Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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■ pt Tilt BanHrtU Ptoplt^tnilntl, pRICB fixlnf and prie* booatlag. ■ - the World Over .Threatened Strike in Automobile Industry Settled by the President; ‘‘Brain Trust” Faces Inquiry; President Demands Stock Control Measure With “Teeth.” ft. • Eft — j. / / / Eft ■ PreticUnt ftooievett A PTER weeks of exhausting negotia tions the threatened strike In TKanrimnnobile Industry was averted when President Roosevelt secured an agreement between ex ecutives and labor leaders. Representa tion for all employees In dealing tvlth man agement was estab- 11 s h e d, and safe guards were extend ed to all unions against Intimidation or Interference. “It Is my hope,” said the President, ‘•that this system may develop Into • kind •f works council In Industry In which all groups of employees, whatever may be their choice or organization of form of representation, may partici pate In Joint conference with their em ployers.'* He hailed this as basis for a more comprehensive, adequate and equi table system of relations-than, ever has existed In a large Industry. The agreement avoids the licensing of the automobile Industry, which labor threatened to Invoke If there was no agreement The American Federation •f Labor Is not recognized as such by Industry except when Its affiliates have the necessary votes on the collective bargaining committee. -One of the-provisions of the agree* y - ment was. that the NRA should set up a board, responsible to the Presi dent to sit In Detroit and pass ppon all questions of representations dis charge, and tiiscriminetion.- .DfidHlftR of the board Is to be final upqri all con cerned. Three men will senre on the board, one representing labor, one In dustry, the third being neutral. —Perhaps fee greatest concession made by . labor was its agreement to submit the lists of Its members to the board of three, on which Industry Is represented. This surrender, how ever, Is safeguarded by the fact that the list is for the board only, to en able It to check against other lists, and that no public disclosure Is to be made of It except by direction of the Presl-„ dent himself In particular cases. The agreement Is generally regarded as a compromise. All participants joined In saying that It does not rep resent a victory for either side. Ives from the Islands present hlngton declared that it would be accepted by the legislature on htfy 1 “This Is a great day for you and for ^ me,” the President* told Presldefat Manuel L. Quezon of the Philippine senate, adding that If Invited he would attend the Inaugural ceremo nies of the new republic ten to twelve years hence. Senator TydTngs, MaponsuT of the measure, said May 1 had been des ignated as acceptance date for the bill to honor the memory, of Admiral Dewey, who steamed In, destroyed the Spanish armada and took Manila bay on that date in 1898. Enactment of the measure came al most exactly thirty-three years after American troops captured Gen. Emilio Agulnado to end the Filipino insurrection oa March 23,1901. Gen eral Agulnaldo now lives In compara tive pensioned retirement, but still Is an Important figure In Island politics. P RESIDENT ROOSEVELT Monday called on congress to pass legis lation with ‘teeth in it" for the con trol of the nation’s stock and com modity exchanges. He asked that the law be so severe “that peculation, even as It exists to day, will of necessity be drastically curtailed." His demand was made In a letter to Senator Duncan U. Fletcher (Dem., Fla.) and Representative Sam Rayburn (Dem., Texas), chairmen of the congressional committees which are handling the pending stock ex change bills. Charging the exchanges with organ izing one of the most determined lob bies which has fought any of his legis lation, the President said that the country would not be satisfied unless the exchange control message Is dras tic. People generally, the President said, blame the speculation on ex changes for the 1929 artificial boom and the resulting slump. The President threw his full weight behind the controversial margin restric tion sections of the bill. Outlining the type of law he wants, he'sald. “The two principal objectives are, as 1 see It, first, the requirement of what Is known as margin so high that speculation, even as It exists today, will of necessity be drastically cur tailed, and, second, that the govern ment be given such definite powers of supervision over exchanges that the government Itself will be able to cor rect abuses which may arise In the future.” e RESIDENT ROOSEVELT Tuesday vetoed the Independent -offices ap propriation bill, carrying the-disputed, veterans’ benefit amendment The bill passed the senate Monday after a long journey thrdugB “5onr houses. It tar- rled the major portion of the^idmlnls- tratlon’s economy program. Although the senate finally agreed to the so-called house “compromise” amendments dealing with veterans’ benefits and government pay cut res toration, the President rejected the measure on the ground that the addition of some $200,000,000 to the budget cannot be permitted at this time. The compromise on the federal pay cut restoration ^ was accepted by the senate by a vote of 59 to 19; , the vet-^ erans* amendment was agreed to by a vote of 48 to 39. A USTRIA’S new corporative consti tution, as published in the official foverament gazette, gives the Presi dent powers similar to those possessed by the late Emperor Franz Joeef when he ascende4 the throne after crushing « republican revolution In 1848. The president will rule through the con stitution, but may change It whenever he thinks an emergency demands. The constitution wiU be based on the prin ciple that all power emanates from God •Mb contrast to the present one, which says sll power emanates from ths people. Bnt the people, nevertheless, will be given an opportunity to express their opinion at the polls whenever the gov ernment thinks this advisable. Popu lar initiative, however, is barred and the people will not have constitu tional rights to elect their own govern ment All legislation must bejnltlated by the government which will be ad vised but not controlled by four con sultative bodies. V . These will be the state council of 40/ to 50 members appointed by the pr dent; the federal cultural council, slsting of representatives of religious societies and schools; the federal economic council, chosen from business, industrial, agricultural and financial circles, and the,, provincial council, consisting of governors and finance ministers of the various prov inces. A PLAN for the complete freedom of the Philippines In 1945 or soon thereafter was written upon the statute books when President Roose velt signed/the McDuffle-Tidings bill. The Philippine legislature must ac cept the/measure by October L Rep leading to dlscrlmloats against •mall enterijkes, are current prac tices in the Reel industry under its NRA code, the federal trade commle- -alfln declares In a report to the senate. That there has been price fixing as well as Increases in prices of products during the period by the Insulry, the commission de clares, are conclusion! warranted by ample facta. Under the provisions of the code aud the methods of Its appli cation prices for any given product at any point of delivery are uniform. This it a direct violation of the or^' der to desist from tjie Pittsburgh plur practice. The steel cod4, according to the trade commission, is devising to lodge control of th^lndustry with the'Unlted States Steel corporation and other large producers, to take business away from llpie manufacturers, to discrim inate ydgalnst certain fabricators and centers and to discriminate I’avor of powerful customers like automobile Induetry. At a press conference at the White House the President Indicated that he was not satisfied with the way the steel code Is operating. There were signs the Executive might reopen the code and call for drastic revision* to protect consumers and Independent manufacturers from price fixing and increased costs. THIS WEEK Fascism Next? Healthy Policemen Is the Crase a Blessing? The Shotgun Marriage Dictatorship and Fascism hold Italy, Turkey, Russia, Germany, and threat en France and England. Thera Is ee reason why Fasclsm shonld not come here In the wake of Industrial chaos. If it does come, it will appear la the shape that will not please either cap ital or labor—capital, which. wishes comfort, luxury and Increasing profits, and labor, that wants to rule comfort ably out of harm’s way, through union politics, and would have no stomach for the game and Stalin play It National Topics Interpi • : byW* Bruckaft Six thousand policemen, members of the Holy Name society In New York, pledged never to take the name of God in vain, are evidently all healthy/po licemen. They breakfasted together Washington.—It begins to appear that the principles of NRA, upon which a * President Roosevelt NRA Near§ has Staked so much Test are approaching a test. Despite ther Roosevelt assertion that NRA Is here to stay, It seems that there are quite a few tvho are not satisfied with them. They have revolted, at last The challenge appears to have been given, and It is up to the admin- Istratlon to fight It out now. It la not too much to say that If the admin- atlon Is victorious, NRA principles the nation’s economic structure are here to stay. * If It.fails, the story will be different and no one can say what the course then will- be. Disquieting conditions resulting'from labor provisions of the codes, particu- after attending mass Sunday, and this the an tomobile industry cod^ the la what they ate: 8,000 grapefruit, threats, the rumbles, the dissension resentatl In Washl R ETENTION of the restrictions Im posed on Immigration by the pres ent laws was recommended by a com mittee of 48 men and women appointed several months ago by Secretary Per- tln* to study the problem. - Only minor relaxations were sug gested. The committee urged proper provision for reuniting families separ ated by Immigration and providing asylum for refugees from political, ra cial, and political persecution within the immigration quotas. Relentless war on aliens who com mit crimes and on the racketeer and 1,200 pounds of oatmeal, 24,000 scram bled eggs, 2,500 roast chickens, 4,50# pounds of potatoes, 12,000 sausages, 1,000 pounds of sugar. With this breakfast they drank 906 gallons of coffee, 800 quarts of milk, 1,250 quarts of cream. gangster was recommended. The committee proposed, however, that provision be made so Illegal en trants who have proved themselves de sirable cltizeim could legalize their res idence. It opposed deportation of aliens brought to this country as chil dren but who have never qualified for citizenship. / •ays: “The craze for contract bridge hurts social life,' It has eliminated the ^alt of social conversation.” It grieves Mr. Cohen that women should “play bridge five afternoons and five nights a week.” If he had heard some of these wom en engaged in what he calls “the art ef conversation" he might be glad that As a counter Irritant in the situa tion, some of the employers have con tended that If ®ta- Coanter - -pioyees In tbetr-m-- Irritani spectlve plants or^ - , ganlzed themselves Info a'union of their own, there was compliance with the law. They havo Insisted on this to the extent of tw* fusing to deal on wage questions with any delegates excepting those from their own plants. A negotiator affiliat ed with the American Federation of Labor was welcomed in those plants Just as warmly as most of us welcoms a rattle. snake. And embraces many polntansr party As a f« rt her hit cf hi story, it shonld _ ainong political leaders, all constitute a Circumstance that must be examined together in order to recognize the seri ous nature of the test that confronts NRA. And when I refer to dissension among politicians, I include not only the differences of opinion on NRA; the disagreement runs much farther policy. Indeed,/on the basis of the un dercurrent 6f ‘talk in congress, Mr. Roosevelt has suddenly found himself ftced by a breach with the legislative body that la not going to be healed easily. 1 The circumstances seen by observ ers here in their efforts to piece the picture together demonstrate also the the bridge craze came along. Bridge Is simply one ef many sub stitutes for thought, a painful process for nearly all human beings, and eae of the milder substitutes. Other sub- -stltntas srs dnnra alcohol, tobacco and thing so many people long have be lieved, namely, that theorists cannot get along together indefinitely. Mr. Roosevelt’s brain trust, as it Is popu larly called, has dissension In Its rants. No two of the professors ap- S ECfl PE Secretary Perkins ECRETARY OF LABOR FRANCES ERKINS announces a jump of 345,000 in industrial employment and a gain of $12,000,000 In weekly pay rolls between January 15 and February 15. “Factory employ ment Increased 6.1 per cent while pay rolls rose 12.6 per cent,” Secretary Perkins said In summing up the de velopments. She add ed that since March of last year 2,400,000 workers have returned to industrial Jobs and $67,000,000 added to the weekly pay rolls. Secretary Perkins pointed' out that her survey of Industrial employment covers only a small part of the total business field. "The manufacturing and non-manu facturing industries covered,” she ex plained, “normally employ only 20,- 000,000 of the 49,000,000 gainful work ers of the country and therefore these totals do not indicate all changes In employment, To them should be add ed 10,000 workers reported by the In terstate commerce commission to have been taken on during the last month by Class 1 steam allroads, and gains In agricultural employment which nor mally take place at this time with the beginning of farming activities In the Southern states. TXLIAN voters turned out In great 4 numbers Sunday to register their support of Premier Mussolini and elected a chamber of deputies whose' main function' will be to arrange Its own death. Although it is not pos- to -forecast - how* long the new chamber will live, it Is certain that, by reforming the constitution as re- i gards the parliamentary system, it will vote its own death and the birth of ; :he guild economic legislature. In which the categories of sections of the na tional life will carry on the work of the state, substituting direct personal interest and expert knowledge for party politics. various kinds of sports that take men back to the rfionkey' period and let them comfortably down on all fsurs. A dog. taught iQ waJk op tts blBi pear to be holding to tne same theo ries now, although agreeing thus far as to the objective sought They are Jealous of each other and aoi legs, likes the task ns more than a man, recently taf§ht to think, likes thinking. comprising the ad- A ministration's so-called “brain trust” face an Investigation. Charges that the President's prides are being ignored by advisers who are plotting to make him only the “Kerensky” of the “American revolution,” to be put aside for an eventual “Stalin," aroused Immediate reaction In several quar ters. . ' ~ Representative Bulwtnkle of North Carolina Introduced a resolution In the htmse calling for air inquiry Into the purpose of the group, whose members, according to Dr. William Wirt, super intendent of schools of Gary, Ind., told him they aimed at the overthrow of the existing social order. The resolution asks that Doctor Wirt be called before the Interstate commerce committee of the house to divulge which members of the ’’brain, trust” told him, as he al leged, of a plan to hoodwink the Pres ident and ultimately establish a Com munistic form of government A RAY of hope for unpaid school teachers appeared when a house aubcommittee was ordered to draft legislation authorizing direct federal grants to needy school systems through out the country. The primary pur pose of the proposed grants would be to Insure the operation of schools for a minimum term each y'ear. A serious curtailment of educational facilities In many sections of the coun try has been forced by lack of funds, according to the committee, with con sequent result that thousands of chil dren are not receiving the proper amount of instruction. <An inability to pay teachers Is the most pressing problem. ^ A large part of the proposed federal grants will be available for the pay ment of salaries to unpaid teachers and for the re-employment of many who have been discharged because of lack of funds. Under the direct grant measure pro posed by the education committee It was understood the necessary funds would be supplied either by the fed eral Emergency Relief administration or the Public Wqpks administration. Salvation army authorities In Flor ida announce a new view of an old “fidrar“questIon,~8ometIfbes described as “doing right by our Nell." Mrs. George A. Stephan, wife sf Ad jutant Stephan, whose work is help ing girls out of trouble, no longer believes In the old “shotgun” marriage idea. Ideas have changed, Mrs. Stephan finds, and pdbllc opinion, that of wsss- en especially, is not as cruel as it used to be. The young unmarried mother may find a place .In life. Mr& Stephan helps her ts find It, and does not ad vocate the compulsory marriage, which was once thought a cure for all such troubles. them actually have become backyard gossips about others. Which, to use an old expression. Is a fine kettle of fish. To advert again to the test of NRA principles, the situation as we see it In Was John Curry, sentenced to life im prisonment four years age when only fifteen, tor helping ia a “witch mur der” in Pennsylvania, la developing ar tistic talent In prison. His pictures ire been exhibited. Important artists visit and show Interest in him. The young convict-artist says, “The work means a great deal ts me be cause it makes the outside world, which I may never see again, real ts me" rasfchigtoR Is simply thls^-a vast ent of Industry has had a craw 1 of professional theories. It has 'ound that codes cost industry money, reduce chances of profit and destroy age-old trade practices. It Is fighting back, and It Is not important to this phase of the discussion that Industry has seized on the company union as distinguished from recognized Ameri can Federation of Labor chapters as the Issue in the opening battle. The administration has started to fend - off Industry’s challenge by re sorting to a - counter attack ttTTlre form of a demand that hours of labor be shortened. It has accepted the challenge of industry to the extent that It has called upon Industry to use Its much bruited “organized Indi vidualism” to manage Its own affairs. And It Is not amiss to point out just' here that the success Industry has with Its first venture on this line will The French government, disturbed by recent riots caused by financial cor ruption, In which government officials shared, worries about unemployment. be measured by the amount of slack in unemployment which It can take up. — a ■ r • • • -j- It is well to remember. In this con nection, that Mr. Roosevelt and his advisers have .the Problem of problem of relief on Relief their hands. As I reported some weeks ago, the CWA form of taking care of a part of the unemployed Is to be dis carded because, frankly, It has been a flop. That leaves only the prin- although, compared with others, French Idleness amounts to nothing. Young j. jipieg 0 f NRA by which Jobs can be men leaving the army are invited ts gU p plied jf they are to be provided A SSURANCES of cordial regard and pledges of a desire for the settlement of any differences by ami cable means were expressed in an ex change of notes be tween Secretary of State jliull and Kokl Hlrota. Japanese for- elgn minister. The ex-_ change *of noj^es waa the outcome of Inter changes Initiated by re-enllst, and not swell the ranks af the idle, and men out of work wbe have been in the army daring the last five years, which means practically •very sound man under forty In France, are invited to go Into the army nntil times are better. M« In the French army work on roads and otherwise, and they are used, which would horrify labor In this country, as strikebreakers In case the Of course, the administration has the responsibility ef supplying work now. it started out with many high-sound ing phrases about social Justice, and the unemployed are now wanting to know when social Justice Is going to be Worth something In the form of beans for the belly. Thus, It becomes plain how bitter this struggle Is to be. The adminis tration’s political life appears to be Secretary Hull T HE man who works for a living will get a break If amendments to the Income tax law proposed by tha senate finance committee are finalfy adopted. These amendments would take more taxes from big estates and reduce the tax on smaller Incomes. Chairman Harrison estimated that thg^oiMf result of the changes pro posed would add. $50,000,000 of annual revenue to the bill. The committee voted onanlmously for a proposal to continue ths one- tenth of 1 per cent corporation cap ital stock and 8 per cent excess prof its tax levy, which were repealed when repeal put liquor taxes into ef fect of a foreign policy the general purpose of which Is to conciliate the United States Ja pan Is Intent upon persuading the United States to aban don the policy of obstruction of Jap anese occupation of Manchuria and to recognize the Japaneses dominated state of Manchukuo. "belief that “no question exists between our two countriee that ia fundamentally Incapable of amicable solution.” employees of the government-ewned - on t jj e g p 0 ^ ^ cannot, dftre not, ad- rallroads go on strike In fact, French mlt defeat It probably will not be strikers have been couacripted and or- defeated In its encounter with Indus- dered to work, or be shot. , try. but one should not make the mls- i take of believing that victory will come The conclusions I hear most frequently expressed* Indicate -In me Japan in fnrfhgram— Attorney General Cummings asks easily C HANCELLOR HIT1.ER alms to put 5s000,000 of the 6,000,000 unem ployed to work this year In his “1984 battle against depression.” This vast number of idle will be given jobs on t&s chancellor’s $400,000,000 public works program. This Includes the con- structlon of highways, tend reclama tion, and the building of ships and houses. One feature of the scheme is to get at least 200,000 girls married off this year. This feat will be accomplished by setting aside $60,000,000 as matri monial loans. • by Wwtsra Mswspmt Uaisa. congress for new legislation tu help crush the crime underworld, and you will hope that congress will consent. In view ef official statement that or ganized crime “has more people under arms than there are In the army and navy of the United States.” It net only has more people under arms than the army and navy, It has more than the army and navy In and around New York citt alone. President Rooeevelt will not be alto gether pleased with statements by ablo young commercial flyers, telling him what he ought to do. F. D. Roosevelt, after all, la head of the army and navy, and alas ef fee Post Office department Mrs. Caroline Phillips, born June 28, 1827, Is dead In Florida. In three months she would have been one hun dred and seven years eld, and Florida calls that an excellent recommenda tion for her climate. Oallforala will reply that if the lady had lived In Lot Angeles she weald have lived several ysars laager, fe Kins rvstnnM that the administration and Its NRA ideals will win eventually because there are so many more employees than employers. Mr. Roosevelt can count upon a majority of the people to be behind him, therefore, because the big majority are folks ‘who work for their bread and butter. > Self-pres ervation continues to be the first law of nature, despite theory. In the present sitnatlon, the Issue Them. be recalled that Mr. Roosevelt early smelled the trouble that could eom* under the labor provisions, se he set up the national labor board, of which Senator Robert Wagner, of New York, is the chairman. It was to be some thing of an appeals board, a body for review of complaints. But somehow, that body also construed the law as against company fin Ions and the em ployers were balked again. So now there Is a definite and con certed effort to break down the pro gram that an organization of employees muir be“aMlated with the American Federation of Labor before It Is ac ceptable to the powers that be In Washington. It Is a row that is go- for some weeks. There will be strikes of greater or less con sequence; there may be some riots and some bloodshed, and surely there will, be much oratory, very BtUe of which will be from people who are conversant with all. phases of the -problem. As a part and parceftof.the Roose velt attack, or counter movement, against opponents of the NRA, It is generally believed In Washington that the President used his powers to pre vent any government purchases from manufacturers other than those con> plying with NRA provisions It was a week or more ago that he Issued th# executive order that precludes th« award of government contracts to any bidder not a member of NRA. Som# observers here are saying that this order Is going to cost the government a considerable sum of money. It has the effect of limiting the number of bidders. Although one may gay that nearly every firm of consequence la flying the. Blue- Eagle, there are very few that have not In some way or other violated its provisions. I do not charge that they have done se Inten tionally; the facts Indicate the con* trary, but there have been thousands of violations wholly because it seems' Impossible to meet every/requirement all of the time. The air mall controversy continues to rise up to plague the Roosevelt admlii- Istratlon. I Judge, Air In ail from the current eon- Controverty versation In Wash- - Ington, that sundry administration officials would willingly miss a couple of good meals If they could retract and cause people to for get the Jibe made at Col. Charles A. Lindbergh because his aviation com pany released hla protest about can cellation of the air mail contracts be fore it was delivered to the President. That White House statemeat saying that the transatlantic flyer was dis courteous to Mr. Roosevelt flits around like a fly In the room when you want to sleep lat£. The White House and the War de partment insist that their attempt to get Colonel Lindbergh on the army aviation Investigating committee was made knowledge of aviation. Yet, all denials to contrary and all insistence of sin cerity have not downed a widespread T>eHef that appointment of the colonel ’■y; The NRA provisions on labor call for unionizing all employees. The American Federation of lebor says that means affiliation with their instl- , tution and It has fought bitterly for that result Industries and employers generally disagree with that idea. General Johnson has* sided with labor. He has Donald “Richberg, a long-tim# attorney for labor Unions, as his right hand man in NRA, and Mr. Rlchbeig surely has backed up the general a plans, If, Indeed, he did not formulate / has been Joined chiefly on the company union question. It Is an outgrowth of the overreaching which I believe was done by supporters of the' American Federation of Labor hi thalr demands when the national recovery act was written. I do not blame the federation leaders. They, like every one else, are out to get for their adherents as much as they can. But their Insistence for labor protection through the legisla tion and the influence which they wielded en General Johnson appar ently, aa viewSQ from this point, were a little hit toe strong. In other words, they went so strong In their demands that they ceased the employers to fight hack. was hoped to serve as an antidote, a sleeping potion, to offset hl» criticism of the contract cancellation. Political observers here are point ing out that administration made an Ill-advised move in seeking to appoint Lindbergh without first having gone through a quiet more to find out his reaction in an Informal way. That usually is done with appointments. The failure to- have emissaries go around and ssk^the colonel whether be would serve on the Investigating committee left him In a posltldn to do some more/talking. If be accepted, ef course, he would not do any more talk ing about the cancellation of contracts. It would have been Improper fbr him, aa something of a Judge, to convict before he heard the evidence. Those who know the colonel Intimately ny he would have observed the rules. But, Colonel Lindbergh did not accept, an<L when he refused to be maneuvered Into ft. position-of silence. If It was a~ maneuver, he could protest again with assurance that It would get country wide publicity. It did just that ' ft by WaatniD New*nap#r Union I