V 

Approved Code No. 118-Amendment No. 8 Regi§try No. 217-1-06 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

AMENDMENT TO 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

COTTON GARMENT INDUSTRY 

AS APPROVED ON SEPTEMBER 27, 1934 

WE ·oo OUR P.ARl 

UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON: 1934 

( 

I / 

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Approved Code No. 118-Amendment No. 8 

AMENDMENT TO CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

COTTON GARMENT INDUSTRY 

As Approved on September 27, 1934 

ORDER 

APPROVING Al\IENDl\fEN'l' TO THE CooE OF F Am Col\IPETITION FOR THE 

COTTON GARMENT INDUSTRY 

Hearings having been duly held in full compliance with the provisions of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act, approved 

June 16, 1933, in connection with amendments to the Code of Fair 

Competition for the Cotton Garment Industry and the annexed report on said amendments containing findings with respect thereto 

having been made and directed to the President, 

NOvV, TIIEREFORE, on behalf of the President of the United 

States, I, Hugh S. Johnson, Administrator for Industrial Recovery, 

pursuant to authority vested in me by the Code of Fair Competition 

for the Cotton Garment Industry, by Executive Orders of the President, including Executive Order No. 6543-A, dated December 30, 

1933, and otherwise; do hereby incorporate, by reference, said an- nexed report and do find that said amendments and the Code as constituted after being amended comply in all respects with the pertinent provisions and will promote the policy and purposes of said 

Title of said Act, and do hereby order that said amendments be and 

they are hereby approved, and that the previous approval of said 

Code is hereby modified to include an approval of said Code in its 

entirety as amended; such approval to take effect fourteen ( 14) 

days from the date hereof unless some good cause to the contrary is 

shown to the Administrator prior to that time and the Administrator 

issues a subsequent order to that effect. 

The Administrator may on the first Monday of December 1934, or 

thereafter, hold such hearing as he may specify to de~nnine the 

effect of the operation of these amendments and whether they should 

be continued or modified. 

Hum-I S. JOHNSON, 

Acl11iinistrator for Inclustrial Recovery. 

Approval recommended : 

SoL A. RosENBLATT, 

Division Administrator. 

,v AsHINGToN, D.c., 

Septembe1· 27, 1934. 

88403 °-1181-124--34 (1) 
REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT 

The PRESIDENT, 

The White H ouse. 

Sm: On June 18, 1934, a Public Hearing was called to consider 

amendments to the Code of Fair Competition for the Dress Manufacturing Industry, the Code of Fair Competition for the Men's 

Clothing Industr-y, and the Code o:f Fair Competition for the Cotton 

Garment Industries. :Matters of various subj ects were heard, among 

which was the problem of placing manufacturers of cotton house 

dresses under the provisions of the Dress Manufacturing Industry 

Code or the Cotton Garment Code, whichever Code would be most 

applicable to such manufacturers. These amendments are part of 

the results of this hearing. Every person who requested was fa.irly 

heard in accordance with the rules of the National Recovery 

Administration. 

When the Code of Fair Competition for the Dress Manufacturing 

Industry and of the Cotton Garment Industry were approved on 

October 31, 1933, and November 17, 1933, respectively, there were 

contained in the definitions of each of these Codes general and vague 

references to a type of product, and neither code contained definitions evenly remotely satisfactory or practica.1 as a means of limiting 

the coverage or scope of either code on this product. As a consequence, much serious overlapping and unfair competition has resulted, pri1narily because of very marked differences in the wage 

provisions of the Codes. The one provided for a minimum of $12 

ancl $13 for a forty ( 40) hour work week and the other for minimum 

rates for operators of from $15.50 to $26.25 for a thirty-five (35) hour 

work we.ek. 

At the time of the adoption by the Cotton Garment Industry of its 

Code of Fair Competition, this possible controversy was foreseen and 

the Code as approved contained a provision an excerpt from which 

is as fallows : 

"The products covered by Section A, paragraphs 8 ( cotton wash 

dresses) * * * 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 determination 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." 

A further provision was contained in the Code, namely Section D 

of Article 2, which provided in part as follows: 

"If ,:, * * there arises any dispute as to whether such product 

is covered by the provisions of this or another code * * * the 

Administrator may, after notice and hearing, decide under which 

code the product or subclivisional industry manufacturing the same 

is covered." 

Anticipated disputes did arise and hearings were held, as a result 

of which, there was appointed, by Order of December 14, a Special 

(2) 
3 

Administrator " for the purpose of classifying dress manufacturers 

as between the two codes, and of making a study and report or 

recommendations with respect to amendments to the Dress Manufacturing Code and of the Cotton Garment Code concerning definitions and wage rates and/ or hours of manufacture of such dresses ". 

This Order, by its own terms, was to expire on July 1, 1934, and 

further provided that the Special Administrator appointed under 

it should on or before that date make a report with recommendations. It was intended that on the ba is of this report and other 

proceedings, the Administrator would take further steps to arrive 

at a permanent solution of the matter by proper amendments to the 

Codes. The Special Administrator who wa appointed under this 

Order did, during his incumbency as Special Administrator, classify 

on the basis of reports, information and hearings a large number of 

manufacturers, to-wit, somethjng oYer 500 in number. Notwith tanding the provisions of this Order, the Cotton Garment Code Authority issued labels for the manufacture of house dresses to a substantial 

number of firms who had not been clas~ified by the Special Administrator as being entitled to operate under the Cotton Garment Code, 

so that in total approximately 700 firms made clre ses to which they 

attach 0 d cotton garment labels during this period. In general, a, 

very chaotic condition resulted which was most un atisfactory to 

all elements-the so-called legitimate house dre. s manufacturers 

fully as much as the dress industry. As a re ult of this chaos, the 

Dress Code Authority filed an application for an amendment for the 

Cotton Garment Code, and on the basis of this application, public 

hearing was held. After this public hearing and the rer ort of the 

Special Administrator, conferences and discussions were held by the 

Administration with the varion · groups involved, separately and 

jointly. 

Following i a summary of what appear to be the salient facts of 

the situation: 

There is a group of manufacturers to whom undue hardship might 

result from the application to them of all provisions of the Dress 

Code. However, the problem of delimiting this group and ascertaining just exactly what degree of relief would remedy the alleged 

hardship, without at the same time creating new conditions of unfair 

competition, was and is an extTemely difficult one. Further, the 

product which this group n1.akes, while clearly distinguishable in its 

yery lowest price ranges from the products made by the Dress Code 

manufacturer , r 0 aches a point which the Special Administrator 

referred to above ",vhere the two lines o:f manufacture overlap they 

can hardly be distinguished by fibre, price or tyling." 

The great difference between the wage anr:1 hour provisions of the 

two Codes creates such a labor cost differential that large numbers 

of 1nanufacturers, who never were house dre ·s manufacturers within 

the knowledge or memory of anybody in the Industry, clnmor to be 

given the right to operate under any conditions and terms de igned 

to afford relief to the so-called legitimate hou e dress manufa,..turers, 

which, if permitted, would aive these. groups very large and utterlv 

unjustifiable competitive advantages over both clre s manufacture/s 

under the Dress Code and such legitimate house dress manufacturers 
4 

as might conceivably be entitled to some measure of relief. Such 

manufacturer merely want to pay wages as low as possible. 

Thronghout this entire discu~sion the Dress Code Authority has 

con~istently maintained that the manufacture of dresses is one industry, and, until it is all included in one code, the problem cannot be 

solved. From this ·welter of fact, conjecture and opinion, the following 

recommendations are made in order to effect a sound solution of the 

problem: 

( 1) That the definition of cotton wash dresses in the Cotton Garment Code be amended to include only dresses of linen or of chief 

content of cotton selling at wholesale, to retailer up to and including 

$22.50 per dozen. 

(2) That all dresses selling at wholesale to retailer at over $22.50 

per dozen come under the Dress Code. 

Under thi · arrangement a very definite line. is drawn between the 

dresses which may be manufactured under the Cotton Garment Code 

and those that mu t be manufactured only under the Dress Code. 

This solution of the problem does not estop the manufacturers of 

dresses of the price range above $22.50 per dozen from requesting 

and obtaining such relief as circumstances justify if unfair competition or undue hardship is shown. 

It has been shown that a comparatively small volume of dresses 

of linen or of chief content of cotton wholesaling at below $22.51 

per dozen have been manufactured heretofore by members of the 

Dress :Manufacturing Industry operating under the Dress Code; 

also that a comparatively small volume of cotton dresses wholesaling at over $22.50 per dozen have been manufactured by the 

so-called legitimate house dress manufacturers. No real hardship 

will be imposed upon anyone by the limits defined. If a house dress 

manufacturer wishes to manufacture dresses wholesaling at $22.50 

per dozen he may do so under the terms of the Dress Code and, if 

circumstances justify, the Administrator n1.ay make exemptions in 

individual cases in order to prevent undue hardship. Enforcement 

by the Code Authorities can only be accomplished by a clear cut 

decision ·with a minimum of overlapping. 

The amendments are in four ( 4) parts as fallows : 

Part 1. Amends-Definitions, Article II, Section A of the Code by 

striking out the words " cotton wash dresses " and inserting, 

"dresses o:f linen or of chief content of cotton selling at wholesale 

to retailer up to and including $22.50 per dozen ". 

Part 2. Further amends-Definitions, Article II, by deleting Sec- tion B, which defines " cotton wash dresses" for the purpose of the 

provisions of the Code as originally approved. 

Part 3. Amends-Administration, Article IX, Section B by removing the name " The National Association of Cotton Dress Manufacturers" appearing in Item 10 of said Section B, and inserting in 

place thereof " The National Association of House Dress ~1anufacturers, Inc. '. 

Part 4. Amends-Unfair Trade Practices, Article XI, by adding 

as Section D, a provision making it an unfair trade practice and a 

violation of the Code to attach labels issued under the Code to any 

garment not specifically included within the Code. 
5 

The Deputy Administrator in his final report to me on said amendments to said Code having found as herein set forth and on the basis 

of all the proceedings in this matter: 

I find that: 

(a) The amendment to said Code and the Code as amended are 

well designed to promote the policies and purposes of Title I of the 

National Industrial Recovery Act including the removal of obstructions to the free flow of interstate and foreign commerce which tend 

to diminish the amount thereof, and will provide for the general 

welfare by promoting the organization of industry for the purpose 

of cooperative action of labor and management under adequate governmental sanction and supervision, by eliminating unfair competitive practices, by promoting the fullest possible utilization of the 

present productive capacity of industries, by avoiding undue restriction of production ( except as may be temporarily required), by 

increasing the consumption of industrial and agricultural products 

through increasing purchasing power, by reducing and relieving 

unemployment, by improving standards of labor, and by otherwise 

rehab ili ta ting in cl ustry. 

(b) The Code as amended complies in all re pects with the pertinent provisions of said Title of said Act, including without lin1itation sub-section (a) of Section 3, sub-section ( 11) of Section 7 and 

sub-section (b) of Section 10 thereof. 

( c) The amendments and the Code as amended arc not designed 

to and will not permit monopolies or monopolistic practices. 

( d) The amendments and the Code as amended are not designed 

to and will not eliminate or oppress small enterprises and will not 

operate to discriminate against them. 

( e) Those engaged in other steps of the economic process have not 

been deprived of the right to be heard prior to approval of said 

amendments. 

(f) The Code empowers the Administrator to tak the within 

action. -

For the e reasons these amendments have been approved. 

Respectfully, 

SEPTEMBER 27, 1934. 

HUGHS. JOHNSON, 

Acl11iinistrator. 
/ 

AMENDMENT TO CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR 

THE COTTON GARMENT INDUSTRY 

The Code of Fair Competition £or the Cotton Garment Industry, 

approved November 17, 1933, and subsequently amended, is hereby 

amended as follows : 

1. In Article II, Section A of said Code, item (8), the words 

" cotton wash dresses " are stricken out and the words " dresses of 

linen or of chief content of cotton selling at wholesale to the retailer 

up to and including $22.50 per dozen " are inserted. 

2. Section B of Article II is deleted. 

3. Section B of Article IX is amended by striking out the words 

" The National Association of Cotton Dress Manufacturers " appearing in item ( 10) of the official copy of the Code and inserting 

jn place thereof "The National Association of House Dress Manufacturers, Inc." 

4. Article XI is amended by adding Section D as follows : 

"D. It shall be an unfair tr.a.de practice and a violation of this 

Code to attaGh N. R. A. labels issued hereunder to any garment not 

specifically included within this Code." 

Approved Code No. US-Amendment No. 8. 

Registry No. 217-1-06. 

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