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NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

RAYON AND SYNTHETIC 

YARN PRODUCING INDUSTRY 

AS SUBMITTED TO THE ADMINISTRATOR AUGUST 3, 1933 

AND AS APPROVED BY PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT 

ON AUGUST 26, 1933 

REGISTRY No. 259-01 

UNITED STATES 

GOVERNME: T PRINTING OFFICE 

W ASHI -GTON : 1933 

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REPORT TO THE ADMINISTRATOR-CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION, RAYON AND SYNTHETIC YARN PRODUCING 

INDUSTRY 

A GUST-, 1933 

EXECU TIVE ORDER 

CoDE oF FAIR CoMPETITION, RA Yo A D SY 'THETIC YARN 

PRODUCING INDUSTRY 

An application having be n duly made pursuant to and in full 

compliance with the provisions of title I of the National Industri al 

Recov-ery Act, approved Jun 16, 1933, for my approval of a Code of 

Fair Competition for the Rayon and Synthetic Yarn Producing 

Indu try, and hearings ha.ving been held thereon and the Adminis- trator having rendered his report containing n.n analysis of the said 

Code of Fair Competition together with his reccmmendn.tions n.nd 

finding with re pect thereto and the Administr tor having found 

that the said Code of Fair Competition complies in all re pects with 

the pertinent provi ions of tile I of said act and that the requirements 

of claus s (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of s ction 3 of the aid a t 

have been met: 

Now, therefor , I, Franklin D. Roos velt, President of the United 

States, pursuant to the authority vested in me by title I of the 

National Indu trial Recovery Act, approved June 16, 1933, and 

otherwi e, do n,pprove the report and adopt the findings of the Admin- istrator and do order that said Code of Fair Competition be, and it is 

hereby, approved on the condition, compliance \vith which is hereby 

required, that r ports shall be furnished from time to time to the 

Administrator by en,ch employer of the industry setting forth information on wages, hour of labor, and such other matters 'in such form, manner, and detail · s he may require. 

Approval Recommended: 

H uGHS. JoHKS01., 

Administrator. THE WHITE HousE, 

A'ngust 26, 1933. 

FRA TKLIN D. RoosEVELT. 

(1) 
2 

REPORT TO THE PRE~DENT 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

To THE PRESIDE T: 

INTRODUCTION 

This i a report of th Hearing on the Code of Fair Competition for 

the Rayon and $ynthetic Yarn Producing Industry conducted in the 

Caucus Room of the Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on 

July 27, 1933, in ::tecordance ·with the provisions of the Nationn1 

Industrial Recovery Act. 

The following exhibits are included and attached: 

1. Final Code submitted. 

2. Notice of Hearing. 

3. Statement of procedure. 

4. Tran cript of the Records. 

5. Report of the Deputy . 

GENERAL CHARACTER! TICS OF THE I DUSTRY 

The proponents of the Code represented: 

(a) That the Rayon and Synthetic Yarn Producing Industry in the 

United States is composed of eighteen different companies, the total 

production of which i approximately 224,900,000 pounds per year. 

(b) That there are four processes used in the manufacture of rayon 

and synthetic yarn at the present time. These processes are: 

First-Visco e, 14 companie , 175,500,000 lb. per Yr. 

Second-Cellulose Acetate, 5 companies, 35,400,000 lb. per Yr. 

Third -Nitro-cellulose, 1 company, 8,000,000 lb. per Yr. 

Fourth-Cupra-ammonium, 2 companies, 6,000,000 lb. per Yr. 

(c) That all four of these processes are alike in that they start from 

the same raw matnrials, either purified cotton or wood pulp, and by 

chemic" l r actions make solutions which are afterwards spun into 

threads, the only differences being the chemicals used in the preparation of the solutions. 

(d) That all the yarns n1ade by all four of the above proce ses are 

sold to the sa1ne classes of customers, in the great majority of case 

interchangeably. This i not true in all ase , but does apply as a 

general rule. For example, the largest outlet for rayon and synthetic. 

arn is in the '''eaving industry and this industry uses yarns made 

by all four pro"es es. (e) That the differences between the yarn are minor ones, such a 

differences in dying, differ nces in degree of lustre, differ nee in 

1nelting point, etc. 

From a review of the records it appears that thi industry, in contrast to 1nost other manufacturino- industries, ha shown a r markable 

r si tance to the for e of the depres ion. Estimated y arly output 

ha shown an increase in each year since the indu try became commer ially important, until the year of 1932' hen a r ce of 9 percent 

was reported. However, it is stimated that the production for the 

y ar of 1933 may exceed all previous records. 

The remarkable growth in the consumpti n of ra on ince the war 

i explained in no mall d oT by he tr nd of pri s. The a erage 

price in the p ak year of 1919 wa approximately $4.77 per pound 

(150 denier grade A), since whi h tim price ha e b n reduced until 
3 

the record low price of $0.55 per pound for the same grade was reached 

in April of 1933. Since that time prices h ave been increa ed to $0.65 

per pound, which is approximately 4 7.5 percent below the average 

1929 level. 

The indu try now employs approximately 41,000 persons, and in 

contrast to most other industries the number of wage earners in the 

industry in June of 1933 exceeded the average number employed in 

the indu try in the year of 1929, and it is estimated that, after giving 

effect to the maximum hours in the Code, the nun1ber of employees 

will ex eed by more than ten percent the gr atest number previously 

employed in the industry. 

No accurate statistics are available as to the average hours of work 

per week in the industry, but study of the available data indicates an 

average employment week of 44.8 hours in the year of 1930 with a 

minimum of 37.4 in July of 1932 and 45.3 per week in June of 1933-

the code provides for a maximum of 40 hours per week. 

The average wages paid in the industry have been somewhat lower 

than the average wages for all manufacturing industry- $1,000 per 

annum in 1931 as compared to $1,102 for all manufacturing industry. As the Division of Research and Planning points out, this may 

be attributed to (a) a larger proportion of female employees (about 

30 percent compared with 13 percent for all industries) and (b) a 

a lesser degree of skill required than is generally true in other branch s 

of industry. 

On the other hand wages in this industry hav-e suffered much less 

during the depression than those of other industries. Average 

weekly earnings of workers vary between a high of $21.87 inN ovember 

1929 and a low of $15.62 in July 1932-however, records show such 

average to have reached $16 .27 in May 1933. A calculation on the 

basis of 1929 purchasing power of the dollar indicates that the aforesaid average wage in 11ay, of 1933 had an actual 'real wage ' of 

$23.55, or, in other words, the r eal earnings of labor in the ra on indus~ ry have increased during the depression. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The proponents of the Code, in their application for approval, statoo 

that they represented approximately 80% of the number of companies 

engaged in the industry and approximately 90% of the production of 

rayon and synthetic yam. 

In the report of the Deputy Administrator, which I hereby appro,Te, 

it appears that: 

(1) The code establishes maximum hours and minimum wage::> for 

all employees in the industry, except those serving in executive, 

administrati e, supervisory, out ide sales and/or technical capacities. 

(2) The provision of the code relating to maxin1um hours of labor 

will bring about the employment of from 3,500 to 4,500 additional 

employees. 

(3) The minimum wage of $13.00 will directly affect more than 

6,000 employees and will result in a subsfantial increase in the wage 

rate paid to all employees. Moreover, that the minin1um waae 

expressed in terms of 'real wage" adjusted to the cost of living index 

for the month of June of 72.8 percent (U.S. Department of Commerce 

Report of August) will exceed the rninii11um prevailing in the industry 

in the year of 1929. 
4 

(4) No employer in the industry will employ any minor under the 

age of 16 years, or provide a wage for apprentices of less than 85% of 

the minimum wage established by the Code. 

I find that-

(a) The Code comp-lies in e-ll respects with the pertinent provisions 

of Title I of the Act, including, without limitation, sub-section (a) 

of Section 7, and subsection (b) of Section 10 thereof; and that 

(b) The Cod"' is not designed to promote monopolies or to eliminate 

or oppress sn1all enterprises and will not operate to discriminate 

against them, and will tend to effectuate the policy of Title I of the 

National Industrial Recovery Act. 

Accordingly, I hereby recommend the approval of the Code of Fair 

Competition for the Rayon and Synthetic Yarn Producing Industry. 

Respectfully subm.itted. 

HuGH S. JoHNSON, Administrator. 

REPORT OF DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR ON THE CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE RAYON AND SYNTHETIC YARN PRODUCING 

INDUSTRY 

Attached to this report are: 

1. Original Application for Approval. 

2. Code as finally revised. 

3. Reports by-

(a) Industrid Advisor. 

(b) Labor Advisory Co·mmittee. 

(c) Consumers Committee. 

(d) Approval of Legal Division. 

4. Copy of the Order calling a Public Hearing on the Code. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

I recomm,~nd (a) the approval of the Code of Fair Competition for 

the Rayon and Synthetic Yarn Producing Industry, (b) that the 

agency provided for in the Code, shall be required to file with the 

Administrator reports setting forth, in a manner and detail approved 

by the Administrator, statistics and information as to \Yages, hours 

of labor, and such other data required by the Administl"ator as will 

further the purpose of the Act and facilitate enforcement of this 

Code; because on material pTesented at the hearings and otherwise it 

appears that: 

1. The Code establishes maximum hours and minimum wage for 

all employees of that industry except thoso serving in executive, ad- ministrative, supervisory, outside sales and/or techincal capacities. 

2. The maximum hours of labor established by the Code will 

require the employ1nent of from 3,500 to 4,500 additional employeesan increase of approximately 10%. This will result in the employ- ment by the industry of a greater number of persons than at the peak 

of operations in 1929 or at any other time during the hi toTy of the 

indu try. The maximum hours established are 40 hour"' per week, 

subject to the flexible provision that the average hour of work per 

week by any individual employ e not exempt from thi provision 

shall not exceed the maximum established when figured over a period 

of four week , and further that in the case of en1ergency the maximum 

hours as applied to maintenance and repair crews may be extended 
5 

for tl1e time of the mergency only and in whic 1 la tt r event a record 

shall be made of the circum tance nd reported t th a()"en"y s t up 

within the industry for cooper tino· with and reporting to the 

Administrator. 

3. The Code stablishe minimum wages which are at the rate of 

$13.00 per week except for apprenti es who for a six week ' peri d 

may receive remuneration at the rate of 85 0 f th e tabli hed 

minimum-such minimum applies throughout the entire indu try 

including South as well a North, there being no geogTaphlcal differential. 

4. The minimum wage of $13.00' ill-

(a) Affect more than 6,000 employee . (b) Establish minimum weekly earnings, the purcha ing power of 

which, adjusted to a cost of living index of 72.8 (United States 

Department of Commerce Survey of Current Bu iness for August), 

will substantially exceed that of the lowe t wages prevailing in the 

industry in the year 1929. The minimum wage of $13 .00 per week 

has a purchasing power equivalent to $17.80 per week in 1929, whereas 

the 6,000 lowest paid employees in the industry in 1929 received an 

average wage of approximately $14.00 per ·week, according to the 

best available statistics. 

(c) Provide a minimum wage for apprentices the purchasing pO\\er 

of which is today greater than the purchasing power received by 

higher paid classes of employees in this industry in the year 192g. 

5. The rate of all employees other than tho e receiving the minimum are to be rai ed o that the differen+ials between clas ~es of em- ployees will be maintained by payment of a rate which must resu]t in 

their receiving no less for 40 hours a ·week than was receive or would 

have been received for that class of work for 48 hours per \veek on 

May 1, 1933. The effer·t of such adju tment cannot be determined 

accurately because of the lack of detai~ed tutistic but estimates 

based on v the best information a\ ailable indi"ate that the application 

of the Code will re ult in an average \vage of more than $20 a vveek. 

Such a wage would have a purchasing power equivalent to that of 

$27.50 per week in 1929, or substantially greater than the average 

wage paid in 1929 which was 520.68 . 

The negotiations with the committee representing the industry 

carried on prior to the hearing were conducted with the advice of 

Mr. Rufus Scott (AdYisor for Industry sel cted bv the Industrial 

Advisory Committee) and Mr. Francis J. Gorman (Labor Advi or 

selected by the Labor Advisory Committee) and all provisions of saicl 

Code so negotiated were conceded by all to be reasonable and fair 

and in full co pliance with the pirit of the Recovery Act. The 

diffi,..ulty of obtaining accurate tatistics re ulted in faihue on the 

part of the Divi ion of Research and Planning to participate in the 

negotiations or in the hearing. Their report, sub equently completed 

(copy of which is attached), supports the above out1in d conclusions 

except that it uggest that the relati\e prosw•rity of the jndu try 

warrants a higher minimun1 wage. 

Notwithstanding the relative prosperity, which the industry has 

experienced, no higher minimum than that established in the Code is 

recommended at this time b··cause of the fact: 

(a) Provisions of the Code seem to fully comply with the purpose 

of the Act. 
6 

(b) Provisions as to wages and hours were conceded by other 

advisors to be fair and reasonable, and 

(c) Any calculations· resulting in higher minirnum should be based 

upon more Hccurate statistics. The con1.pilation and filing of such 

statistics should be required of the industry immediately and modifications be made in the Code as warranted by such reports. The Code was presented by a ·group of 14 manufacturers claiming 

to represent 80% in numbers and 90% of the production of synthetic 

yarn in the United States. The application for approval of the Code 

was signed by the duly authorized officers of each company. 

BRIEF REVIEW OF HEARING 

Clause II of the Code defines the Rayon and Synthetic Yarn Pro- ducing Industry "to mean the manufacture of rayon and/or synthetic 

yarns from cellulose, put up and packaged in forms suitable for the 

various consuming and fabricating branches of the textile industry." 

At the hearing, protest was filed by two companies, the Cellanese 

Corporation of America and the Tennessee-Eastman Corporation, 

who objected to the Code definition of the Industry on the grounds 

that it would include their operations under the Code. The protestants, representing themselves as the producers of more than 80% 

of the cellulose acetate type of synthetic yaTn, testified that they did 

not consider themselves a part of the "Rayon" industry and wished 

to file a separate code. (Transcript of hearing Page 42 to 75.) 

The protestants did not deny that their product was synthetic 

yarn and did not object to any of the provisions of the Code-except 

that they insisted that all supervision of their industry should be 

through an agency of their own selection. 

At the conclusion of the hearing, the Deputy Administrator endeavored through negotiation to reconcile the differences between 

these two groups but being unsuecessful, recomn1.ends the approval of 

this Code and upon application of the protestsnts the granting of a 

hearing on their plea for exemption. 

CONCLUSIO S 

I find that-

(a) The Code complies in all respects with the pertinent provisions 

of Title I of the Act, including, without limitation, subsection (a) 

of Section 7, and subsection (b) of Section 10 thereof; and that 

(b) the Code is not designed to promote rnonopolies or to eliminate 

or oppress small enterprises and will not operate to di criminate 

against them, and will tend to effectuate the policy of Title I of the 

National Industrial Recovery Act. 

Accordingly, it is recommended that the Code of Fair Competition 

for the Rayon and Synthetic Yarn Producing Industry be approved. 

Respectfully submitted. 

AUGUST 19, 1933. 

W. L. ALLEN, 

Deputy Administ1·atoT. 
7 

APPLICATION-CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION, RAYON AND SYNTHETIC YARN PRODUCING INDUSTRY 

APPLICATION TO THE PRESIDE T OF THE UNITED STATES FOR APPROVAL oF A CoDE oF FAIR CoMPETITIO FOR THE RAYON A ·D 

SYNTHETIC yARN PROD CI G I -D STRY 

Thi application is made on behalf of the firms or corporations 

listed hereunder (all boing producers of rayon and/or synthetic arn), 

and epre enting approximately O% in numbers and 90 % in production of the 'Rayon and Synthetic Yarn Indu try." And the 

firms or corporations listed hereunder (all being producers of rayon 

and/or synthetic yarn), where signed immediately beneath the name 

of the firm or corporation, subscribe to this application and to the 

following documents. 

CODE FOR RAYO A D SL THE'l'IC YARN PRODUCI G L.D TRY A .D 

BRIEF OF THE RAYON AND SY l'HETIC YARN PROD ·ciNG IXD"G TRY 

AS UPPLEME TARY I .FOR;i,1ATION FOR IT ~ APPLIED FOR CODE 

Acme Rayon Corporation, by Chas. A. Huttinger, vice pre ident. 

American Bemberg corporation, by S. R. Fuller, Jr., president. 

American Enka Corporation by C. Me. Carr. American Gla.tJ.z toff Corporation, by S. R. Fuller, Jr., pre ident. 

Belamose Corporation, by G. T. Loveridge, plant manager. 

D elaware Rayon Corporation, by Leon H. Ryan, treasurer. 

Du Pont Raj on Company, by L. A. Yerke , pre ident. 

Hampton Company, by William F. Guinan. 

Industrial Rayon Corporation, by H. B. Kline \ic pr sident. 

New Bedford Rayon Company, by A. Ruth, plan uperL.1.tendent. Skenandoa Ra. on Corporation, by Beecher M. Crou e, president. Turbize Chatillon Corporation by Rufu s W. "ott, chairman, executive com. 

The Viscose Company, by S. A. Sahrage, presi ent. 

Woonsocket Rayon Corporation, by George R. Lc k, ard pre ident. 

u TITED STATE OF AMERICA, 

District of Columbia, ss: 

I, E. R. \an Vliet beino- duly S\\<·orn, do hereby certify thnt I am 

the Secretary of the Code Corrunittee for the Rayon and ynthetic 

Yarn Prorlucing Industry and that attached hereto is a true and correct 

copy of the Code of that Indu try as adopted by the foregoin()' companie ; and I further certify that each of the foregoin hav signed 

and adopted the attached Code. 

E. R. A~ 1 YLIET. 

Sub cribed and worn to before me this 3rd day of Augu-st A.D. 

1933. 

E. 1. 

Notary Public in and fol' the District of Columbia. 

rnis ion expire July 10, 1938. 

T 

OLAXD. 

My com-
8 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION, RAYON AND SYNTHETIC YARN 

PRODUCING INDUSTRY 

To effectuate the policy of Title I of the National Industrin1 

Recovery Act, during the period of the emergency, by reducing and 

relieving unemplo ment and improving the standards of labor, the 

following provisions are establi hed as a code for the rayon and/or 

synthetic yarn producing industry: 

I. This cod is ba ed upon the fact that an inherent characteristic 

of the manufacture of synthetic arns is that production must of nece~ ity be continuous-the chemical and textile departments being 

in balance; hus any limitation of the hours of machinery cannot 

economically appl to the rayon and synthetic yarn producing industr and still ha e the industr survive. (See brief attached.) 

II. The term "ra on and synthetic yarn producing industry", as 

used herein is defined to mean the manufacture of rayon and/or 

syn hetic yarns from cellulose put up and packaged in orms suitable 

for the Yariou consuming and fabricating branches of the textile 

indu trJ. 

III. The term "effective date" as used herein is defined to be the 

four eenth day aft r this code shall ha e been approved by the 

Pre ident. 

I\ . The term "employees: a used herein shall include all persons 

employed in the condu t of the ra on and ynthetic yarn producing 

industry. The term "employers" as usad herein hall include all 

natural person , partner hips, a ociations, corporations, and trusts, 

including tru ees in bankruptcy and receivers, who employ labor in 

the conduct of any branch of the rayon and ynthetic yarn produeing 

industry. 

Y. On and after the effective date, employers in the ra on and 

syntheti yarn producing industry hall operate on the following 

schedule of hour of labor and wage : 

(a) The maxin1un1 hour of labor of all employees-except those 

erving in executive, admini trativ , supervi ory, outside sales and/or 

technical capacities- hall b forty per week subject to the fie:._-ible 

p:rovi ion that the averug hours worked per week by an individual 

emplo:yee no exempt from this provision shall not exceed the nlaxi- mum establi hed ,,·hen figured over a perod of four weeks. In ca e 

of emergenc the maximum hours a applied to maintenance and 

repair rew rna be extended for the time of the emergenc only, in 

which latter vent a record hall be made of the circumstanoes and 

reported to th ageney hereinafter provided for in Article YIII. 

(b) Ina mu has ome manufacturer of thi industry have alread 

mad some adju tments in houT and wage , and have recentl rai ed 

rate of pa and ina much as this code now propo es in Clause (a) 

next preceding to establi h a uniform pra ti of 40 houTs maximum 

emplo ment for employees no ernplo ee- x ept those exempted in 

Clau e (a) next preceding- hall after the effecti date receive for the 

said 40-hour peri d of work le s compensation than " -as recei d or 

' ould hav been receiv d b aid employee for 4 hour of labor, as 

of 111a 1933; and on and aft r the eff ctiv date, th minimun1 wa ·e 

which shall b paid b:y mployers in th rayon and ynthetic yarn 

producing indu tr to any mployee-except tho e xempted in 

Clause (a) next pr eding-wh th r th wag is based upon productive 

ffort or efficien y or hourly rate , shall be at th rate of $13.00 per 
9 

week for 40 hours of labor-except appr nticcs during a period limited 

to ix weeks shall be paid at th ra ·e f 85% of the mjnimum wage 

p cified her in. VI. No employer in the ray nand ynthetic yarn producing indu - try shall employ any minor under the ag f si:'.:teen years. VII. Employ rs shall comply vvith the requirements of Section 7 

(a) of Title 1 of the National Industrial Recovery A t as follows: 

1 Employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collec- tively through representatives of their own choosino·, and shall be 

free from the interfm· nee, restraint, or coercion of empl yers of labor, 

or their agen · s, in the d ignation of such representatives or in selforganization or in other concerted activities for the purpose of collec- tive bargaining or other mutual aid or protection . 2. No employee and no one seeking employment shall be re·quired 

as a condition of employment to join any company union or to refrain 

from joining, organizing, or assisting a labor organization of his own 

choosing. 

3. Employers shall comply with the maximum hours of labor, 

minimum rates of pay, and other conditions of employment, approved 

or prescribed by the President. 

VIII. The industry shall set up within it elf an agency to cooperate 

with the Adn1inistrator in the administration and enforcement of this 

Code. IX. The President may frorn time to time cancel or modify any 

order, approval, license, rule, or regulation i sued under Title I of the 

National Industrial Recoverv Act. 

The undersigned companies being engaged in the Rayon and 

Synthetic Yarn Producing Industry hereby sub cribe to the above 

Proposed Code of Fair Competition and request its recommendation 

by the National Industrial Recovery Administration to the President 

of the United States for approval. 

0