Show Bruckart's Washington Digest Operation Co-Operation of Business Sought By Wage Hour Law Administrator Andrews J Pictures Industry of Country as Mainly 1 Decent Will Depend on Citizens Not Inspectors to Make Law Work Warns Against Chiselers t I c By WILLIAM VILLIAM BRUCKART Service National Press Washington D. D C. C WASHINGTON Mr Elmer F. F Andrews hasn't been in Washington long enough yet to become either wide widely praised or cordially hated but he be has started on his job as administrator administrator administrator ad ad- of the new wage and hour law and so it will not be long until the country knows him He has a tough job one of or the toughest indeed since Gen Hugh Johnson tried to run Thus Thus-it seems proper to review and examine some of ol Mr Andrews pronouncements since he came into the adminis adminis- His flis main theory of proceeding with a new and wholly holly untried policy of law Is to gain co operation of business business business busi busi- ness the business which the law Is Isto Isto Isto to effect He lie pictures the industry of the country as mainly decent as willing to do the right thing and to that extent certainly he is entitled to commendation For all too often in inthe inthe inthe the last five years all business has been grouped by first one New Dealer Deal Deal- er cr and then another as being crooked Mr l Andrews feels apparently apparently apparently that business is honest until its records show it to be dishonest an and then to apply the thc lash to the in individuals in- in and not the whole industry industry industry indus indus- try as wrongdoers We are going to depend upon the citizens of the States not an arm army of inspectors from Washington Washing- Washing Washington ton to make this law work Mr Andrews said in a recent speech The administrator further r espoused espoused es es- es the policy of giving th the states the job of enforcement within their jurisdictions as far as that can be done To this he added that the law enables a worker to sue for double double double dou dou- ble the amount due i if any employer fails to pay the minimum wage explaining ex ex- ex- ex pai ing that this provision pro takes takes' one enforcement phase out of the hands of the federal government and creates watchmen of every worker Since the law with its minimum of 25 cents an hour becomes effective October 24 24 where interstate te shipments ship shipS ments of products are concerned Andrews Mr Mr Andrews obviously believes that individual workers will get pretty well acquainted with their rig rights before belore be- be fore lore the effective date Asks for Operation Co-Operation To Minimize Crookedness Mr Andrews warned again against chis- chis elers He took the position ion lr in an in 1 interview that chiseling w was ws s to tobe be be expected and added that his l rs will get rich and fair employers will i broke jn in the short go run but be he seems to believe that there can and will rill be sufficient op co-op cooperation co opera era era- tion io to insure the minimum pf edn edness ss undercutting and cheapness At least it is hoped the condition will work out but ut that way Although I l' l I never nevOr h have av believed that a feral federal ge ai w wage ge and hour law would prove s sat satisfactory sit sit- t- t it is entitled t to a aT fair fairchance chance to show whether it itcan can or or can not be worthwhile as national t L policy A And d Mr Andrews is surely ely entitled to the operation co-operation for which h he has asked unless he develops like 50 so m many ny other New Dealers to whom extraordinary power suddenly has been entrusted i Fr From m a quarter of a century bf observation I am inclined to the b belief belief be be- lief that the great majority o of business busi ness concerns will come clean bUS 1 in their relations with the new federal office Obviously some will not but the bulk will try to abide by the law lawas as they understand it So I think it is is not tram from rom the bulk of business interests that Mr Andrews will get gel his load lond of trouble Th There Thre re will be cheap skates who try to take advantage advantage ad ad- vantage of any and every situation to gain an advantage on their com com- That will be one kind oi of trouble that can cnn be traced home hom rather quickly Then there will b be another kind of trouble that will no not be so easily untangled It will come com from rom reports of alleged violations violation some from rom the watchmen some from the chiselers who will wil 1 seek to cause trouble for or suspicion suspicion cion don of violation by competitors There will be some labor racketeers S who will try to force union organization tion by threats of reports of violations viola viola- which reports obviously would woul 1 be damaging even though they m ma may Y not be true All of these things ar are e due to come and it is under thi this 5 test that we can best judge Mr Andrews An Ar L- L drews as a public official Doubts Value of Watchmen In Enforcement of Law LawAs As to the sources of at into information tion upon which the staff starr of the thc admin may subsequently act there is some reason for tor doubt I mentioned mentioned mentioned men men- some of them above My doubt as to the thc value of ot a watchman watchman watch man in enforcement is based upon what we all saw during the early days of prohibition Stool pigeons pig pig- eons they were called then And stool pigeons pigeon operated everywhere some were just plain busybodies and ond others were fanatics The re- re suit was that gradually a disrespect for law grew up and this this' disrespect disrespect was blamable to a consid ra- ra ble extent upon the fact the early provisions of the law encouraged squealing and squealing more times than not is used as a me means ns of vengeance of getting even with someone who is disliked It has been many years since business business busi bus ness generally was said to have a policy of the public be damned There can be no doubt that business conscience has changed immeasurably bly since those da days s It apparent is-apparent for lor example that two of the really great sins of employers namely na-mely oppression oppression op op- op of labor and defrauding of labor have largely passed out of ex ex- Competitors seem to be watching each other in that regard and union labor officials have lent a hand An employer no longer is received received received re re- re- re among decent people once it itis itis itis is learned that he has cheated his workers of their wages Now Mr Andrews says that one of the things he hopes to accomplish is is to clean out dark corners That Thatis is to say to finish the job of helping industry get rid of that low level of humanity which by virtue of at its momentary power as an employer oppresses labor or refuses to pay wages earned Surely the cooperation opera co-opera tion of employers and workers alike Is is required in this effort Honest employers have much to gain by having the dark corners cleaned 1 J out and disinfected with a good grade of roach powder But again it is being pointed out in many conversations conversations con con- the administrator must be on on guard as to the sources of at his information Irreparable harm can come from missteps in filing charges of violation because of the trend in public consciousness towards general gener gener- al fairness fairness of of which the wage and hour labor labors is an evidence Job May Make Andrews Either a Hero or Villain Summed up then it seems to me that Mr Andrews has a job in which he be can an turn out to to be either a hero or or a villain A very great deal will depend upon the type of individuals with which he surrounds he-surrounds surrounds hims himself l in administrative work An illustration of what I am trying to say is to be found in the setup o a of the n national labor relations relations board I have watched that outfit through many many of the cases it has handled and I I simply dan can can not believe it intends intends in in- tends to do otherwise than pla play th the game of the of-the the e C. C I. I O. O and John Joh LLewis L. L Lewis as against the American Federation Federation Federation Fed Fed- of Labor Time after time the theA A F. F of L. L has bas charged discrimination discrimination nation and Sand to an outsider most of the claims claims- and protests seem to have be been justified The boards board's staff is full of bf radicals and quacks a and d individuals als' als whose gov government salaries are re larger ti than m they ever before f r drew drev in hi their lives The Th Th q question ol o of federal s supervision pez j- j stan ston sion of wages s and takes tal the federal quite clo closely ely into the into the lives of millions of workers just justas as many other new activities atthe of at the government under President t Roosevelt has bas done One of these instances has his just come to fruition and andis Is worthy of reporting of-reporting reporting because it it shows shows shows' the the fallacy of a national goy interfering t r r everywhere This This' st stOry ry relates to the effort of the farm security administration which was once the resettlement administration that was founded by the former Rexford Tug Tugwell to reform the lives of some of the residents of the Appalachian mountains These people were moved out to a model town to cl clear ar arthe the Shenandoah National park They were to have nicer homes and enjoy greater opportunities in in life lite The trek started three y years ago Bought Liquor Instead Of Paying Grocery Bill Only lately however it has come to public notice that the governmental tal agency in charge had evicted one of the families moved families moved them olton outon out o on the sidewalk so to speak Ida Valley the community's name was shocked They were ere all hill billy families and they could not understand such treatment nt Well Vell the crime the man committed commit commit- ted was that he had used his check cheek to buy liquor instead of paying paying pay pay- ing his grocery bill He had been warned of course But the warnings warnings warn warn- ings went unheeded and finally the government like ike a private moved him and his family outside Obviously no person is going to condone the failure of this man to pay his debts But there is something something some some- some some- something thing more to the incident What I Iam Iam Iam am wondering is why a government anybody's government should at at- tempt to make over a person who does not want to be reformed in his living cond conditions This family had lived its ancestors had lived in the Appalachians for years It had its habits its traditions It got along pretty well and from what I I have seen in many trips through those mountains they do not care much about th the more abundant life They want to be left alone and I think that is a pretty sound philosophy philosophy philosophy phy of life just life just t to be let alone as as' far as gove menti concerned and andas I II I as long no harm is done W Western n Ne UntO Union |