Mr. GRIFFIN. And you were allowed by the Bureau of the Budget $2,040?

Mr. GOMPERS. Yes, sir.

Mr. SHREVE. That is about 30 per cent?

Mr. GRIFFIN. Yes; that would only allow you to give them 1-te promotions, you say?

Mr. GOMPERS. That would only allow 1-step promotions for approximately 80 per cent of those entitled to it.

Mr. GRIFFIN. Then there woull still be some individuals left out. Mr. GOMPERS. That is true. We figure that 1-step promotions would require $4,280. I imagine that my estimate was a little to high. When I said 80 per cent I was wrong-that would not :50 per cent.

ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES FOR LIBRARY

The positions that the Bureau of the Budget allocated in the Library are positions that the Department of Labor has needed for many, many years. The librarian is constantly informing the S retary and his assistants that she is not able to do certain this required of her because she has not the force to keep the supply of books up to date, their cataloguing, and so forth, so that the mater 2. would be available when bureau chiefs are making studies.

Mr. SHREVE. And three new employees were recommended! Mr. GOMPERS. Three new employees were requested of the Bures. of the Budget and recommended. They are included in the estimate. Mr. SHREVE. At a total salary of $6,400?

Mr. GOMPERS. Yes, sir.

Secretary DOAK. I might say, in connection with that, that we have not had our library in the condition in which it should b Contrary, perhaps, to the general understanding, we need a library very badly. There are so many things that we have to go into. 0: department is particularly dealing with the human element n than any other department of the Government. I do hope you wi go just as far as you can on that particular item.

CONTINGENT EXPENSES, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mr. SHREVE. We will take up the item, "Contingent exper

For contingent and miscellaneous expenses, of the offices and bure, is the department, for which appropriations for contingent and misceli Tete expenses are not specifically made, including the purchase of stat furniture, and repairs to the same,

And so forth. You are asking $61,800 as against $55,500 in 19 1 Will you explain the increase that is requested?

INCREASES REQUESTED FOR BOOKS, PERIODICALS, ETC., FOR LIBRARY

Mr. GOMPERS. The first item of increase is the increase in the ai... ment for the library from $3,650 to $5,000.

The librarian claims, when she is called upon to get books for the department," My money is all obligated, I can not get them." W have no other fund from which to get books, periodicals, and newspapers, and in order to give her sufficient money to buy the ¬uppy of books required by the various activities of the department, t

keep up to date on the current literature on those subjects in which the department is interested, it is necessary that her allotment be increased to $5,000.

Mr. OLIVER. That increase represents the amount you require for your library?

Mr. GOMPERS. This particular increase is from $3,650 to $5,000, an increase of $1,350.

SUPPLIES OF THE IMMIGRATION SERVICE

Mr. SHREVE. Will you explain the increase which is contained in the following language?

And in addition thereto such sums as may be necessary, not in excess of $25,000, to facilitate the purchase, through the central purchasing office as provided in the Act approved June 17, 1910, of certain supplies for the Immigration Service.

The increase there proposed is from $13,500 to $25,000.

Mr. GOMPERS. That is for small supplies for the Immigration Service. That item of $13,500 is taken from the appropriation, "Expenses of regulating immigration " and transferred to the contingent fund each year, and has been in effect, I can not say how long.

It was in effect when the Department of Commerce and Labor were split up and the Department of Labor became a separate unit. Thirteen thousand five hundred dollars were transferred to buy supplies and equipment, small equipment for the bureaus. We buy in quantity and issue to them in smaller quantities at a considerable saving.

When the Department of Labor took over that work, the appropriation for the Immigration Service was approximately $3,000,000. To-day it is close to $10,000,000 and still only $13,500 is allowed for the purchase of these supplies. It is not sufficient. It runs out at the end of six months and then we have got to buy things direct for the Immigration Service which involves a great amount of bookkeeping, clerical, and paper work.

Mr. OLIVER. How much of an increase in appropriations is carried in this proposed increase in limitation?

Mr. GOMPERS. None.

Mr. SHREVE. No, it is just a transfer. I remember we had this same matter up last year, did we not?

Mr. GOMPERS. Yes. You suggested that we make a change.

RENT OF TABULATING MACHINES, ETC., FOR NATURALIZATION BUREAU

Mr. GOMPERS. Mr. Chairman, I did not cover the other increases. The Bureau of Naturalization is putting into effect its statistical work which will require the renting of punching machines and tabulating machines, and installation of approximately $4,000 worth of filing equipment to take care of the tabulated cards, which are a record of aliens naturalized and must be kept as such and therefore must be filed.

The first estimate is for 100 file cases and that will cost approximately $4,000. That pretty nearly accounts for that whole item. The punching machines and the library accounts for the increase of $6,300.

RENT OF BUILDING

Mr. SHREVE. Your rental item, which is on page 425, amounts to $68,000, which amount remains unchanged.

Mr. GOMPERS. That is under a lease each year; yes, sir.

PRINTING AND BINDING

Mr. SHREVE. The next item is for printing and binding.

For printing and binding for the Department of Labor, including all its bureaus, offices, institutions and services located in Washington, District 4 Columbia, and elsewhere, $296,500.

In 1931 you had $240,500. There is a proposed increase of $56,00. Please explain that.

Mr. GOMPERS. The number of cards required in the statistical work of the Bureau of Naturalization, together with the blank forms preliminary to the making of the cards, it is estimated will cost approximately $10,000. The placing into the field of certain activities by law required the installation of new blanks for keeping track of income, which item was estimated at $1,500.

The Children's Bureau of the department never have had sufcient money to print their popular pamphlets, and they have, in addition to that, some technical bulletins which they want to prili and they are asking for an increase of $20,000 for printing. Mr. OLIVER. Over the amount allowed for 1931?

Mr. GOMPERS. Yes.

Mr. OLIVER. Would that include the special amount which we indicated we desired them to have?

Mr. GOMPERS. Yes, sir.

Mr. ACKERMAN. Would that bring all their work up to date!
Mr. GOMPERS. It would bring the printing up to date.
Mr. ACKERMAN. I mean the printing.

Mr. GOMPERS. They would be able to print the bulletins which were ready to print.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, due to the economic situation. must get out bulletins that they have not previously gotten out. They have always been starved for printing money and they have asked for an increase of $21,000.

The Women's Bureau with an increase of nearly 50 per cent in its appropriation this year will surely need the $3,500 addtional which they ask for.

The department library has been handicapped for the past sereral years on account of not having sufficient money to bind its books and pamphlets. They buy the books in phamphlet form, a great many of them, and they must be bound. I have here a statement of the increase in the binding and each year the Librarian calls up and says that she wants more binding done and we have not the money to do it.

Mr. GRIFFIN. Where do you send the books to be bound!
Mr. GOMPERS. To the Printing Office.

In 1926, for instance, they spent $3,388 for binding, for the library.
In 1927, $2,464.

In 1928, $2,835.

In 1929, due to a shortage of money, we could only allow them $2,954. In 1930, it was $4,715 and still there was a big batch of books that could not be bound before the end of the year which had to be put in after the beginning of this fiscal year. It puts an additional burden on the printing for 1931 and naturally will force over from 1931 to 1932 a certain amount. I want to say in addition that we have carried over from last year over $16,000 for printing which we could not have done in 1930 and which had to be passed on to 1931.

Mr. GRIFFIN. Before you leave the binding item, may I ask how many books you bind on the average in a year?

Mr. GOMPERS. In 1930 it was 1,539 volumes.

Mr. GRIFFIN. What was the cost of binding those books at the Public Printer's?

Mr. GOMPERS. They range from $1.50 to $3. It is all according to the size of the book and the class of the binding. But now they bind them uniformly in the same kind of binding, except in different colors.

Mr. GRIFFIN. You are only speaking now of the number of books that you had money sufficient to bind. You have other books that you did not have money enough to bind. How many books would you have to bind every year?

Mr. GOMPERS. That would be difficult to state here for the reason that in 1929, as I said, we only took care of 1,075 books. But there was a great mass of books that had to be carried over into 1930 and at the end of 1930 there was a batch that had to be carried over into 1931. But I think 2,000 a year would be a fair average.

Mr. GRIFFIN. Have you given any thought to the idea that if you employed a binder by the year, you could accomplish all the needs of your bureau without having to send over to the Public Printer, and save a little money?

Mr. GOMPERS. I doubt it. The wages of a bookbinder would be approximately $2,400 or $2,500 a year. His equipment would cost a lot of money and it would cost a lot to maintain the office and for his supplies. I do not think it would be an economical proposition. Mr. STEWART. It would be against the law, too.

Mr. GOMPERS. The Public Printer would not permit it. The law requires all printing and binding to be done at the Printing Office. Of course, it could be done by special legislation, I suppose, but to my mind it would not be economical.

Mr. SHREVE. Do you expect to be able to cover all the items you have mentioned with the $56,000?

Mr. GOMPERS. I do not believe that will cover all of them. But it is thought that by economical handling we can get the printing and binding we actually must have.

Mr. OLIVER. How much of an increase does that represent?

Mr. GOMPERS. $56,500.

Mr. OLIVER. And your appropriation last year was $240,500? Mr. GOMPERS. Yes, sir.

Mr. OLIVER. AS I understand, the amount that you have found it necessary to carry over because of lack of funds was about $16,000? Mr. GOMPER. $16,000.

30883-30- -2

Mr. OLIVER. If you get a 20 per cent increase in your appropriation on one item, I think you are doing pretty well.

Mr. WHITE. Did not the Librarian furnish you with a list of the number of books that should have been bound and that you were not able to bind for each year? I am not referring to the amount of money involved but the number of books.

Mr. GOMPERS. It varies.

Mr. WHITE. How many did you carry over-how many books! Mr. GOMPERS. I think there were about 190 books in the last lot that we held over.

Mr. OLIVER. We want a discussion of the essential and nonessential factors, you understand.

Mr. GOMPERS. Of course, I want to say, Mr. Oliver, that every book that is ordered is passed on by the Librarian first. The order is sent up and passed upon by the chief clerk then passed on and approved by the head or acting head of the department. She does not have the full authority to go ahead. Of course, it is impo sible to go behind every order; however, she is called upon to ac count once every so often as to why this book or that book necessary.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1930,

COMMISSIONERS OF CONCILIATION

STATEMENT OF HUGH L. KERWIN, DIRECTOR OF CONCILIATION

Mr. SHREVE. The next item is Commissioners of Conciliation. To enable the Secretary of Labor to exercise the authority vested in him by section 8 of the act creating the Department of Labor,

And so forth, $205,000.

That is the same amount as you had in 1931 and in 1930.

ACTIVITIES OF BUREAU

Will you tell us how you have been getting along with that appropriation?

Mr. KERWIN. The estimate for conciliation for the next fiscal year is the same amount as we are now receiving and have received for the previous two fiscal years and we are keeping within the limits of the appropriation. We are glad to state that so far as serious trade disputes are concerned there are very few in the country.

At the present time, while little notice is given to the work of conciliation because we do not court publicity, we have 50 labr disputes before the service for mediation. I have just checked over the records before I came here to-day. Of the 50 labor disputes submitted for adjustment 31 are listed as strikes while 19 are threatened strikes.

In the 19 cases work continues while our representatives are endeavoring to work out adjustments.

As a matter of interest, of the 31 strikes, 7 are in the building trades, 6 in the textile industry, 5 in the clothing industry, 5 in the