Registry No. 1713-2-09 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

PROPOSED CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

FURNITURE WAREHOUSE 

SHIPPING AND MOVING INDUSTRY 

AS SUBMITTED ON AUGUST 31, 1933 

WE DO OUR PART 

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The~Code for the Furniture Warehouse, Shipping, and Moving Industry 

in its present form merely reflects the proposal of the above-mentioned 

industry, and none of the proi1isions contained therein are 

to be regarded as having received the approval of 

the National Recovery Administration 

as applying to this industry 

UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON : 1933 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D .C. - - - - - - Price 5 cents 

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SUBMITTED B't 

NATIONAL F RNITURE WAREHOUSE~IE~'S ASSOCIA'.rION 

(II) 
CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE INDUSTRY 

ENGAGED IN THE STORING, PACKING, SHIPPING, AND 

MOVING (LOCAL AND LONG DISTANCE) OF USED 

HOUSEHOLD GOODS, PRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL 

FURNITURE WAREHOUSEMEN'S ASSOCIATION 

ARTICLE I-PURPOSE 

Thi c_ode is set up for the purpose of increasing employment, 

establishing fa_ir and adequate wages, effecting necessary reduction of 

hours, improving tandards of labor, and eliminating unfair trade 

practices, to the end that this unit of Industry contribute its part 

toward establishing that balance of indu tries which is necessary to 

the restoration and maintenance of the highest practical degree of 

public welfare. 

It is the declared purpose of this group of Industry and of the 

adherents of thi code to bring, insofar as may be practicable, the 

rates of minimum wage paid within this section of industry to such 

levels as are necessary for the creation and maintenance of the highest practicable standard of living; to restore the income of enter- prises within the industry to levels which will make possible the 

payment of such wages and avoid the further depletion and destruction of capital assets; and from time to time revise the rates of wages 

as will currently reflect the equitable adjustment to variations in the 

cost of living. 

ARTICLE II-PARTICIPATION 

This Code of Fair Competition, and any other subsequent revision 

or addition to it, shall apply to any person, firm, or corporation in 

the United States that is engaged in the business of storing, packing, 

shipping, and moving (local or long distance) of used Household 

Goods. 

This obligation applies to all persons, firms, or corporations 

engaged in handling used Household Goods for which it receives 

compensation in the form of a fee or othe,r consideration. 

ARTICLE III-MoNOPOLIES 

This Code of Fair Competition is not designed to promote monopolies or to eliminate or oppre s small enterprises, and will not operate 

to discriminate against th~m, and will tend to effectuate the policy 

set forth in title one of the National Industrial Recovery Act. 

ARTICLE IV 

ADMINISTRATION A 

For the purpose of administering this Code of Fair Competition 

for those engaged in Storing, Packing, Shipping, and Moving (local 

9702-33 (1) 
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and long distance) of used Household Goods, the United States shall 

be divided into regions as follows: 

Region No. 1.-Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, 

Rhode Island, and Connecticut. 

Region No. £.-The Metropolitan district of Greater -New York. 

Region No. 3.-New York and New Jersey, not including the New 

York Metropolitan district, and Pennsylvania. 

Region No. 4-Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, and 

Virginia. 

Region No. 5.-N orth Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and 

Florida. 

Region No. 6.-W est Virginia, l(entucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and 

Mississippi. 

Region No. 7-Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, not including the Upper 

. Peninsula, Illinois, except the Metropolitan district of Chicago. 

Region No. 8-The Metropolitan district of Chicago from Gary, 

Indiana, to Waukegan, including Kankakee, Illinois, and the area 

east of the Fox River. 

Region No. 9.-Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of 

Michigan. 

R egion No. 10.-Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. 

Region No. 11.-Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, 

Arkansas, and Louisiana. 

Region No. l f.-Wyoming, Montana, North and SouH1 Dakota. 

Region No. 13.-Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. 

Region No.14.-Arizona, Utah, California, and Hawaiian Islands. 

ADMINISTRATION B 

The operation of this Code of Fair Competition shall be administered by a General Industry Control Board whose members shall 

consist of the officers and directors of the National Furniture Warehousemen's Association and other per on or persons who in the 

judgement of the President shall be invited to bec01ne members of 

the Board in order to make same truly representative of the industry. 

The President of the National Furniture ,v arehousemen's Association shall be its Chairman and shall convene Board at uch time and 

place as he may elect for the purpo e of organization. 

There shall be organized in each region Industry Control Boards 

by the General Industry Control Board and under rules laid down 

by the General Industry Control Board for the purpose of the 

administration of thi Code. 

ADMINI TRATION C 

The General Industry Control Board, with the cooperation of the 

Local Industry Control Boards, shall have the authority to require 

from each and every firm, corporation, or individual in this industry 

any reports or other information necessary for the enforcement of 

this Code. Each firm, corporation, or individual shall keep records 

and books of accounts in such form as may in the judgment of 

the General Industry Control Board be necessary for the proper 

administration of this Code. 
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ARTICLE V-LABOR CODE 

All firms, corporations, or individuals shall subscribe to the following provisions as provided by the National Industrial Recovery 

Act, viz: 

a. ~mployees in this industry shall have the right to organize and 

bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. 

b. No employee in this industry and no one seeking employment 

therein shall be required as a condition of employment to join any 

company union or to refrain from joining a labor organization of 

his own choosing. 

c. Employers of labor in this industry agree to comply with the 

maximum hours of labor, minimum rates of pay,. and other workjng 

conditions approved or prescribed by the President of the United 

States. 

NoTE.-This portion of the code is not completed but will await information 

from the subscribers to the code as to their ideas on the maximum hours and 

minimum wages, which figures will be consolidated, and members of the regions 

will be advised as to the results of the information gathered by the code committee. For purpose of uniformity we are attaching a form, which please fill 

<,4Jt ana return, together with comments on the balance of the code. 

ARTICLE VI-TRADE PRACTICES AND RULES OF CONDUCT 

Signatories to this Code shall under no circumstances whatsoever 

1nisrepresent to the public their facilities. 

The handling of Household Goods is a business fiduciary in char-

:acter and is built upon trust and confidence and any breach of 

-faith will be considered a violation of this Code. 

Misrepresentation does not necessarily have to be misstatement 

,of facts, but to state the facts that an inference is drawn contrary 

to what is expressly stated. 

No secret agreements shall be entered into contrary to the tariff 

provisions of this Code. No price that is deceptive or misleading 

1nay be advertised or quoted. Quotations must be m_ade in writing 

wh'enever possible to avoid misunderstanding. Complaints for loss 

and damage must be investigated and disposed of promptly. In -disposing of unclaimed household goods in storage, strict compliance with the law is necessary. Unfair statements about competitors, not based on facts, are prohibited. 

The different services as provided in the tariffs filed are separate ·and distinct, and all customers should be treated alike and no discrimination shown. 

ARTICLE VII-TARIFFS 

Each firm, corporation, or individual in this industry shall file, 

severally or jointly, a tariff of rates and charges within. thirty days 

after the date of the approval of this Code by the President of the 

United States or his representative, with the Secretary of the Gen-

,eral Industry Control Board, and a copy of same shall be filed with 

:the Regional Industry Control Board. 

The rates and charges set forth in such tariffs shall be based upon 

the fair average cost, plus a reasonable profit. . The term cost shall be construed to embrace all costs of operat10n 

as determined by standard accounting practices, including such 
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items as labor, admini trative and selling expense, interest on investment, depreciation, obsolescence, insurance, taxes, rent, and other 

expenses incident to the business. 

Each tariff shall name the specific rate or basis of contract rate 

to be charged for each service listed. 

No such tariff shall be effective until approved by the General 

Industry Control Board in the form and manner to be provided,. and no firm, corporation, or individual pa ty to this Code shall 

quote or charge a rate except specifically provided for in such tariff 

unless approved by the General Industry Control Board. 

ARTICLE VIII 

This Code may be amended only when approved by the President 

of the United States or his legally constituted representative and 

upon approval of two thirds of the General Industry Control Board. 

Questions which may occur in discussion of tentative draft of a 

Code of Fair Competition and the answers according to judgment 

of the Code Committee: 

No. 1. Question. Is the proposed code a National Furniture Warehousemen's Association code? 

Answer. No. The code will, when approved by the government 

be the code of all firms, corporations, or individuals engaged in storing, packing, shipping, and moving (local or long distance) of used 

Household Goods in .. the United States. 

Even though some handle other classes of commodities, the handling of used Household Goods is a distinct and different class of 

service and should have treatment as a single unit in a Code of Fair 

Competition. 

The National Furniture Warehousemen's Association is the largest 

organized factor in the industry, therefore, in accordance with the 

National Industrial Recovery Act takes leadership without prejudice 

as between members and nonmembers. · 

No. 2. Question. What expenses are involved in connection with 

this Code of Fair Competition? 

Answer. Preliminary expenses in preparing the code will be absorbed by the National Furniture Warehouseinen's Association. Expenses in connection with the administration of the code in the different regions will be charged to the region. , but no expense in a 

region will be incurred by the General Industry Control Board 

without the consent of the region. In other word , the policing of 

this law will be left to the local and regional unit and the expense 

will be controlled to a large extent by the methods employed in the 

administration and policing of the law. 

Suggestion will come from the General Industry Control Board 

on this subject. 

No. 3. Question. Will administration of the code be handled by 

the National or Regional groups? 

Answer. It is the distinct judgment of the Board of Directors of 

the National Furniture Warehousemen's A sociation and the Code 

Committee that administration of the Code must be handled entirely 

by the local Regional Industry Control Boards, and that the General 

Industry Control Board will deal only with questions of general 
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volicy, with matters of arbitration and will be the recognized agency 

for contact with the Federal Government (National Industrial 

Recovery Admini tration) . No. 4. Question. Is it necessary for each regional group to have 

a code of its own? 

Answer. No. Each region will be expected to administer the code 

after it has been adopted in its final form and is approved by the 

President of the United States. 

No. 5. Question. Is it necessary to belong to the National Furniture vVarehousemen's Association to participate in the Code? 

Answer. No. It i · contemplated that those engaged in the local 

moving of household goods and those engaged in the long-distance 

111oving of household goods shall be parties to the Code. 

Of course it would be advisable for as many who can qualify to 

become members of the National Furniture Warehousemen's Asso-

,ciation to strengthen the entire set-up, and 1nember of the National 

Furniture vVarehou emen's Association are urged to secure the 

neces ary applications pra.mptly. 

No. 6. Question. Supposing a firm refuses to participate and uhscribe to the rules laid down? 

Answer. The law pecifically states what noncooperators will be 

. ubject to, and al o provides for those who subscribe to the code 

and fail to live up to it. 

Read these provisions of the law as they are important. 

No. 7. Question. What machinery will be set up to see that everybody lives up to the Code? 

Answer. After the General Industry Control Board is organized 

and the Regional Inclu try Control Board is organized a regular procedure will be adopted setting up the necessary form to ee that the 

Code is being lived up to in every detail. 

No. 8. Question. Are maximum hours of employment and minimum pay to be tandardized throughout the country? 

Answer. No; they will be standardized as far as possible within 

the regions, as in laying out the regions it was aimed to put into the 

different regions, citie and states where the working conditions were 

similar. Rates of pay must bear reasonable relation to living costs in 

the districts involved, and the spirit of the law which anticipates 

the employment of more people should be carefully con idered. 

No. 9. Que tion. What rate will govern on tariffs? 

Answer. It is aimed to have the rate at point of origin of business 

govern. In other words, point from where bu iness moves. 

No. 10. Question. vVhy is it advisable for those handling used 

Household Goods to organize under a Code of Fair Competition 

nationally? 

Answer. The character of ervice rendered, the clientage served, 

and the equipment, both in warehouses and motor vans, are distinctly 

different from. other type of service. Its operator require special 

experience and the methods employed are per onal and not commercial. 

Warehousemen and cartage operators in many ca es handle successfully both used _furniture and merchandise in different clepart1nents and in uch circumstances should allocate all used Hou ehold 

Goods operations under thi Code. 

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