bythe the emergency Well the secretary wanted the cars and that was was the the emergency Mr Mt Burlew replied amid laughter in the thc room e Western Newspaper Union |