Mr. RAMSPECK. Who decides what kind of a church it shall be; that is, what denomination?

Mr. JOHNSON. If that is the only one there, the owner expects you to go to it.

Mr. KELLER. What denominations are those churches?

Mr. JOHNSON. Most of them are Baptist or Methodist.

Mr. KELLER. There is one more who wishes to be heard this evening.

STATEMENT OF MR. JOSEPH R. WHITE, VICE PRESIDENT, UNITED TEXTILE WORKERS OF AMERICA

Mr. KELLER. Will you please state your name and position? Mr. WHITE. My name is Joseph R. White. I am vice president of the United Textile Workers of America.

Before I start making this statement I want to say that I have heard so much about the South that I just want to bring you back North again for a while.

The data that I am going to present to you covers part of Pennsylvania, it covers all of Vermont, a part of Massachusetts and all of New York.

Mr. Chairman, and members of the Labor Committee of the House of Representatives:

I am going to give you a short résumé of the conditions in the textile industry in the territory in which I have the privilege to supervise. I am not going to name the mills, as that has been covered in the brief given your committee by President Thomas F. McMahon.

I cannot understand, for the life of me, where men like Mr. Gilbert, who spoke before your body on Monday, representing industry of 14 southern States, get the idea that 92 percent of this industry is conforming to former code provisions. In my territory, the carpet mills have reduced wages 12 percent, and have increased their hours to 48. Some of the silk mills have increased their hours to 45, 48, 50, 54, and 55, in some instances going from four to six looms. In other departments, there is an increase of work load, in some instances, of 20 percent. Some woolen mills in the territory have increased hours 45, 54, to 60. We have one knitting mill which has increased its hours to 54 hours, paying the girls as low as $3, with a maximum of $13. The break-down in the synthetic yarns has been mostly by increased machinery. In many instances, employees are called in mills and asked to take a wage adjustment, which is always a decrease, as the management states, in order that they may meet their competitors.

I now find that again, as in 1931 and 1932, the banks are sending engineers into mills to see how the efficiency is, and in some instances reductions in wages are recommended. I have also found that because the Congress of the United States has passed old age security, that an employer in my territory has employed engineers and is now classifying his workers A, B, and C, the latter being the slowest workers, and these are being laid off, as they state, because of the insurance their expenses will be increased, and they must have efficient workers.

I cannot understand, for the life of me, why northern mill men should oppose this kind of legislation, as all I have come in contact.

with during the N. R. A. and since the decision of the Supreme Court, privately have said that the N. R. A. was a blessing to them. All of the northern employers ought to be here boosting for this measure, in order to be sure that the competition of hours and minimum wage would be eliminated.

It was amusing on Monday to listen to Mr. Gilbert state that the efficiency of the southern mill workers was 33 percent less than that of the northern workers. To me, that is an insult to the southern workers, but if the employers of those 17 States which Mr. Gilbert represents think that they are telling the truth, then they ought to tell their customers, so that the buying public would know that if you wanted efficiency, you would have to come North.

I trust that you gentlemen will see the wisdom of reporting the Textile Act, H. R. 9072, favorably.

What I had in mind saying about this particular mill and this newinsurance clause is that right after Congress passed the Security Act, our State has gone along with it. Employers now have to make their reports, of course, so they bring in these engineers in order to cut down the overhead, or cost of production, as they call it. They class the workers A, B, and C. The fast worker is the A class, B is next, and C is the slowest.

It happened that a girl who was at a meeting that I addressed at a meeting in this city in New York State was very active in talking to girls about joining the union. The following Wednesday she was classed in class C.

I brought the case before the New York Regional Board, and the management of this company told the board that because the Government is increasing the cost and putting all of this legislation on them that they must lay off these workers and take on new workers with prospects of making them "A" workers instead of "C" workers. That case is pending there, and I am not certain as to what is going to happen. I mean I am not certain what is going to happen with the Commission. I know what is going to happen if she is not taken back. Mr. KELLER. How old is she?

Mr. WHITE. She is 27 years old, and she will be in the scrap heap if Congress does not do something to eliminate these conditions that some of these employers are trying to bring about.

We have a mill-and I have the name here, and I know that our good friends who are listening would like to know the names of some of them. But we have a silk mill in Fulton, N. Y. They came here to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and borrowed $100,000. They had not had it for more than 2 weeks when they went back to Fulton that is the Fulton Silk Co.-and they reduced the wages of the weavers from $1.60 per 100,000 picks to $1.50 per 100,000 picks. I could go on and name several of those, and I have them all here for your committee, showing the name and town and just what their salaries are and what they are making.

Mr. SCHNEIDER. What do those employers do with all the money the Government furnishes them?

Mr. WHITE. In this instance he is going to build a dye house so that he can better compete with Paterson.

Mr. SCHNEIDER. Are they increasing their capacity as a result of these loans by the Government?

Mr. WHITE. Not in my territory. When the men come here they are like the business agent. They call themselves. I am convinced they tell the truth to this extent.

Did you ever go to a chamber of commerce meeting?

Mr. SCHNEIDER. I was never permitted to go there.

Mr. WHITE. I was there 1 day under an assumed name as a guest. The principal speaker gets up and he begins to tell the people how successful he has been. Then everybody agrees with him and they begin to tell how successful they are. But they don't say how they do it.

Just as soon as the N. R. A. went into effect many mills in western Massachusetts as well as in New York increased their machinery; increased machinery went into operation. Where they have not increased machinery they have taken the small pulley off and put on a larger one. That has increased the speed of the machine.

So in every instance the worker has increased his output in these particular localities.

This Fulton mill about which I am talking is building a dye house. This fellow also runs a mill in Trumansburg, N. Y. I also understand he is going up into Ogdenburg, N. Y. They are all run-away mills from Paterson, N. J.

This mill that is mentioned here in my statement, that is, the knitting mill, is a mill that comes from one community to another to avoid paying wages. I happen to have had 2 years of experience as one of the labor commissioners of my home city, and it was comical to have men come before us in this fashion: They would first get a letter from the chamber of commerce as to the amount of building and floor space, and then they would come in to investigate and say to us, "Can you raise $5,000? How much rent can you allow us?", and so on.

I did not make a very good commissioner because we did not bring that kind of industries there. Nevertheless, those are the kinds. And I feel that if we are going to stabilize the industry that we have to have legislation such as we had under the N. R. A. or such as we have in this particular bill so that these men cannot chisel.

And when I say chisel, perhaps it is the common expression used since N. R. A. went into effect. If we have a good employer-and there are some in my territory-that wants to pay and wants to go along properly, there are two things that are up to him. In the first place, we haven't very many employers. And if in this mill something is happening and I am talking about my own territory again-and they are going along in fair shape and paying fair wages, and something happens that the dividends are not large enough, the bank tells them what to do. And I can qualify this statement I am making. The banks tell them they must cut wages. And when they cut wages, then the next fellow comes along and does the same thing.

I was called into a mill about 4 months ago because they could not meet competition, and he asked me could our people take a reduction on underwear of, let us say, 20 cents a dozen. When I say 20 cents a dozen I mean 20 cents to manufacture the dozen; in other words, to come from $2 to $1.80. They said this would give at least 6 months steady employment to that department.

After 3 weeks the employees accepted that particular reduction. They worked 4 weeks steady. But now there is a falling off in the

market and his competitor quite a ways down in the western part of the country is now making it for $1.70. And they are looking for another adjustment. And God knows where we will end unless your Committee brings out some recommendation that gives us Government regulation that is going to give the employee some right. And I am not one of those fellows who was born in Dutchess County. I don't like to brag about that.

Mr. SCHNEIDER. You spoke about the influence of the bank upon the employer and forcing him to do certain things with reference to wages, conditions, and so on. Have you in your experience found that this same banking interest or influence of large financial interests does force the employers to desist from giving favorbale expression to the Congress and to the Government in favor of legislation similar to this?

Mr. WHITE. That is right, sir.

Mr. SCHNEIDER. And also on the N. R. A.?

Mr. WHITE. That is right.

Mr. SCHNEIDER. The group of plunderers in Wall Street is determined that there shall be no legislation in the interest of the masses of the people of the country and to stabilize industry, and they use their mighty power in forcing the management of industry not to favor such legislation as this?

Mr. WHITE. That is right.

Mr. SCHNEIDER. And that is the menace we are up against now in this country.

Mr. WHITE. And we have found out since 1931 the bankers dictate, but they got away from it when the N. R. A. went in. The reason it was so successful and we did not hear much kicking for the first 6 months of the N. R. A. is that they had not gotten their lawyers to work on how to violate it. I say this without fear of contradictionand again I am speaking of my own territory-that I can name at least a hundred mills that kept in line with the 6 weeks of apprenticeship by laying people off and hiring new people so that they could have them at $6. I can name at least 25 mills that kept girls and worked them 6 weeks in this particular job and then would lay them off and bring them in and work them 6 weeks at another job in order to get them for the $8.40.

Mr. SCHNEIDER. It was just a miserable method of exploiting labor and defeating the purposes of the Government in the enactment of the N. R. A.

Mr. WHITE. It is the 10 percent of the employers that they cannot control.

I will now present these data to which I referred.

Magnes Bros. Silk Co., Trumansburg, N. Y., have increased hours to 45 per week, have stretched out to six looms on the night shift and workers are paid less than the minimum.

Record Silk Co., Trumansburg, N. Y., have increased hours to 45 per week, and wages are less than the minimum.

Bell Knitting Co., Sayre, Pa., formerly of Lebanon, Pa., are working 54 hours per week and pay their workers as low as $3 a week. Very few workers get more than $13 per week and this company takes 10 percent of the workers' pay on a promissory note employees must sign to get employment. This plant when operating full time will employ about 1,200.

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McGill Paris Fabric Corporation, Covington, Pa., work as many as 60 hours a week, pay as low as $5 a week. Pays only when he has the money. Owes many workers. Operate as high as eight hand-fed 2 by 1 looms.

Berger & Sherin Silk Co., Elmira, N. Y. This plant employs about 400 workers. Is working 48 hours, and pays the workers what they make on piece rates and many receive less than minimum. Run six looms in some cases.

Huguet Silk Co. of Hornell operating a weaving and dye shed at that place and a weaving plant at Wayland, N. Y., and throwing plant at Canisteo, N. Y., has abolished the minimum wage and pays the workers what they make.

Sidney Silk Co., Sidney, N. Y., has increased the loom load, decreased the wages less than the minimum and is working as many hours as the weavers will work, in some instances 55 hours.

A. and R. Silk Co., Elmira, N. Y., has abolished the minimum wage. Galeston Silk Co., Galeton, Pa., works 50 hours per week, three shifts, pays 26 cents per hour and has increased the machine load. Williamsport Silk Co., Williamsport, Pa., now operating on sixloom system with looms speeded to 160 picks per minute. Does not pay the minimum.

Warshaw Silk Co., operates on six-loom system and workers often have to work Saturday and Sunday, just as the company demands. Does not pay minimum.

Aaronson Silk Co., Williamsport, Pa., operates on six looms.

Demarest Silk Co., Williamsport, Pa., operates on six-loom system, does not pay minimum, operates three shifts.

Holmes Silk Co., Williamsport, Pa., runs six-loom system.

Lock Haven Silk Mill, Lock Haven, Pa., has abolished the minimum wage. Wages as low as $8 per week.

Susquehanna Silk Mills, Jersey Shore, Pa., has now closed its doors to the workers because they refused to operate 12 looms at the rate of $0.629 per hundred M picks. Does not pay minimum.

Dupont Rayon Co. of Buffalo, N. Y., has increased machine load so that in 1 year's time it has displaced over 200 workers and is obtaining more production than when those displaced were on the job.

National Worsted Mills, Jamestown, N. Y., operates 24 hours a week and pays its workers what it feels fit to. Wages are as low as $8 per week. This company was called before the Textile Board in hearing for discriminating against union workers.

Woolrich Woolen Mills, Woolrich, Pa., owned and operated by United States Congressman Robert F. Rich. Works 45 hours on day shift and 50 hours on night shift. Workers often paid less than the minimum.

Kanter Silk Co., Port Allegany, Pa., operates on 50-hour week and pays 26 cents per hour. Has also increased machine load.

All of the above-mentioned weaving plants formerly operated on the four-loom basis and paid not less than $13 per week. There are no exceptions.

The Fulton Silk Mills reduced wages from $1.60 per hundred thousand picks to $1.50.

All other mills in this territory have lived up to N. R. A. standards, with the exception of the Oneida Knitting Co., Utica, N. Y., which