Approved Code No. 118 Registry No. 217-1-06 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

COTTON GARMENT INDUSTRY 

AS APPROVED ON NOVEMBER 17, 1933 

BT 

I f • 

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT 

WE DO 0~ PARf 

1. Executive Order 

2. Letter of Transmittal 

3. Code 

UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON : 1933 

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V 
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(Il) 
EXECUTIVE ORDER 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE COTTON GARMENT INDUSTRY 

A.n application having been duly made, pursuant to and in full 

compliance with the provisions of title I of the National Industrial 

Recovery Act, approved June 16, 1933, for my approval of a Code 

of Fair Competition for the Cotton Garn1ent Industry, and hearings 

having been held thereon and the Administrator having rendered his 

report containing an analysis of the said code of fair competition together with his recommendations and findings with respect thereto, 

and the Admini trator having found that the said code of fair competition complies in all respects with the pertinent provisions of title 

I of said act and that the requirements of clauses (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of section 3 of the said act have been met. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the 

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

the National Industrial Recovery A.ct, approved June 16, 1933, and 

otherwise, do hereby adopt an i approve the report recommendations 

and findings of the Administrator and do order that the said code of 

fair competition be and it is hereby approved, subject to the following 

conditions: 

A. A committee appointed by representatives of several of the 

States having heretofore drafted a tentative code or compact concerning prison labor, the purpose of which is the establishment oi 

fair competition between the products of prisons and the products 

of competing private industry, and containing provisions the intention of which is substantially the same as is hereinafter referred 

to, the code or compact shall be deemed to be ~atisfactory under the 

requirement in article VIII C of the within code if and so long as 

the compact or code adopted by the States provides for and accomplishes the following in relation to the manufacture sale and distribution of products made in whole or in part by prisoners: 

1. The hours o.f labor of prisoners ,shall not be greater than the 

hours prescribed in the code of fair competition of the competing 

private domestic Industry. 

2. Prison products when sold by the prison or through a contractor, whether sold direct or through any agency, shall be sold not 

lower than the c rrent price prevailing in the market in which the 

product i,s customarily sold-to wholesalers, retailers, or consumers 

as the case may be. 

3. Unless it requires a higher price than specified in paragraph 2, 

the State shall be paid on all contracts for the labor o.f prisoners an 

amount equal to the co t per unit for labor and overhead of the comparable product necessarily paid in competing dome tic private 

industry. 

(III) 

21622°-244-28-33 
IV 

4. The hours of operation of productive machinery shall be not 

more than is prescribed in the code of the competing private domestio 

industry. 

5. Nothing in said compact, or code shall affect in any way any 

Federal act relating to prison-made products, or any State act passed 

or effective under any such Federal act, if said acts are held constitutional and valid. 

6. A code authority set up in the compact shall have the power 

to administer, supervise, and enforce said code and establish the 

prices and co ts of prison-made goods as required in paragraphs 2 

and 3 above after conferring with the code authority of the affected 

industry, from which decision an appeal shall be allowed to the 

President of the United States. 

7. The code authority set up in the compact, after an investigation which shall include a consideration o:f economic, trade, and 

market conditions, shall (1) formulate such regulations as may be 

consistent and lawful and as may be necessary to assure a diversification of the output of "prison industries" in fair proportion to the 

production of any competing private domestic industry affected, 

and (2) prohibit the expansion of any existing prison industry which 

is causing a disproportionate competition with any private domestic 

industry. 

8. Such other provisions as will assure a fair basis of competition 

not inconsistent with the above. 

B. That the application of section G of article IV be and hereby 

is stayed as to members of the industry located in the State of Kentucky and in those counties in the States of Illinois and Indiana 

which border on the Ohio River for such period as the Administrator shall determine, which period shall not exceed four ( 4) 

months from and after the effective date of the aforesaid Code of 

Fair Competition for the Cotton Garment Industry, that during such 

period the said members of the industry located in the State of 

Kentucky and in those counties in the States of Illinois and Indiana 

bordering on the Ohio River shall be included in the southern section of the industry for the purposes of the aforesaid article IV, 

that during such period the administrator shall hold such hearings 

and cause such investigations to be made as he may deem necessary 

to determine the classification of the above area for the purposes of 

the aforesaid article IV and that prior to the termination of such 

period, the Administrator shall determine the classification of the 

said area for the purposes of said article IV of the said Code of 

Fair Competition for the Cotton Garment Industry. 

THE WHITE HousE, 

November 17, 1933, 

Approval recommended : 

HUGH s. JOHNSON, 

Admvni<Jtrator. 

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. 
NOVEMBER 7, 1933. 

THE PRESIDENT, 

The ,W kite House. 

Srn: A proposed code of fair competition for the Cotton Garment 

Industry was submitted to the Administrator on July 20, 1933, and 

public hearings were held on August 2nd and 3rd. The revision of 

the code was then begun by the principal interested parties and a 

number of subsequent hearings were held. Revised versions of the 

code were resubmitted on September 6th, September 19th, and September 25th. The long delay which resulted before the code could be 

recommended for approval has not been due to any irreconcilable 

differences of opinion with contending factions refusing to give 

ground. The delay has resulted almost entirely from the fact that 

the Cotton Garment Industry has many ramifications and that time 

has been required to work out code provisions which could equitably 

apply to the different parts of a complicated structure and, more 

particularly, which would reduce so far as possible conflicts of 

jurisdiction. 

The s:ponsoring organization for the code was the International 

Association of Garment Manufacturers, which is also a federation of 

smaller associations which represent subdivisions of the industry. 

At the time of the hearings the International Association of Garment 

Manufacturers had more than 275 members who were grouped in the 

following di visions: 

Work Garment Manufacturers Division. 

Union-Made Garment Manufacturers Division. 

Men's Shirt Manufacturers Division. 

Men's Wash Suit Manufacturers Division. 

Work Shirt Manufacturers Division. 

Pajama Manufacturers Division. 

Athletic Underwear Manufacturers Division. 

Men's Collar Manufacturers Division. 

Cotton Wash Dress Manufacturers Division. 

Boy's Shirts and Blouse Manufacturers Division. 

Waterproof Cotton Garment Manufacturers Division. 

Heavy Cotton Outerwear and Combination Leather Garment 

Manufacturers Division. 

The number and variety of the articles thus manufactured seemed 

sufficiently great. Since the first public hearings, however, the association, through direct membership or affiliations, has come to represent oiled cotton garments; nurses' and maid's uniforms, washable 

service apparel and pants ~ chiefly of cotton content). The Code 

according to the terms of Article II, covers the manufacture of 

fourteen articles or garments. The International Association of 

Garment Manufacturers appears to represent more than 75% of 

the production of each article. It now has 395 members, with 110 

(V) 
VI 

applications for membership on file, and claims that the total vol- ume of business of its members amounts annually to $332,000,000, 

approximately 80% of the total production. 

DEFINITION 

As was pointed out at the conclusion of the first hearings, the 

Cotton Garment Code was presented for a trade association rather 

than :for an industry. Indeed, it was doubtful whether tp.ere should 

be such an industry, at least with definitions as broad as those in the 

Code. There were no codes for the Woolen Garment Industry or the 

Silken Garment Industry. Codes had been presented :for men's 

clothing, for coats and suits and :for dresses. The manufacturers 

under those cosles use wool, silk, and cotton. From the operation of 

these codes the proponents of the Cotton Garment Code sought to exclude all manufacturers whose products were chiefly of cotton content. 

Even if disinterested efforts are made to put industries and their 

subdivisions as logically and as fairly as possible under appropriate 

codes, difficulties are certain to arise. Definitions cannot be written 

so clearly and comprehensively as to eliminate all doubts and controversies as to jurisdiction. Special difficulties are invited, however, 

when a code is presented by a trade association which is a federation 

of other trade associations and which naturally wishes to bring into 

its membership as many units as possible. During the hearings such 

a federation was justified on the principle that all articles which 

would be manufactured under the aegis of the federation would contain cotton and that the number of codes for the garment industries 

would be reduced in number by grouping together a number of 

industries or subdivisions. 

One important reason, however, for the popularity of the Cotton 

Garment Code-that is to say for the desire of certain industries to 

come under it-was the expectation that the Cotton Garment Code 

would be less onerous on manufacturers than any other code which 

was adopted for any one of the needle trades. The hours proposed 

were high and .the wages proposed were low. It is these hour and 

wage provisions which have been responsible for the mariage de 

convenance between cotton dresses and leather clothing, between 

pants and nurses and maids uniforms, between pajamas and work 

clothing, and between children's _play suits and oiled cotton garments. Much of the delay experienced in the completion of this 

code is attributable to the heterogeneous coverage of the Code and 

to the fact that difficulties as to jurisdictions and prospects of unfair 

competition have become apparent before the Code goes into effect. 

Three examples of these difficulties may be cited: cotton wash suits, 

pants, and linen dresses. 

On the first two questions a number of hearings were held. The 

third question will have to be dealt with shortly, for the makers of 

cotton wash dresses have been accustomed to make linen dresses. 

Linen dresses however, will probably be under the Dress Code. This 

difficulty will have to be dealt with later by putting all dresses under 

the same code with appropriate wage differentials covering the manufacture of wash dresses which requires less skill than does the 

manufacture of more dressy dresses. 
vn 

The difficulty was much the same in the case of men's wash suits. 

These1 when chiefly of cotton content, were excluded from the Men's 

Clothmg Code which went into effect on September 11th, and the 

expectation was that they would be covered by the Cotton Garment 

Code. It appeared, however, that many men's clothing manufacturers made cotton wash suits. They would thus be under two codes. 

It appeared also that the cotton wash suit manufacturers, located 

largely in New Orleans, made linen suits which were cut and sewn 

at the same time as their cotton suits. After several conferences and 

hearings, the New Orleans and other wash suit manufacturers joined 

with the Men's Clothing Code Authority in urging the desirability 

of the Men's Clothing Code covering all men's summer clothing, 

washable and nonwashable, with appropriate wage differentials 

recognizing that a different class of labor from that employed in the 

manufacture of woolen suits can be used in the manufacture of 

summer clothing and that the seasonal nature of the summer clothing industry may require tolerance in certain periods, in respect of 

the number of hours per week that may be worked. 

The difficulty as to pants does not lend itself to such an easy 

solution. " Work pants and men's and boys' pants in chief content 

of cotton " are under the Cotton Garment Code. " Single knee pants 

and single fants" are under the ~!fen's Clothing Code. Promptly 

as the Men s Clothing Code went into effect, on September 11th, 

complaints were made by manufacturers under the Men's Clothing 

Code that other manufacturers making precisely similar articles 

claimed that they were chiefly of cotton content and therefore came 

under the Cotton Garment Code, with forty instead of thirty-six 

hours as the maximum week and 321⁄2¢ instead of 40¢ par hour as 

the minimum wage. Some of these manufacturers, it should be 

noted, had been members of one of the associations proposing a 

Men's Clothing Code. They were then men's clothing manufac- turers but when it appeared that the Men's Clothing Code would 

have high standards they became cotton-garment manufacturers. 

This difficulty, it appeared, could not be satisfactorily dealt with 

by a change of definitions. Manifestly the object of the Recovery 

Act-the spread of employment and the increase of wages-would 

be negatived by placing all pants manufacturers on a forty hour and 

321⁄2¢ basis. :Manifestly, also, employers could not be expected to 

continue under the Men's Clothing Code if other employers in direct 

competition and producing the same article were permitted to operate under a code which was more favorable to them. That would 

be unfair competition of a most vicious character. 

It was proposed, therefore, that the Administrator designate a 

pants expert who would investigate the extent and character of the 

manufacture of pants under the Men's Clothing Code and the extent 

and character of the manufacture of pants "hich the ]Hen's Clothing 

Code Authority claimed was unfair competition and then make 

recommendations as to administrative determinations in particular 

cases-that is, determination a to whether indiYidual manufacturers 

were properly under the :Men's Clothing Code or under the Cotton 

Garment Code. Such an appointment has been made. This action 

does little more than anticipate the action contemplated by Article 

II, Section D of the Cotton Garment Code, which proYides that if 
vm 

there is a dispute as to whether an employer is subject to the provisions o:f the Cotton Garment Code or another code, the dispute shall 

be settled by the two code authorities involved, and in the event of 

a disagreement, by the Administrator. In this case, because quick 

action was desirable, it was assumed that the code authorities would 

be unable to agree and steps have been taken to secure the expert 

advice which will make it possible for the Administrator to render 

equitable decisions. It may be added that this procedure was suggested three weeks before it was accepted by the representatives of 

the International Association of Garment Manufacturers, who insisted on two hearings before they consented to an investigation by 

an expert. 

In this connection attention should also be called to the provision 

of Article II of the Code which specifically provides for prompt 

hearings for the further review of the status of cotton wash dresses, 

cotton wash suits, and cotton pants, in order to determine whether 

the definitions shall be modified or eliminated, and the disposition 

to be made of these subdivisional industries. That the Administrator is empowered thus to act is the inarticulate premise of any code, 

but because of the considerations set forth above it is proper in this 

case to make the premise articulate. 

It is not possible here to discuss in detail all the matters which 

were relevant to determination of what, for the time being, the Cotton 

Garment Code should cover. Illustrations have been given of the 

more important problems which had to be settled. After the hearings and while the code was in process of final formulation, a code 

was presented for aprons and nurses' uniforms. It was evident, 

however, that many manufacturers in the International Association 

of Garment Manufacturers made aprons and nurses' uniforms, and 

that a separate code for these articles would mean that some manufacturers of them would be under one code and some manufacturers 

under another code. This particular problem was easily solved by 

the affiliation of the Apron and Nurses' Uniform Manufacturers' 

Association with the International Association of Garment Manufacturers. The pajama and shirt problems had been settled the SMlle 

way, with the respective trade associations retaining their identity 

and having representation on the Cotton Garment Code Authority. 

For a time the Rain Wear Industry sought to come under the Cotton 

Garment Code on the theory that rain wear has a cotton content. 

Some of the principal manufacturers of rain wear do the bulk of 

their production in rubber articles which are not wearing apparel, 

and a designation of manufacturers of rain wear as manufacturers 

of rubber seemed more satisfactory than any other solution. 

HouRS .AND vV AGES 

It is obvious that with the difficulties described above in respect 

of definitions, the determination of the minimum wages and maximum hours was not a simple problem. It would not have been 

simple even if there had not been made any demands for differentials 

nnd preferential treatment. 

In most branches of the industry long hours have been worked 

and low wages have been paid. The earnings of shirt workers have 

been the subject of a special investigation by the Bureau of Labor 
IX 

Statistics. In 1927 the average annual earnings of shirt workers 

were $7 52; in 1931 they were $57 4; and in 1932, $486. The wages 

are so low that the proposed minimum for the northern section of the 

country of $13.00 per week is 78% higher than the median weekly 

wage reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and should affect 

75% of all the workers. In the H eavy Outer Garment I ndustry 

wage levels are higher. In the Work Shirt Industry wage levels 

are even lower than in shirts and the Code provides that the Work 

Shirt Division shall have an opportunity to make out a case f or it 

not being able to pay its employees the minimum which the Code 

provides. Save in the case of the Sheep Lined and Leather Garment Industry it seemed impossible at the present time to differentiate in respect of minima for unskilled workers or to afford any 

protection to skilled workers above the minimum scale. There are no accurate estimates as to the extent of unemployment 

which has existed in the Cotton Garment Industry and no figures 

which would indicate the number of workers who would be unemployed as a result of a limitation of the number of hours. Consequently the number of hours per week has been fixed r ather arbitrarily at forty. In certain sections of the country this will be a 

drastic reduction for some of the subdivisions have been working 

fifty and sixty hours per week. The Code Authority is asked to 

report promptly on the reemployment which r esults from the reduction to forty hours so that the Administrator may decide whether 

there should be a further reduction. 

It was necessary, in the Cotton Garment Code, to make provisions 

for both learners and incapacitated employees so that there could 

be some deviation from the minimum wage scale. With respect to 

the first group it was argued that employers could not afford to pay 

the minimum to unskilled workers; that the increased labor costs 

which would result from a minin1um :for skilled workers was as 

much as, and perhaps more, than the industry could bear. Unless 

carefully limited, however, permission to employ learners will result 

in widespread evasions of the minimum-wage provisions. Consequently the Code, as recommended, limits the number of learners 

that may be employed in any one establishment at the same time, to 10% of the total number of employees ; defines learners as those 

that have not been engaged in the industry for more than six weeks 

and stipulates that if on a piecework basis the learner earns more 

than the 75% of the minimum wage to ,vhich he is entitled during 

the learning period, then he shall receive his earnings. 

The problem of substandard and incapacitated employees also had 

to be dealt with. If no provisions had been inserted in the Code, the 

tendency would have been for employers to dismiss subst andard and 

aged employees in order to secure more efficient workers who, on the 

basis of the prevailing piece rates, would be able to earn the minimum 

which the Code stipulates. Obviously such a r esult should be 

avoided and the code, therefore, permits 10% of the total number 

of employees to be in a substandard class. 

SOUTHERN 11ANUFACTURERS 

These provisions as to learners and substandard employees were of 

great interest to Southern manufacturers. The I nternational Asso216220-244-28-32-2 
X 

ciation of Garment Manufacturers has many members in the South 

and at the public hearings spoke for the entire industry with its truly 

representative character not challenged. The only voice of protest 

raised at the public hearings was on behalf of Kentucky and its inclusion in the Southern section of the country. 

The delay which occurred between the conclusion of the public 

hearings and the recommendation of the Code for approval afforded 

an opportunity for Southern protests to gain in number and volume. 

The prote ts came from individual manufacturers and from the 

Southern Garment Manufacturers Association, which claimed to be 

much more representative of Southern manufacturers than was the 

International Assocation of Garment Manufacturers. These protests 

alleged that the unproductive nature of Southern labor warranted 

a larger differential than 21⁄2¢ per hour which the Code proposed 

to allow. There was a strong demand also for a liberalization of the 

learner and substandard employee provisions. It was aUeged that 

the employees of many Southern manufacturers are, in comparison 

with employees of Northern manufacturers, so inefficient that if on 

the same piece-rate basis a Northern employee earns the minimum 

the Southern employee will not, and the difference will have to be 

made u:r by the employer. 

Indindual Southern manufacturers and the Southern Garment 

1'fanufacturers Association were given several hearings and every 

opportunity to present data in support of their allegations. Little 

data was presented. There were many general allegations that 

Southern manufacturers as a class would find it hard to operate 

under the Code, but in no case was it shown convincingly from pay 

rolls or production methods that an employer needed more than 10% 

learners or 10% substandard employees or that his average workers 

were less productive than Northern workers. At the same time, the 

Administrator received many protests from individual Southern 

manufacturers against any further differential for the South. These 

manufacturers said that they were able to operate successfully under 

the provisions which were contemplated and that if other Southern 

manufacturers found these provis10ns onerous, the reason was their 

own inefficiency and not the severity of the provisions. 

In the absence of definite data there was nothing before the Administrator to justify any more preferential treatment of Southern 

manufacturers than that which was acceptable to the International 

A sociation of- Garment Manufacturers. The Code as recommended, 

however, instructs the Code Authority to make prompt investigations 

and to report to the Administrator the effects of operations under 

its provisions. Specifically in the case of substandard employees it is 

provided that •' the Cotton Garment Code Authority shall report to 

the Administrator, from time to time, as to the effects of the operation 

of this provision both generally and in ca es of individual hardship 

so that the Administrator may determine whether or not the provisions of this section shall be changed or exceptions granted hereunder. This, it i believed, affords Southern manufacturersand other manufacturers as well-a way of securing relief if be. 

cause of peculiar situations, they are entitled to relief and their 

securing it will not permit them to compete 11nfairly. 

The same principles apply as to the line which is drawn between 

the Northern and Southern Sections of the country. The line be-
XI 

tween North and South, as drawn in the code, is the line proposed to 

the Administrator as the considered judgment of the manufacturers 

represented on the Code Committee of the International Association 

of Garment Manufacturers with one exception: The inclusion of certain factories in the vicinity of Paducah, Kentucky, in the Southern 

section for a six months' period. The original definition omitted 

Kentucky from the South and many protests were received. Protests were also received against the inclusion of Maryland in the 

North. On the other hand, if J\faryland had been included in the 

South there would have been protests :from Pennsylvania manufacturers. If Kentucky were in the South, there would be protests 

from Indiana, Missouri, and Vvest Virginia. Protests have already 

been received against the temporary arrangement for Paducah. 

Any line which is drawn will be subject to criticism; for no matter 

where the line is drawn manufacturer,s a few miles on either side of 

it, employing the same class of ' labor and making the same kind of 

articles, will have wage scales which differ by the amount of the differential which the Code allows. There were no data before the 

Administrator which justified him in disreo-arding the recommendation of the International Association of (}arment Manufacturers 

in its code as submitted and arbitrarily ruling that the South should 

include certain ,states. The Code as recommended, however, instructs the Code Authority to report to the Administrator with respect to differentials between the Northern and Southern sections of 

the country and the Administrator may determine whether or not 

the line should be redrawn. The South which is entitled to a differential is not the historic South, the climatic South, or the Solid 

South. It is the South in which labor is less productive than in the 

North. A line can be drawn intelligently only if data on lower 

productivity are available. L:f Southern manufacturers present adequate data to the Administrator1 then the Administrator can eliminate any injustices which now exist. On the basis of the sentimental 

and historic arguments which were made at the hearings, it was 

impossible to act. 

CODE AUTHORITY 

At one of the later public hearings the Southern Garment Manufacturers Association raised the question a,s to the truly representative character of the International Association of Garment Manufacturers in respect of the South. The Southern Garment Manufacturers Association asked for an amendment of the Code so that the 

South would be represented on the Code Authority. 

It would seem undesirable to write in the Code any provisions for 

sectional representation. The Administrator, under the Cods, reserves full powers to reexamine the constitution of the Code Authority and to order its reconstitution so as to make it more representative. The Administrator has authority to appoint one or more 

members to the Code Authority and he will exercise that power to 

appoint for the time being to the Code Authority, a representative 

of the Southern Garment Manufacturers Association so that this 

Association will be in a position to bring to the attention of the 

Administrator any situation which will warrant the latter in using 

the power which he reserves to himself under Article IX, Section D, 

of the Code. 
XII 

THE ConE AS REVISED AND RECOMMENDED 

The Code, as revised and recommended, may be summarized as 

follows: 

Article I states the purposes of the Code. 

Article II gives the definitions. 

Article III establishes forty hours as the maximum number of 

hours per week for manufacturing employees in the Industry and 

its subdivisions. 

Article IV provides a minimum wage of 321⁄2¢ per hour in the 

Northern section and 30¢ per hour in the Southern section, with 

special provisions for operators and cutters in the Sheep Lined and 

Leather Garment Industry and with carefully drafted safeguards 

covering the exceptions of learners and substandard employees. It 

also defines the Southern section of the country and provides for 

various investigations as to the effects of the wage and hour provisions of the Code. 

Article V limits the use of productive machinery, except cutting 

machinery, to one shift. 

Article VI contains the Code's general labor provisions and sets 

forth the mandatory provisions of Section 7 (a) of the National 

Industrial Recovery Act. 

Article VII abolishes home work after three months, with one or 

two minor exceptions. 

Article VIII deals with the sale of prison-made goods. 

Article IX se_ts up the Cotton Garment Code Authority and 

confers on it certain powers. 

Article X contemplates the presentation of additional codes of 

fair-trade practices for the subdivisional industries under the Code. 

Article XI sets forth certain unfair-trade practices. 

Article XII permits the Code Authority, upon approval of the 

Administrator, if it is deemed necessary, to put into effect certain 

provisions with reference to NRA labels. 

Article XIII reserves to the President the right to amend, cancel, 

and modify any provision of the Code. 

Article XIV declares that nothing in the Code shall be construed 

to promote monopolies. 

Article XV permits applications for exemptions from or a stay 

of the Code. 

Article XVI warns against unnecessary price increases. 

Article XVII makes the effective date of the Code the first Monday following the first Wednesday after the date of approval by 

the President. 

PRISON LABOR 

The Code as submitted by the International Association of Garment Manufacturers contained a provision prohibiting members of 

the industry from manufacturing or causing to be manufactured, 

or acquiring, selling, or distributing prison-made garments and from 

purchasing textiles or raw materials from penal, correctional, or 

reformatory institutions after certain date. 

Protests were received from various prison officials and at least 

one Governor against including in a Code of Fair Competition 
xm 

any provision interfering with the sales and distribution of prisonmade goods. The protestants argued that it was essential from 

a social point of view that prisoners be taught a trade and be kept 

busy; that the provision proposed was an indirect attempt to regulate functions of a State which are exclusively within the prerogatives of a State· that it was impossible for a Code under the 

National Industrial Recovery Act to interfere with a manner in 

which States attempt to care for the health and well-being of their 

wards and that the proposed provision would unfairly deprive the 

States of a proper source of revenue and directly destroy the value 

of a large amount of invested capital in the form of a plant, good 

will, and general investment. 

On the other hand, the proponents of the Code argued that the 

competition of prison-made goods with goods made by free industry 

was sufficiently large and so concentrated in certain cases as to permit 

prison producers to dictate the price of certain articles and thus adversely to affect the wages, hours, and conditions of labor in the free 

branch of the industry. Two examples adduced by the proponents 

of the Code to show the extent of the concentration of prison production were those of work shirts and work pants. In 1932 prisons 

produced and sold on the open market almost 20,000,000 work shirts. 

The free factories in that year produced 62,000,000 work shirts, or 

about 75% of the total. In the same year, prisons produced almost 

7,000,000 work pants, while the free factories in the industry produced 27,000,000 work !?ants, or about 80% of the total. It was contended by the Internat10nal Association of Garment Manufacturers 

that the prison products in each case naturally affected market prices 

and were in a large measure responsible for the substandard labor 

conditions in the industry. 

The interested prison officials did not refute the contention that 

prison competition inevitably undermines standards prevailing in 

the free branch of the industry, nor that such continued competition 

would endanger the success of a Code of Fair Competition which 

aimed to raise standards higher than they are at the present time. 

Certain prison officials presented their cases with an eye on their 

own special problems and leaned on the broad shoulders of States' 

Rights and the plea ad hominem that idleness leads to moral breakdown and violence. 

The proponents of the Code, on the other hand, argued that they 

were making no attempt to limit the State in its activities or to do 

more than bind those properly subject to their Code of Fair Competition. They conceded idleness of prisoners to be an evil but argued 

that their proposed provisions did not shut the door to educational 

and vocational training and all other prison activities which did not 

compete with free industries. In this connection it should be noted 

that nine states at present do not sell prison products in the open 

market. These states include such thickly populated areas as Kew 

Jersey, New York, Ohio, and J\1assachusetts. "ine States have 

adopted the system of producing for State use alone. Therein lies 

one solution to the problem. Other solutions which have been put 

into practice, are the di-versification of products made in prisons and 

increasing emphasis on truly educational and vocational activities 

instead of on unfair profit seeking factory production. 
XIV 

The proponents of the Code have an unassailable position in arguing that it would be impossible for manufacturers under the Code 

to stay in business if prison goods continue unfairly to compete with 

goods produced in free plants; that this competition in the past has 

led to sweat-shop and substandard conditions in the open branch of 

the industry and that unless checked it will be impossible for manufacturers to meet the standards of operation of the Code and stay in 

business. The proponents of the Code are on unassailable ground 

as well, in arguing that the elimination of prison competition in Cotton Garments will not make more acute social problems which many 

prisons have seriously attempted to solve but which other prisons 

have been holding up as a shield to cloak profit seeking and 

exploitation. 

FINDINGS 

The Administrator finds 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 International Association of Garment Manufacturers 

imposes no inequitable restrictions on admission to membership 

therein and is truly representative of the Cotton Garment Industry; 

and that 

( c) The Code is not designed to promote monopolies or to eliminate or oppress small 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. 

I recommend that the Code be approved. 

Respectfully, 

HUGH S. JOHNSON, 

Administrator. 
CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE COTTON GARMENT 

INDUSTRY 

ARTICLE I-PURPOSES 

To effectuate the policy of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act and aid in reducing and relieving unemployment, improvjng the standards of labor, and eliminating competitive practices 

destructive of the interests of the public, employees, and employers, 

the following provisions shall constitute the Code of Fair Competition for the Cotton Garment Industry and shall be binding upon 

every member thereof. 

ARTICLE II-lliFmrrroNs 

A. As used in this Code the t€rm " Cotton Garment Industry " 

means and includes the production by any of the :following processes·: 

(a) cutting, (b) creasing, (c) sewing (all or part of the garment), 

(d) trimming, (e) pressing, (f) finishing, (g) examining and inspecting, (h) boxing, or all of them, of any article or garment known 

as (1) work clothing, work garments, work pants and children's 

play suits; (2) men's shirts, including knitted outer shirts and polo 

shirts; ( 3) boys' shirts and blouses; ( 4) boys' wash suits; ( 5) work 

shirts of any material, including flannel shirts; (6) pajamas and 

nightshirts; (7) men's collars; (8) cotton wash dresses; (9) oiled 

cotton garments; (10) men's and boys' pants in chief content of 

cotton; (11) sheep lrned and leather garments; (12) nurses and maids 

aprons and uniforms; (13) washable service apparel; (14) men's 

cotton wash suits. 

The products covered by Section A, paragraphs 8, 10, and 14 are 

included in this Code pending the prompt holding of such :further 

hearing on such notice as the Administrator in his discretion may 

fix, and the final det€rmination of whether the definitions of any of 

them shall be modified or eliminated or whether any of the subdivisions shall continue to be included in this Code. 

B. "Cotton Wash Dresses" as used herein means and includes 

those house dresses and dresses made in chief content of cotton which 

in the custom and practice of the trade are merchandised in what 

is known in the trade as the house dress or wash dress departments 

of recognized department stores and other retailers of women's garments, and which cotton dresses, under the established custom and 

practice of the trade, are customarily bought from the manufacturer 

by, or sold by the manufacturer to, the buyer of house or wash 

dresses. And the term " Cotton Wash Dre s Industry " as used 

herein means and includes that industry engaged in the manufacture 

of such cotton wash dresses. 

C. The term "Washable Service Apparel" as used herein is de-

~p.ed to mean cotton coats; trousers; waitresses', nurses', and maids' 

(1) 
2 

service garments, aprons, service caps, and other kindred service 

garments manufactured for direct distribution to linen supply service 

companies, hotels, hospitals, institutions, and other consumers. 

D. If and when, because of the character of any product made by 

any employer, or by any subdivisional industry, there arises any 

dispute as to whether such product is covered by the provisions of 

this or another code, the code authorities concerned will report to 

the Administrator the code under which such product properly 

belongs and in the event that the code authorities are unable to 

agree within a reasonable time, the Administrator may, after notice 

and hearing, decide under which code the product or subdivisional 

industry manufacturing the same is covered. 

E. The term " member of the industry " includes anyone engaged 

in the industry as above defined, either as an employer or on his 

own behalf. 

F. The term "Manufacturer" as used herein means and includes 

(1) anyone who buys materials and manufactures them under the 

processes named in subsection A of Article II hereof into finished 

garments, (2) anyone who buys the materials and performs the 

cloth-cutting operation and contracts other operations, retaining 

legal title to the goods, or (3) a contractor who receives materials 

in cut form and does the sewing operations and any additional 

operations ( except cutting). 

G. The term" contractor" as used herein means and includes anyone engaged in the making of cut materials into finished products 

suitable for use but not intended for his own distribution, who owns 

and operates his own :plant, hires his own labor for that purpose 

but who receives cut-piece goods from another for the purpose o{ 

making same into finished garments and who in the operation of 

his business renders this service in the course of an independent 

occupation, the relationship being such that legal title to the goods 

to be manufactured is retained by the one for whom the contractor 

is finishing the product. 

H. The term "manufacturing employee" as used herein means 

and includes anyone who is engaged in (a) cutting, (b) creasing, 

_(c) sewing (allorpartofthegarment), (d.) trimmin~, (e) pressing, 

(f) examining, (g) inspecting, or (h) finishing, ot any garment 

produced in the industry. 

I. The term " nonmanufacturing employee " as used herein means 

and includes all persons engaged in the Cotton Garment industry, 

but not included in any of the classifications of subsection I-I above. 

J. The term "employer" means anyone by whom any such employee is compensated or emploved. 

K. The terms "President", ''Act", and "Administrator" as used 

herein mean respectively the President of the United States, the 

National Industrial Recovery Act, and the Administrator of said 

Act. 

ARTICLE III-HoURS 

A. No manufacturing employee shall be permitted to work in 

excess of 40 hours in any one week, or more than 8 hours in any one 

day, provided, however, that the Cotton Garment Code Authority 

~hall, immediately after the effective date begin an investigation 
8 

under such rules and regulations as to reports as the Code Authority 

may require and the Administrator approve, to determine whether 

or not the 40-hour week/rovision o:f this section is resulting in increased employment, an the said Code Authority shall report its 

findings on this question to the Administrator not later than 60 

days after effective date, so that the Administrator may determine 

whether or not the provisions of this Article shall be changed. In 

respect of cutters, the Code Authority, immediately after the effective date, shall begin an investigation under such rules and regulations as to reports as the Code Authority shall determine, to ascertain whether the 40-hour week provision of this Article as to cutters 

unduly handicaps factory operations and whether or not overtime 

should be recommended as to cutters. The Code Authority shall 

report thereon within 60 days after the effective date hereof, so that 

the Administrator may determine whether or not the provisions of 

this Article shall be changed. 

B. Within 60 days after effective date hereof, the Cotton Garment Code Authority shall report to the Administrator as to the 

result of the maximum hours for the Sheep Lined and Leather Garment Industry provided for in the preceding paragraph, so that the 

Administrator may determine ~hether or not the provisions of this 

Article shall be changed. 

C. No office employee (including accounting, clerical, and stenographic help) shall be permitted to work in excess of 40 hours per 

week averaged over any three months' period. Secretaries, factory 

department heads, and executives earning more than $35.00 per 

week are exempted from this provision. 

D. As to all nonmanu:facturing employees other than those included in paragraph C immediately preceding, the Cotton Garment 

Code Authority shall, on or before March 1, 1934~ submit to the 

Administrator a recommendation as to maximum hours for these 

classes. 

E. The provision for maximum hours constitutes the maximum 

hours of labor per week for the employee covered so that under no 

circumstances will such an employee be employed or be permitted 

to work for one or more employers in the industry in the aggregate 

in excess of the prescribed number of hours in a single day or 

single week. · 

ARTICLE IV-WAGES 

A. Except as hereinafter provided, no employee ( except actual 

learners in the industry during a period not to exceed six weeks' 

apprenticeship and outside employees) shall be paid at less than the 

rate of 30 cents per hour per 40-hour week when employed in those 

states included within the southern section of the industry, nor at 

less than the rate of 321⁄2 cents per hour per 40-hour week when 

employed in those states included within the northern section. 

B. In the Sheep Lined and Leather Garment Industry, no manufacturing employee shall be paid at less than the rate of 35 cents 

per hour per 40-hour week; no operator shall be paid at less than 

the rate of 45 cents per hour per 40-hour week; and no short knife 

cutters shall be paid at less than th~ rate of 75 cents per hour per 

40-hour week. 
4 

C. The number of learners employed at any time by any member of the Cotton Garment Industry in his plant or :factory shall 

not exceed 10 percent of the total number of manufacturing employees in said plant. Each learner shall receive not less than 75 

percent of the minimum wage, provided, that if on a piecework basis 

a learner earns more, then he shall be paid what he earns; and provided, :further, that the maximum six weeks' period as to learners 

shall apply to the total period of apprenticeship in the industry 

whether in one manufacturing plant or another. Any member of 

the industry may apply to the Code Authority for a modification o:f 

this provision, and upon showing of extreme hardship the Administrator may grant such modifications after review and report with 

recommendations by the Code Authority. 

D. Within three months from the effective date, the Cotton Garment Code Authority shall report so that the Administrator may 

determine whether or not the provisions of section C shall be 

changed. 

E. Each member of the industry shall make periodic reports, as 

required by the Cotton Garment Code Authority, showing in each 

instance the number and names of learners employed and the 

extent of time so employed. 

F. Employees partially incapacitated by age, injury, or infirmity 

shall be exempted from the minimum-wage provisions; provided, 

however, that such employees shall be paid no less than other employees 1n the same :factory proportionately to the amount or character of the work they do; and, yrovided further, that the number 

of such privileged employees shal not exceed 10 percent of the total 

number of manufacturing employees engaged in the same factory. 

Employers shall report monthly to the Cotton Garment Code Authority the names of those included in this class and the reasons 

therefor, and the Cotton Garment Code Authoriti shall report to 

the Administrator within three months and from trme to time as to 

the effect of the operation of this provision1 both generally and in 

cases of individual hardship, so that the Actministrator may determine whether or not the provisions of this section shall be changed 

or exceptions granted hereunder. 

G. For the purpose of this Article the states which shall be 

included in the southern section are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, 

Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia. All other states 

and the District of Columbia shall be included within the northern 

section of the industry, except that for a period of not to exceed 

six months after the effective- date of this Code the northern-section 

provisions of this Article shall not apply to factories operating under 

this Code which have been established between January 1, 1933, and 

September 1, 1933, in the area within 50 miles of the northern boundaries of Tennessee and Arkansas. 

H. The Cotton Gar,ment Code Authority shall, from time to time, 

report to the Administrator as to the effect of the operation of Section G, so that the Administrator may determine whether or not the 

provisions of that section shall be changed. The differentials provided :for in this Article as between the northern and southern sec-
5 

tions shall not apply to the Sheep Lined and Leather Garment 

Industry. 

I. No changes in piece-rates and no increases in the amount of 

production or work of week workers shall be made for the purpose 

of evading the benefits to manufacturing employees prescribed by 

this Code in respect of wages and hours o:f employment. All 

requirements in respect of such increases shall be reported to the 

Cotton Garment Code Authority and :failure to so report hall 

constitute a prima facie violation of this section. 

J. The Work Clothing and Work Shirt Industrie of he Cotton 

Garment Industry, may present to the Administrator such memoranda as the said Work Clothing and Work Shirt Industries may 

deem proper in relation to the effect of the minimum wage cale of 

this Article and other economic factors, upon the sale price of work 

clothing and work shirts manufactured in such industries so that 

the A dmjnjstrator after due notice and hearing may determine 

whether any changes shall be made in the wage provisions of this 

Code with respect to the Work Clothing and Work Shirt Industries. 

K. This Article establishes a mjnjmum rate of pay regard.le of 

whether an employee is compensated on a time-rate piece-work or 

other basis. 

L. The Cotton Garment Code Authority shall, as soon a· practicable, set up a committee to investigate the wage scales for cutters, 

to determine whether the wages paid said cutters tend to effectuate 

the purposes of the National Industrial Recovery Act. The said 

committee shall also investigate differentials in wage,s paid to other 

employees receiving above the minimum to determine whether such 

differentials permit unfair competition in the Cotton Ga.rment 

Industry. 

M. Nothing in this Code shall be construed to interfere with, alter, 

change, or abrogate any existing contract between employer and 

employee in respect of wages above the minimum, or hours below 

the maximum herein provided. 

ARTICLE V-MAcmNERY CoNTROL 

A. No member of the Cotton Garment Industry shall operate productive machinery used in any of the processes enumerated in Section A of Article II except cutting machinery, for more than one 

shift of 40 hours per week. If any member of the Cotton Garment 

Industry has customarily operated productive machinery on a doubleshift basis, said member of the industry may make representations 

to the Cotton Garment Code Authority as to the facts and conditions 

requiring more than a single-shift ba is in his particular plant or 

plants and may request a special exemption to operate on a doubleshift basis; it being agreed that such application may be granted by 

the Administrator upon recommendation of the Code Authority, 

but only for the purpose of meeting contractual obligation existing 

on the effective date, or of preventing discharge of employee or of 

otherwise removing any unusual difficulties or hardships in the 

application of this Article. Any deviation from the provisions of 

this section, however, shall be deemed a violation of the Code unless 

the said application is made and approved as provided herein. 
6 

ARTICLE VI-GENERAL LABOR PROVISIONS 

A. No person under 16 years of age shall be employed in the 

Industry. 

B. Employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and shall be 

free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers of 

labor, or their agents, in the designation of such representatives or 

in self-organizat10n or in other concerted activities for the purpose 

of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. 

C. No employee and no one seeking employment shall be required 

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, and 

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

minimum rates of pay, and other conditions of employment, approved or :prescribed by the President. 

E. Within each State this Code shall not supersede any laws o:f 

such State imposing more stringent requirements on employers regulating the age of employees, wages, hours of labor, or health, fire, or 

general working conditions than under this Code. 

F. Employers shall not reclassify employees or duties of occupations performed by employees so as to defeat the purposes of the Act. 

G. Each employer shall post in conspicuous places accessible to 

employees full copies of this Code or all portions of this Code concerning labor and working conditions. 

ARTICLE VII-HoME WORK 

A. After three months from the effective date, no member of the 

industry shall have any sewing-machine work done on any garment or 

any part thereof in the private home of any worker, but all such 

sewing-machine work shall be done in the plant of the member of the 

industry producing such garment; provided, however, that any member of the industry may apply to the Cotton Garment Code Authority 

for exemption from the provisions of this Article for what is known 

in the trade as turning collars which have a laundry wash- in the 

factory before shipping, provided, also, that home work on hand 

embroidery, which is incidental to the manufacture of cotton garments, may continue, and that within three months the Cotton Garment Code Authority shall report on the hon1e-work problem so that 

the Administrator, after due notice and hearing, may determine 

whether or not this provision shall be changed. Each member of the 

industry shall report at once to the Cotton Garment Code Authority 

the names of any individuals employed under the provisions of this 

section and the reasons for such employment, and after the effective 

date, no member of the industry shall increase the number of persons 

so employed prior to July 15, 1933. . 

ARTICLE VIII-PRISON LABOR 

A. No member of the industry shall manufacture or cause to be 

manufactured, acquire, sell, or distribute any garment, textiles, or 

supplies produced by prisoners, except prisoners on parole, or pro-
7 

duced in any tax-maintained penal or reformatory institutions; 

except that any member of the industry who, prior to September 1, 

1933, entered into a bona fide contract for the purchase of any 

garments or textiles made by prisoners, may, until January 11 1934, 

accept delivery of said garments or textiles included withrn the 

terms of said contract, and may thereafter sell those particular 

garments, or garments made from those particular textiles. B. Provided, however, that the provisions of paragraph A are 

hereby stayed until January 1, 1934, for the purpose of permitting 

those states of the United States, which so choose, to formulate, enter into, and make effective a compact or agreement, and thereby 

satisfying the Administrator that merchandise produced in the penal 

institutions of any state signatory to the said compact or agreement 

( with the except10n of goods, wares, and merchandise produced or 

mined by any prison solely for the use of tax-supported institutions, 

agencies, departments, or activities of any state or its political subdivisions) is manufactured, sold, and distributed only upon a fair 

basis of competition with private industry. 

C. When and so long as any penal institution, by subscribing to, 

complying with, and making effective the Code or compact hereinbefore referred to, or a binding agreement of any other nature, satisfies the Administrator that merchandise produced in whole or in 

part in such institution or by the inmatBs thereof is being produced 

and sold upon a fair competitive basis with similar merchandise not 

so produced, the provisions of paragraph .A. hereof shall not apply to 

any merchandise produced in such manner in the institution covered 

by such agreement, but otherwise paragraph A hereof shall apply 

to such prison-made products. 

D. Any member of this industry or subsidiary thereof making any 

contracts with prisons for labor of prisoners or prison products shall 

report the facts in writing to the Administrator and file with the 

Administrator a copy of any such contract. 

E. The Cotton Garment Code Authority shall, as soon as practicable after the effective date, make such rules and regulations as may 

tend to effectuate the policy of the National Industrial Recovery Act 

and aid in the observance of the provisions of this Code with respect 

to the sale and distribution of cotton garments or parts thereof made 

in whole or in part by the inmates of private or semipublic charitable reformatory institutions other than prisons. 

F. Nothing in this Article shall be construed to supersede or in 

terfere with the operation of the Act of Congress approved January 

19, 1929, entitled "An Act to Divest Goods, Wares, and Merchandise 

Manufactured, Produced or Mined by Convicts or Prisoners of their 

Interstate Character in Certain Cases ", or the provisions of any 

State legislation enacted or made effective thereunder. 

ARTICLE IX-ADMINISTRATION 

A. Further to effectuate the policy of this Act, a Cotton Garment 

Code Authority is hereby set up to cooperate with the Administrator 

in the administration of this Code and shall be constituted as 

follows: 

B. The International Associations of Garment :Manufacturers, 

with the collaboration of the industries affiliated, shall select as mem-
8 

bers of the Cotton Garment Code Authority one respresentative 

:from such of the followin~ associations or subdivisional groups as 

it may satisfy the Administrator are truly representative and 

comply with the provisions of Title I of the National Industrial 

Recovery Act: 

1. The National Association of Shirt Manufacturers. 

2. The National Boys' Blouse and Shirt Manufacturers' Association. 

3. The National P ajama M~nufacturers' Council, Inc. 

4. The Association of Collar :Manufacturers. 

5. The National Work Clothes Manufacturers' Association. 

6. The Union Made Garment Manufacturers' Association. 

7. The Work Shirt l\1anufacturers' National Association. 

8. The National Sheep Lined and Leather Garment Association. 

9. The Associated Pants l\1anufacturers o:£ America. 

10. The National Association of Cotton Dress Manufacturers. 

11. The National Oiled Cotton Garment Manufacturers' Association. 

12. The National Association of Nurses and Maids Aprons and 

Uniforms. 

13. Shirt Institute, Inc. 

14. The National Association of l\1en's Shirts and Boys' Blouse 

Contractors. 

15. Associated l\1anufacturers of Washable Service Apparel, Inc. 

And such other associations as may :from time to time, with the approval of the Administrator, be placed under the provisions QI this 

Code. Alternates may be appointed to represent members unable 

to be present, but all such members and alternates o:£ the Cotton 

Garment Code Authority shall in each case be persons actually 

engaged in the operation of a business in the respective industries. 

The Administrator may appoint f our members on nomination of 

the labor Advisory Board. 

The Administrator, at his discretion, may appoint not more than 

three additional members to represent the Administrator, and additional members to represent such groups or interests as he may deem 

entitled to representation. C. Each trade or industrial association directly or indirectly participating in the selection or activities of the Code Authority: shall: 

(1) Impose no inequitable restrictions on membership, and (2) submit to the Administrator true copies of its articles of association, bylaws, regulations, and any amendments when made thereto, together 

with such other information as to membership, organization, and 

activities as the Adininistrator may deem necessary to effectuate the 

purroses of the Act. 

D. In order that the Code Authority shall at all times be truly 

representative of the industry and in other respects comply with the 

provisions of the Act, the Administrator may provide such hearings 

as he may deem proper; and thereafter if he shall find that the Code 

\ uthority is not truly repre entative or does not in other respects 

comply with the provisions of the Act, may require an appropriate 

modification in the method of selection of the Code Authority. 

E . The Cotton Garment Code Authority shall have the power to 

make investigations and to conduct hearings to ascertain whether 
9 

members of the industry are complying with the provisions of this 

Code. 

F. The Cotton Garment Code Authority shall elect its chairman, 

may employ such personnel as may be required for the effective discharge of its functions, and may set up such administrative committees as may be necessary to aid divisional indu~tries in the administration and observance of this Code. 

G. Members of the Industry shall be entitled to participate in and 

share in the benefits of the activitie of the Code Authority and to 

participate in the selection of the members thereof by assenting to 

and complying with the requirements of this Code and su taining 

their reasonable share of the expenses of its administration. The 

reasonable share of the expenses of admini tration shall be determined by the Code Authority, subject to review by the Administrator, on the basis of volume of bu iness and/or such other factors 

as may be deemed equitable to be taken into consideration. Expenditures authorized by the Code Authority shall not exceed an amount 

reasonably necessary for the administration of this Code. 

H. Nothing contained in this Code shall constitute the members 

of the Code Authority partners for any purpose; nor shall any members of the Code Authority be liable in any manner to anyone for 

any act of any other member officer, agent, or employee of the Code 

Authority exercising reasonable diligence in the conduct of his duties 

hereunder, nor be liable to anyone for any action or omission to act 

under the Code, except for his own willful misfeasance or nonfeasance. 

I. The Code Authority shall have the following duties and powers 

to the extent permitted by the Act, subject to the right of the Administrator on review to veto any action taken by the Code Authority: 

(a) To adopt bylaws and rules and regulations for its procedure 

and for the administration and enforcement of the Code, in accordance with the powers herein gra.nted, and to submit the same to the 

Administrator for his approval, together with true copies of any 

amendments or additions when made thereto minutes of meetings 

when held, and such other information as to its activities as the 

Administrator may deem necessary to effect the purpose of the Act. 

(b) Set up rules and regulations governing the making of returns 

and reports by members of the industry as to 

1. Production. 

2. Machine hours. 

3. Labor hours and pay-roll account. 

(The aforesaid reports shall be made not less than every three 

months, and at such other times as the Cotton Garment Code Authority may determine; provided that no member of the industry 

shall have access to the confidential returns and data reported b the 

individual members, but all such data shall be correlated, tabulated, 

or otherwise presented in such manner as to avoid disclosure of individual plant operations, except when its use is necessary to prove or 

disprove a complaint or violation of this Code.) 

( c) Prepare :for, order, receive, collate, and analyze such additional reports as to any phase of the Cotton Garment Industry as 

may be required from time to time by the Administrator :for the purpose of informing the President as to the observance of this Code or 
10 

the situation within the industry with respect to the operation 

thereof. 

( d) Set up such commissions, bureaus, or committees as may be 

necessary: 

1. To recommend to the Administrator the establishment of a system of uniform cost accounting2 which upon approval of the Administrator shall be binding upon all members of the industry; 

2. To investigate and make recommendations to the Administrator 

concerning control or balancing of production, distribution, and consumption of products of the industry and the stabilization of the 

industry with respect to production and employment; 

3. To report to the Administrator with respect to differentials 

between the northern and southern sections of the industry; 

4. To investigate and report to the Administrator on the subject of 

differentials as between urban and rural wage minimums or such 

adjustments as may be necessary in connection therewith; 

5. To aid in the adjustment of contracts made prior to August 1st 

for future delivery where the costs of executing same are increased 

through the operation of the National Industrial Recovery Act or the 

provisions of this Code, it being interpreted as equitable and promotive of the purposes of the Act that appropriate adjustments of such 

contracts to reflect such increased costs be made. Any dispute arising 

under this provision should be settled by amicable agreement, or if 

that is not possible, should be referred to arbitration, and the Code 

Authority shall offer all assistance possible; 

6. To investigate and report to the Administrator, with such recommendations as may be deemed necessary, looking to the control in 

this industry of undue expansion of productive machinery capacity; 

7. To investigate and rn.ake such recommendations to the President as may tend to effectuate the National Industrial Recovery Act 

and the provisions of this Code in respect to imports, or, upon investigation to make application to the President to exercise his 

authority as to imports under Section 3 ( e) of the National 

Industrial Reco,ery Act; 

8. To collaborate with members of the industry and with the 

Administrator for the purpose of recommending from time to time 

changes in or additions to this Code; 

9. To prepare and present to the President for his approval such 

additional Codes of fair trade practice as may be necessary or 

expedient in the conduct of the industry or any of the particular 

industries subject to this Code; 

10. To do an d perform all other acts necessary to carry out any 

of the provisions of this Code or the provisions of the National 

Industrial Reco, ery Act or the requirements of the Administrator 

in connection with this Code; 

11. To recommend to the Administrator through the Divisional 

Code Authorities uniform systems of cost accounting which shall 

be designed to effectuate :fair competition in the divisional industries 

subj ect to the aforesaid Code Authorities. 

12. The Code uthority may recommend to the Administrator 

proYisions regarding the use of an N.R.A. label or insignia other 

than that proYided for in Article II and rules or regulations with 

respect to the issuance and use of such insignia. 
11 

J. Except where otherwise provided herein, all recommendations 

made by the Cotton Garment Code Authority shall, upon approval 

of the President, become part of this Code and shall thereafter be 

binding upon all those engaged in the industries subject to this Code. 

K. All data, records, statistics, information, or other material 

gathered by the Cotton Garment Code Authority shall at all times 

be available to the Administrator. In addition to the information 

required to be submitted to the Code Authority there shall be furnished to government agencies such statistical information as the 

Administrator may deem necessary for the purposes recited in 

Section 3 (a) of the Act. 

L. Any power or authority delegated herein to the Code Authority 

shall be subject to the right of the Administrator to review and 

veto any action taken by the Code Authority; any particular provition or implied delegation herein to the contrary notwithstanding. 

ARTICLE X-..AnDITION AL CODES 

A. Such of the provisions of this Code as are not required to be 

included therein by the National Industrial Recovery Act may with 

the approval of the President, be modified or eliminated as change in 

circumstances or experience may indicate. It is contemplated that 

from time to time supplementary provisions of this Code or additional Codes will be submitted for the approval of the President to 

prevent unfair competition in price and other unfair and destructive 

comretitive practices and to effectuate the other purposes and policies 

of T1tle I of the National Industrial Recovery Act consistent with the 

provisions thereof. 

B. Codes of Fair Practices may be submitted with the approval of 

subdivisional trade associations, and if approved by the President in 

accordance with Title I of the National Industrial Rer·overy Act such 

Code or Codes shall be administered by such Trade Associations. 

ARTICLE XI-UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES 

A. It shall be deemed an unfair trade practice and a violation of 

this Code of Fair Competition for any member of the Cotton Garment Industry to hold himself out or adverti e or otherwise represent himself as a "manufacturer" unless the cutting or sewing of 

garments is included within the :erocesses of his factory or plant; 

provided, however, that nothing 1n this section shall be construed 

to relieve anyone engaged in (a) cutting, (b) creasing, (c) trimming, ( d) sewing, ( e) pressing, or ( f) firushing, or all of them, 

from the hour, wage, and production and other provisions of this 

Code. 

B. It shall be an unfair trade ~ractice for any member of the 

industry to send out work to any ' contractor " to be made into a 

garment by said contractor which shall include the cutting of the 

material by said contractor and all work sent to a contractor by 

a member of the industry must be cut in the member's own factory 

or plant. And it shall be an unfair trade practice for any contractor to accept from any one any uncut material or textile for the 

purpose of producing from same a garment. Provided, however, 
12 

that this provision shall become effective January 1, 1934, and that 

thereafter only those contractors may cut who obtain express permission from the Code Authority, with the concurrence of the 

Administrator, upon duly showing their financial responsibility and 

ability to comply with the wage and hours provisions of this Code 

and further that their continuance of cutting operations will not 

tend to defeat the purposes of the ational Industrial Recovery 

Act and this Code. 

C. I t shall be an unfair trade practice and a violation of this Code 

for any member of the Cotton Garment Industry to sell or off er for 

sale merely cut but unsewn and unfinished garments and any person 

selling or offering for sale any merely cut but unsewn and unfinished 

product , shall be deemed to have v10lated this Code and be subject 

to the penalties provided in the ational Industrial Recovery Act. 

ARTICLE XII- G ARl\fENT IDENTIFICATION 

The Cotton Garment Code Authority may with respect to anr of 

the products covered by this Code, if deemed necessary, _put into 

effect the following provisions with respect to an N.R.A. label or 

insignia, upon the approval of the Administrator: 

A. Every such garment produced by any person subject to the 

provi ions of this Code shall bear an insigma, the purpose of which 

shall be to aid as a means of enforcing the purposes of the provisions 

of this Code by tracing the garment to its origin. Garments bearing 

a recognized trade-un10n insignia indicating the origin of said garment shall not be required to bear the additional insignia required 

by this Section. Every manufacturer engaged in the industry shall 

apply to the Cotton Garment Code Authority for permission to use 

insignia herein provided for, and each application, when approved, 

shall be given a registered identification and every garment manufactured thereafter by the applicant shall bear said registered identification except as provided above. The Code Authority shall charge 

no more than the actual cost of production and distribution of the 

dies labels or insi~nia, provided for herein. 

B. The Cotton Garment Code Authority, with the approval of the 

Admini trator, shall determine the insignia to be used under the 

provisions of this article and shall make such rule,s and regulations 

as to the use and location of the insignia on any particular garment 

as may be deemed practical or necessary. It is understood that the 

location of the insignia on the garment is to be in an inconspicuous 

po i tion such a,.s the skirt of a shirt, " size label " on overalls, etc. 

'. The Cotton Garment Code Authority shall set up an Insignia 

Registration Bureau for the purpose of carrying out the provis10ns 

of this article. 

.,A.RTICLE XIII- YIODIFICATIONS 

... . This Code and all the provisions thereof are expressly made 

ubject to the right of the President1 in nccordance with the provisio~ of Section 10 (b) of the at10nal Industrial Recovery ct, 

from time to time to cancel or modify any order approval, license, 

rule, or regulation i sued under Title I of said Act, and specifically, 

but without limitation, to th~ right of tae President to cancel or 
13 

modify his approval .of this Code or any conditions imposed by him 

upon his approval thereof. 

ARTICLE XIV-:r.1o);OPOLIEs 

A. No provis10n of this Code shall be o applied as to permit 

monopolies or monopolistic practices or to eliminate or oppress 

small enterprises or discriminate aga~nst them. 

ARTICLE XV-OPERATION AND APPLICATION 

A. This Code shall be in operation on and after the effective date 

as to the whole Cotton Garment Industry as described herein except 

as an exemption from or a stay of the application of this provision 

may be granted by the Administrator to a member applying for 

same, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Admini trator. 

B. The provisions of this Code shall not apply to manufacturing 

operations carried on outside the Continental portion of the United 

States. 

ARTICLE XVI-PRICE INCREASES 

A. Whereas the policy of the Act to increase real purchasing 

power will be made impossible of consummation if prices of goods 

and services increase as rapidly as wages, it is recognized that price 

increases should be delayed and that, when made, the same should, 

so far as reasonably possible, be limited to actual increases in the 

seller's costs. 

ARTICLE XVII-EFFECTIVE DATE 

A. The effective date of this Code shall be the first :r.:Ionday following the first Wednesday after the date of approval by the President 

of the United States. 

0 
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 

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