STANFORD LIBRARY HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON LABOR SEVENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON H. R. 238 A BILL TO REHABILITATE AND STABILIZE LABOR CONDI- TO REGULATE THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 1937 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The subcommittee met in the caucus room, Old House Office Building, at 10:30 a. m., Hon. Kent E. Keller presiding. Present: Representatives Keller (chairman), Ramspeck, Gildea, Schneider, and Smith. Mr. KELLER. The committee will come to order. To clean up a little matter before us yesterday afternoon, before we start the day's work, I am going to call upon Mr. Earle E. West and Mr. Francis Simmons, who will take a very little time. There will be no discussion; I assure you, no discussion on my part either. I want to suggest also that all of those who testify here, unless you are lawyers and unless you are especially skilled in constitutional law, if you desire to put forth your ideas of the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of this question, please file a brief with us; and I am going to let that apply to the lawyers also, if I may, because that is a subject the committee is anxious to know about, but the Constitution, as we have it construed by our Supreme Court, has become a rather complicated matter and could be discussed from hour to hour here without result. Therefore, let us get as many of the facts as we possibly can. Therefore, before cleaning up yesterday's work, let us call Mr. Earle West. STATEMENT OF EARLE E. WEST, COST DIRECTOR, UNDERWEAR INSTITUTE Mr. WEST. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, the Underwear Institute representing the underwear and allied products industry wish to record the following information showing the effect of the Ellenbogen bill on costs in the underwear industry. Also it will be shown how increases in costs will be reflected in increase in consumer prices. At the present time the underwear industry is operating on a 30 cents per hour minimum in the South and a 312 cents per hour minimum in the North, or an average for the entire industry of 3134 cents minimum wages. According to figures compiled by the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly earnings in this indus |