Registry No. 409-06 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

PROPOSED CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

WHOLESALE STATIONERY 

INDUSTRY 

AS SUBMITTED ON AUGUST 31, 1933 

V!E DO OUR P4 

The Code for the Wholesale Stationery Industry 

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

industry, and none of the provisions 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 
SUBMITTED BY 

"WHOLESALE STATIONERS ASSOCIATION OF THE U.S.A. 

(II) 
CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION OF THE WHOLESALE 

STATIONER'S DIVISION OF THE STATIONERY AND 

OFFICE EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY 

To effectuate the policy of Title I of the National Indu trial 

Recovery Act, the following provisions are established as a code of 

fair competition for Wholesale Stationers: 

ARTICLE I-PURPOSE 

Thi code is set up for the purpose of cooperating with the manufacturers of all ty.pes of stationery and allied prodn ts, to bring 

about increased employment, to increase purchasing power, to increase industry, to foster fair competition, to render economical 

service of distribution to manufacturer , to establish fair and a lequate wages, and to ELIMI ATE UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES in connection 

with the distribution of stationery products. 

ARTICLE II-PARTICIPATION 

Participation in this code and in any ubsequent addition to the 

code shall be extended to any person, partnership, or corporation, 

conducting a legitimate wholesale business in the stationery industry. It is not CO)IPULSORY that all such individuals, partnerships, or 

corporations, be members of the Wholesale Stationers' As ociation; 

BUT, this code and all of its provisions have been develo.ped by this 

Association and its membership, as the only recognized trade Association incorporated and organized for the wholesale stationery division of this industry, and including therein as members the principal 

wholesale distributors of stationery in the United States, therefore, 

this code is a true statement of ethics and trade practices covering 

the nece ities of fair competition to enable wholesaling in the industry to be operated successfully and profitably under the Industrial Recovery Act, and subsequent regulation and enforcement of 

the code will be entirely in the hands of this Association and its 

membership. 

Active membership in the Association is open to any proven reputable legitimate whole ale distributor of stationery and allied 

products in the United States. 

ARTICLE III-CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE WHOLESALE STATIONER 

For the purpo e of administration of this code the wholesale of 

stationery is defined and classified as hereto set forth: 

Fir t. vVholesale distributors selling principally stationery and 

allied products. 

9456-33 (1) 
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Second. Wholesale druggists maintaining a recognized wholesale 

stationery department. 

Third. Wholesale paper houses maintaining a recognized wholesale stationery department. 

Fourth. Wholesale toy and notion houses with sub tantial stationery departments. 

In each and every clas ification, a LEGITIMATE whole aler mu t buy 

and sell for his own account, m.aintain stocks and warehouse, and 

perform the recognized functions of wholesaling. 

ARTICLE IV- LABOR CooE 

SECTION 1. E1nployers in the wholesale tationery divi ion of this 

indu try shall comply ·with the requirement of the X ational Industrial Recovery Act a follow : (1) that employees ·hall have the 

right to organize and bargain collectively through repre entatives 

of their O"\\n choosing, and shall be free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers of labor or their agents, in the 

de ignation of such repre entatives or in self-organization or in 

other concerted activitie for the purpose of collective bargaining 

or other mutual aid or protection· (2) that no employee and no one 

eeking employment shall be required as a condition of employment 

to join any company union or to refrain from joining organizjng, or 

as i ting a labor organization of his own choo ing · and (3) that 

employers hall comply Vi·ith the maximmn hours of labor, minimum 

rate of pay, and other conditions of employment, approved or precribed by the Pre ident. 

SEc. 2. ,vith the exception of special provisions as hereinafter 

noted the maximum hours of work for the employee in thi branch 

of the indu try and the minimum wages to be paid hall conform 

to the follo"ing chedule. 

The minimum wages shall be at the following rate ~: 

Cities of 500.000 population and over_ _____ ______________ .'H. 00 per week. 

100.000 to 500,000_______________________________________ 13. 50 per week. 

Other 'ommunitie -------------------------------------- 13. 00 per week. 

Di tributor located in the Southern Section of the United States, 

South of the j)fa on and Dixon Line will pay a minimum of $1.00 

per week les than these schedule . 

Except that on and after the effective date of thi code. Junior 

employees between the age of 16 and 18 year inclu ive with les 

than ix month experience in any whole ale e~tabli hment, hall 

be paid at the rate of 12.00, 11.50, and $11.00 a · of the clas ifica -

tion of communitie li tecl above and except that apprentice employees more than 1 year of age with le s than ix month ' experi- ence in any whole ale e tabli hment hall be paid at the rate of 

1.00 le . per ,vorkweek than the rate for communitie Ii ted above. 

On and after the effective date of this Code no member of the 

indu try hall ,vork any employee ( except ex cutive "ho e alaries 

exceed thirt -five ( 3-.00) dollars p r "\\eek night watchmen routside sale men, and except outside deliverymen and maintenance employee "\\ho may be employed forty-eight hour weekly or more, if 

paid time and one third for all hour over forty-eight hours weekly), 

for more than forty ( 40) hours per week, excepting at Chri tmas, 
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inventory, and other peak periods, employees ·may work forty-eight 

( 48) hours per week for a maximum of not to exceed three week in 

each six months. 

ARTICLE V-INDUSTRY REGULATION 

TRADE-PRACTICE RULES FOR FAIR COMPETITION 

In recognition of the fact that the entire welfare of the indu try 

is predicated upon competitive condition of the indu try, thi Association of whole ale distributors adopts the following Code governing competition : 

1. It shall be the policy of this division of the stationery indu try, 

namely, the wholesale stationers' division, to publicly adopt and announce ACCEPTABLE manufacturers' price schedules, and any member 

of the industry selling or proposing to sell at different price below 

those stipulated in these announced price , chedules shall be considered as violating this Code. 

2. This indu try, recognizing the manufacturer ' right to safeguard his assets and protect the standing of his products established 

through advertising and other promotional effort, declares in favor 

of the resale price policy, and such prices to be contingent upon a 

proven fair profit and not detrimental to public interests. 

3. Uniform dating on seasonal goods, such as Valentines, February 

1st; Easter Good April 1 t; Sporting Goods, April 1st; School 

Supplie , September 1 t; Holiday Goods, November 1st; shall apply 

under this Code. Al o Uniform Cash Discounts-2% 10 days end of 

month, 30 days net for seasonal or dating orders-all other 2% 10 

days E.O.M., 60 days net. (In no case shall cash discounts exceed 

2% 30 days or 15th of the month following date of purchase.) 

4. Discrimination between distributors by offering consignment 

arrangements not available to all is a violation of thi Code. 

5. Offering or giving special cash or trade discounts on mail orders 

better than given on orders taken by sale men or through regular 

channel shall constitute a violation of this Code. 

6. Collective group or joint buying, practiced for the purpose to 

obtain maximum di counts on quantities which the individual buyer 

or member of the group cannot use for his own account, shall constitute a violation of this Code. 

7. The secret payment or offering of allowance of rebates, refunds, 

commi sions, credit , or unearned discounts, whether in the form 

of money, merchandise, premium. , or otherwise, constitutes a violation of this code . . Direct factory or drop hipment con tituting le s than a fixed 

mimimum hipment, or any mall hipment le than a regular 

minimum shipment ( ·uch shipments to be either dollars and cents, 

merchancli e or weight) a deci led upon by variou manufacturers' 

commodity group , shall be subject to a ervice charge to be determined by the requirements of each commodity group, and any variation from such practice will con titute a violation of the Code. 

9. Definite standard of grade , qualitie , size , quantities, and 

count for fabricated units offered at a unit publi heel price and as 

e tabli hed by manufacturers' commodity groups shall be adopted, 
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and any variation from. ~uch schedules as set up will be a violation 

of this Code. 

10. Selling of merchandise at a price reduced from a fictitious or 

any unreasonably marked-up prices will constitute a violation of 

this Code. 

11. To protect small units of the industry it will be considered 

an unfair practice for manufacturers to off er to any distributor unit 

of merchandise of larger size or count than will be offered to any 

other type of distributor at prices which would prohibit the small, 

indirect buying dealer from profitably selling such merchandise at 

comparable retail prices. 

12. The circulation of threats of suits for infringement of patent 

or trademark among customers of competitors, not made in good 

faith but for the purpose and with the effect of harassing and intimidating the customers, constitutes a violation of this Code. 

13. With due recognition to initiative in business, the practice 

of usurping designs, .styles, or patterns originated by a competitor 

and appropriating them for one's own use constitutes a violation of 

this Code. 

14. The imitation of trademarks, trade name, slogans, or other 

marks of identification of competitors constitutes a violation of this 

Code. 

15. Selling of merchandise at prices below a reasonable mark-up 

to cover MINIMUM costs of distribution is a violation of this Code. 

This division of the industry recognizes the right under this title 

to interchange cost information, price lists, and such other data as 

may be necessary for the industry to more efficiently operate and to 

more scientifically serve the requirements of distribution £or the 

public interests. 

ARTIOLE VI 

Each person covered by this code will submit to the administrator 

or any other agency designated by the President duly certified 

reports in reference to the cost of doing business or any other figures 

required for the purpose of showing the effect of said code, and will 

also furnish to the Secretary of the ·Wholesale Stationers' Association 

figures when ever required showing actual hours of work by the 

various occupational groups of employees and the minimum rates of 

wages. 

ARTICLE VII 

It will be considered a violation of this code for any wholesale 

stationer to stock, promote the sale of, or to do business with any 

American manufacturer, whether in intrastate commerce or interstate commerce, who does not maintain the wage scale and the 

maximum hours established by the majority of the manufacturers 

in said commodity who have submitted a code to the Government. 

ARTICLE VIII 

For the protection of the small wholesaler and in order to achie,·e 

stabilization in our industry and to build consumer buying confidence, the wholesale stationers declare that they will require from 
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€ach supplying manufacturer a definite statement of sales policy, 

:i.e., whether the manufacturer sells only through retailers and whole- _aler and other retail outlets, or also sells direct to the consumer, or 

both, and such declaration shall include subsidiaries of said manufacturer , companies operating under other names, and companies 

in which said 1nanufacturers have major financial interests. The 

wholesale stationer shall also require from these manufacturers a 

definite statement of price policy as of each cla s of distributionretail: wholesale, and other retail outlets and direct selling. A 

declaration of such policy by any manufacturer will bind him in 

honor to abide by his definitely announced policy. Deviation from 

uch policy by 1nan'ufacturers con titutes a breach of confidence between the manufacturer and his distributors and will be considered 

by the wholesale stationer as an unfair method of competition. 

Such violations, after having been established in fact by the Board of 

Control of the Wholesale Stationers' Association, shall be subject to 

J)Ublication to all wholesalers in the A3sociation. 

ARTICLE IX 

It shall be deemed a method of unfair competition for any supplying manufacturer to extend to any person or gronp of persons 

,credit terms not extended to all persons or groups of persons under 

like circumstances and conditions. The wholesale stationers declare 

... uch a method to be a method of unfair competition. 

ARTICLE X 

In the event that it becomes necessary for a manufacturer supplier 

•Or wholesaler to liquidate surplus, slow moving or obsolete merchandise, the manufacturer or wholesaler shall file with the Secretary of 

this Association, who will notify the General Manager of the National Stationers' Association for publication to all Commercial 

Stationers, a statement showing the quantity, styles, and numbers 

of such merchandise offered for sale. The Secretary shall distribute 

this list of merchandise to all wholesalers in the affected territory 

so that such outlets may have the privilege of purchasing or exchanging this merchandise for a period of thirty days. At the end of this 

period the Secretary may authorize the disposition of that merchandise by it~ original owi:er for a_ period o~ sixty days at a price to 

be deternnned by a pec1al committee app01nted for that purpose. 

ARTICLE XI-STATISTIC 

In order to provide data necessary to supervise the execution of 

this Code and to determine the fairne s and reasonablene s of the 

trade practices heretofore listed, all firms coming under the classification of wholesale stationers hall furni h the Wholesale Stationers Association nece sary statistical information bearing on 

wages 1 hours, costs of doing bu iness, etc. 

ARTICLE XII-AnMINI TRATION 

All communications and conferences of the Wholesale Stationers' 

<livision of tp.e stationery industry pertaining to or concerning im-
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provements of THIS code or any of its provisions or any matters 

relating thereto shall be through the Advisory Coordjnator who is 

also the Secretary of the Wholesale Stationers' Association. 

The Secretary, acting as manager of this Association, together with 

the Board of Control, shall be empowered to administer the provisions of this code, to secure adherence thereto, to hear and adjust 

complaints, to consider proposals for amendments thereof and otherwise carry out within the industry the purposes of the National 

Industrial Recovery Act. 

The Secretary, with the approval of the Board of Control, shall 

prescribe such other rules and regulations as he shall deem proper 

for the administration and the enforcement of this code. 

ARTICLE XIII 

Any violation of any article or section of this code shall be dealt 

with in a hearing before the Board of Control of the Wholesale Stationers' Association. Penalty for such violation shall be within the 

discretion of the Board of Control or Committee appointed for the 

purpose. Repeated violation of the code or refusal to accept such 

penalty as may be imposed, may subject the violator to suspension 

or expulsion. When such suspension or expulsion is invoked, the 

name of the violator and reason for suspension or expulsion shall 

be filed with the Administrator of the Industrial Recovery Act. 

ARTICLE XIV 

The Wholesale Stationers, recognizing that there is a close link between the manufacturer and his distributors, hereby declare that 

they shall permit manufacturers to approve this code in principle 

and that the names of such manufacturers shall be published anct 

placed in the hands of all wholesale stationers participating jn this 

code. 

ARTICLE XV-GENERAL 

No provision in this code shall be interpreted or applied in such a 

manner as to promote monopolies or to eliminate, discriminate 

again t, or oppress small enterprises. 

This code and all its provisions is subject to the approval of the 

Pre ident of the United States as provided in the Industrial Recovery 

Act and is subject to such changes or modification , fro1n time to time, 

as the President may direct in accordance with Section 10 (b) of the 

National Industrial Recovery Act. 

This code may be amended by a two thirds affirmative vote of the 

members of the code, provided that the amendment is approved by 

the Board of Control and the President of the United States. 

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