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Show National Topics Interpreted J-. by William Bruckart flMF National Press Building Washington, D. C. SSpjSllIf WASHINGTON. Considerable doubt seems to be arising in many quarters whether Doubt the New Dealers Arises are quite as much concerned over uplifting living standards oi the poor as they are concerned over their votes in the fall elections. These doubts which are now in the form of a flood of inquiries obviously obvi-ously arise from two incidents which have occurred here in the nation's capital. Rather, there were three incidents, for it was the first action that made the other two incidents in-cidents significant Let us take them up in order to get a good view of the circumstances: First, President Roosevelt lately has signed the new wage and hour law. Under its terms, wages paid employees and the hours which they work throughout the nation now become be-come a matter of federal jurisdiction jurisdic-tion if the employers of those workers work-ers buy or sell anything outside of the state in which the plant or factory fac-tory actually is located. That is to say, any business operating in interstate commerce must now comply com-ply with a federal law as to wages paid and hours worked, and meet the regulations laid down by a Washington bureaucrat after the law becomes effective October 24, 1938. None of these employees may work more than 44 hours a week (five and one-half days of eight hours) nor can they be paid less than 25 cents per hour during the first year of the law. In the second year, the number of hours is reduced re-duced to 42 per week and the rate of pay rises to 30 cents per hour. Thereafter, the work week is fixed at 40 hours and the lowest rate of pay at 40 cents an hour. The provisions pro-visions naturally will apply to nearly near-ly all individual manufacturing establishments es-tablishments because few of them can exist by selling only in their home localities. Agriculture is not . affected by the law, so that farmers are privileged, for once, to pay for what they get in the way of services and not be under orders from Washington. This is the law that was fought off so long by senators and representatives repre-sentatives from the southern states. They demanded that some consideration consid-eration be given the employers of the South where conditions are decidedly de-cidedly different from other parts of the United States. They did not get a complete differential in the scales but they obtained a compromise compro-mise that permits the new bureau-, bureau-, crat, the wage administrator, to consider the costs of living to some extent. Living costs in the South generally have been lower than elsewhere else-where and some types of labor in southern areas are recognized as not being as efficient. Passage of the act with some leeway of flexibility flexi-bility was believed likely to solve these problems of the South. That brings us now to the second of the incidents. Mr. Roosevelt's signature to the wage and hour bill was affixed on a Saturday. On Sunday Harry Hopkins, Hop-kins, chief of WPA, the professional reliever of the administration, issued is-sued an announcement. By the terms of the order he released, all - unskilled workers in the 13 southern states something like 500,000 working on relief payrolls were treated to a pay raise. In addition, addi-tion, some other classes of WPA workers were given a pay boost, but the numbers were not disclosed. Certainly, they are fewer than the class known as unskilled workers. The action was taken, Mr. Hopkins Hop-kins explained in his announcement, "pursuant to a general administration administra-tion policy of bringing income levels lev-els of the lowest paid workers of the South more nearly in line with the income levels of such workers in other parts of the country." It will be recalled also that while the wage-hour debate was at its hottest hot-test in congress, Hopkins Mr. Roosevelt Answers went into the deep South to lecture employers on the low wage levels. He spoke at Gainesville. Ga., in vigorous vig-orous language to the effect that the South wa6 being held back because employers were paying wages that were too low to maintain a satisfactory satis-factory standard of living. That speech came in the midst of argument argu-ment by southern members of congress con-gress that even WPA was paying lower levels in the South than elsewhere else-where and employers should not be compelled to accept a new drain on their production costs. Thus, we see Mr. Hopkins hag answered an-swered both arguments. By increasing increas-ing the WPA levels of pay, he has effectively sealed the mouths of the southern opponents of the WPA and at the same time has forced the industries about which Mr. Roosevelt Roose-velt complained to meet a new kind of "competition" for workers. Anyone who knows anything about the factors that govern wages, and thr:y are all very human conditions, recognizes that southern industries will have to increase their pay rates or watch WPA take over the workers. For it remains as a fact ;hat certain typos of persons will jirff'.r to go nn WPA thnn work regularly, reg-ularly, even if the regular work does provide a somewhat greater money return each week. That condition results re-sults from the fact WPA has had such a loose system of planning the work to be done and to the further fact that among the WPA labor there has been absolutely no discipline; disci-pline; no one who can compel a full day's work for a full day's pay. It is one of the tragedies, dark and dangerous, of the present system of relief that men are taught to loaf on the job instead of working that their families may have somewhat more of food and clothes and things to enjoy life. But, as treacherous as the Hopkins Hop-kins policy appears from what has been stated, there is yet a very much worse angle. It can be traced through most easily. By raising the WPA pay levels in the South, Mr. Hopkins thereby forced new levels of pay in the industries of the South. I have visited many parts of the South and I believe I can safely say that few manufacturing establishments establish-ments have been able to avoid losses in their operations during the last eight years. By -raising the WPA levels and bringing about a competition for the available workers, work-ers, Professor Hopkins saddled upon the industries an added burden of expense. From some parts of the South, I hear that this added payroll pay-roll cost will mean the closing of some plants; others are going to continue operation and try to get , their money back by increasing the prices of their products. That means the consumers will pay the bill. It causes me to wonder whether it will do the workers any good to have more money when prices of the things they use are hiked up at the same time. The above explanation was given at some length as prelude to the real effect of the Real WPA boost and Objective what I believe to be the real objective objec-tive of the New Deal action. If WPA and industrial pay levels are higher in the South, then it becomes obvious that the exemptions and dif ferentials which the southern senators sena-tors and representatives thought they obtained are absolutely and completely nullified. The New Dealers Deal-ers who have the President's ear have whipped the devil around the stump; they have accomplished by indirection that which congress rejected re-jected as a direct action, and they have tossed the southern members of the Democratic party straight to the wolves. So, now we can consider the third movement of the symphony that has caused doubts to arise concerning the sincerity of the program. This chorus was sung by Aubrey Williams, Wil-liams, assistant WPA administrator No. 2 man for Mr. Hopkins. He, too, made a speech. It was addressed ad-dressed to the Workers Alliance, which is an organization that has gone so far as to participate in strikes among WPA workers to force the United States government to do its bidding .The Workers Alliance Al-liance bigwigs came to Washington to fight against a proposed WPA cut in pay for artists and actors. They said they represented something like 200,000 WPA workers, and naturally nat-urally the WPA workers must contribute con-tribute something out of their pittance pit-tance to support of the organization. Well, Mr. Williams advised the WPA workers "to stick together." He urged them to discover who are "your friends" at election time. "We've got to stick together," said Mr. Williams. "We've got to keep our friends in power. I don't need to tell you. You know your friends very well, or must know them. Just judge the folks who come and ask your support (at elections) elec-tions) by the crowd they run with. . . . The same goes for painting and writing, keeping up these things. The men who stand for this sort of thing are the men you are going to send to the elections" by winning in the primaries. There were repercussions against the Williams outburst, and the senate sen-ate investigating committee may call the speaker but I doubt it The senate, you will remember, defeated four amendments to the $5,000,000,-000 $5,000,000,-000 borrowing-lending-spending bill that were designed to keep the distributors dis-tributors of relief money out of politics. poli-tics. Isn't it rather difficult to believe be-lieve thi money is being used solely for relieving the destitute? Western Newspaper Union. |