Registry No. 1603-02 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

ARTIFICIAL FLOWER AND 

FEATHER INDUSTRY 

AS APPROVED ON SEPTEMBER 7, 1933 

BY 

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT 

. -· ·- o---

, "... ~ --·- - WE DO OUR PART 

1. Executive Order of President Roosevelt 

2. Report of Administrator 

S. Report of Deputy Administrator 

4. Text of Code 

UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON : 1933 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washineton, D.C. - - -

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ExECUTIVE ORDER 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE FLO\iVER AND 

FEATHER INDUSTRY 

An 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 Flower and Feather 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 Administrator having found that the said Code of Fair 

Competition complies in all respects with the pertinent provisions of 

Title I of the 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 Act, approve l June 16, 1933, and 

otherwise, do adopt and 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. 

FRANKLIN D. RoosEVELT. 

Approval recommended : 

HuGH S. JoHNSON. 

THE WmTE Ho sE, 

September 18, 1933. 

(III) 
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8EPTEJ1IBER 14, 1933. 

The PRESIDENT, 

T lte lV hite H OU8e. 

MY DEAR Mr. PrmSIDENT: I have the honor to submit and recomn1end for your approval, the Code of Fair Competition for the Artificial Flower and Feather Indt1stry. The Code has been approved 

by the Labor Advisory Board, the Consumers Advisory Board and 

the Industrial Advisory Board. 

An analysis of the provisions of the Code has bBen made by the 

~dministration land a complete report is being transmitted to you. 

I find that the t;ode complies with the requirements of clauses 1 and 

2, subsection (a) of Section 3 of the National Industrial Recovery 

'Act. 

I am, my dear l\1r. President, 

Very sincerely yours, 

HuGH S. JoHNSON, Ad1ninistrator. Enclosure. 

(IV) 
REPORT OF THE DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR ON THE CODE 

OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE ARTIFICIAL FLOWER 

AND FEATHER INDUSTRY 

I 

A proposed Code of Fair Com.petition for the Flower and Feather 

Industry was submitted by the Artificial Flower and Feather Industries of America, Incoq orated, and a hearing thereon was held the 

twenty-ninth day of August, 1933. 

The Artificial Flower Industry includes both the preservation of 

natural flowers and plants and the manufacture of artificial flowers, 

leaves, fruit , etc., from paper and cloth. The F eather Industry 

includes the preparation and renovation of ostrich plumes and the 

manufacture of fancy articles from feathers. 

The submitting association represents approximately eighty-five 

percent of the industry by volume of business. There is a total of 

about three hundred concerns in the industry of which one hundred 

seventy are represented by the Artificial Flower and Feather Industries of America~ Incorporated. 

II 

The Code as recommended by the Administrator may be summarized as follows : 

Article I enumerates the purposes of the Code. 

Article I I sets forth certain definitions. 

Article I I I provides for a maximum hour schedule of forty hours 

per week with the possibility of overtime, if in the judgment of the 

Code Authority overtime may be found necessary. 

A1·ticle IV provides a basic minimum wage of fifteen dollars per 

week for skilled and semiskilled employees and ten dollars per 

week for apprentices. The employment of apprentices is made subject to strict regulation. This article also contains a clause requirin~ ~he equitable readjustment of wage scales in excess of the basic 

minimUm. 

Article V abolishes child labor (minors under sixteen years of 

age). 

Article VI sets up a Code Authority to cooperate with the Administrator in the administration of the Code and enumerates certain 

recommendations concerning trade practices which the Code Authority may make at some future time to the Administrator. 

Article VII contains the ma.ndatory provisions of the National 

Industrial Recovery Act and makes certain other provisions regulating the conditions of employment. 

Article VIII provides for the regulation of homework and the 

abolition of fifty percent of the existing homework by January 1~ 

1934, and the_ abolition of all homework by May 1, 1934. 

(V) 
VI 

III 

The subjects of wages, hours of labor, and general conditions in 

the industry, as well as an estimate of the extent to which this Code 

will effectuate the purposes of the National Industrial Recovery 

Act, are admirably detailed in the accompanying report of Mr. Kolchin of the Planning and Research Division. 

Mr. Kolchin estimates that the provisions of this Code will bring 

about a twenty percent increase in employment plus an undeterminable percentage due to the decrease in the number of homeworkers 

and a twenty ·percent increase in wages plus the raising to th..~ minimum which cannot be determined. 

A Code Authority is set up by this Code to assist the Administrator. It is provided that this Code Authority consist of seven members and that all of them be appointed by the Administrator. Such 

a procedure, it is realized, is somewhat unusual; but the rather 

peculiar internal organization of the industry makes this arrangement advisable. Originally there was but one trade association: the 

Artificial Flower and ]feather Industries of America, Incorporated. 

Certain minor disagreements, however, brought about a schism 

within this association and a minority group drew off to form an 

association of its own. For the Code to recognize either association 

to the exclusion of the other might be interpreted a.s unfair discrimination. On the other hand, if the Administrator should specify 

that a certain number of the members of the Code Authority be 

appointed by one association and a certain number by the other association, as has at times been our practice, there would be a tendency 

to encourage the division of the industry into two rival associations. 

Such a tendency would be unfortunate; within an industry as small 

as this, two associations are unnecessary and can accomplish no good 

purpose. It is planned that the members of the Code Authority 

shall be chosen from leading figures in each of these associations. 

Such appointees, however, will be recognized by the Administrator. 

not as representatives of either association, but as representatives of 

the industry as a whole. In the meantime, steps are being taken to 

reconcile the 1ninor disagreements and to bring the industry once 

n1ore into one compact or~anization. It is expected that, by the time 

this Code comes into ettect, such a reconciliation will have been 

made. 

IV 

·In n1any industries homework has been, or soon will be, prohibited. In most, if not all, of these, however, homework is of 

relatively little importance; it does not constitute an integral part 

of the productive system. On the other hand, homework has always 

been a considerable factor in the Artificial Flower and Feather Industry, and it is feared that any radical and abrupt change at this 

time might further depress and djsorganize an industry already in 

a highly precarious situation. Time must be allowed for gradual 

and orderly readjustment. New workers must be brought into the 

factories and acclimated to the factory system of production. Two 

seasons at least will be required to provide the necessary staffs to 
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meet the production quotas formerly supplied with the aid of homeworkers. 

The evil of homework is fully r ecognized . The deplorable conditions in this industry led the State of New York to impose rigid 

regulations on all homework; and though great steps forward have 

been taken on the basis of this legislation, and though many of the 

objectionable features of the system have been eliminate 1, homework in the Artificial Flower and Feather Indu try is an evil limited 

by not much more than the scope of the practice it elf. 

On the other hand, the immediate and complete prohibition of 

homework, quite aside from the disorganization it would impose 

upon the industry, would imr ose evere hardship on the homeworkers themselves. I t would be as difficult for the homeworkers 

as for the employers of homeworkers to adjust themselves overnight 

to a new system of production. 

In view of these considerations, a method has been sought whereby 

homework might be gradually eliminated from the industry. As 

stated above, at least two seasons will be required to bring about 

the necessary readjustment. One season will terminate by January 

1, 1934, and another by May 1 1934. To speed r eorganization, one 

half of the homework now performed is prohibited after January 1. 

Employers will thus be impelled, through f ear of curtailed production after that dare, to begin immediately the training of factory 

workers; and they will be impelled, by a like consideration, to continue such a policy after January 1, to provide against May 1, when 

homework will be completely abolished. 

To prevent the abuse of the homework privilege during the interval for which it is allowed, stringent regulations are provided. No 

person may engage in homework without permission from the Code 

Authority; such permission will in no case be given unless evidence 

is presented that all local and state laws regarding homework, as 

well as all regulations imposed by this Code, have been complied 

with; each employer must file with the Code Authority and with the 

Administrator a complere list of the homeworkers in his service, 

and must file periodically reports showing the wages paid to each 

person so engaged. These provisions, and others, it is thought, will 

minimize the evil of homework during the comparatively short 

interval between the time this Code goes Into effect and May 1, 1934, 

when homework will be finally and completely prohibited. 

The Deputy 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 trade association submitting said Code irrnposes no 

inequitable restrictions on admission to membership therein and is 

truly representative of the Artificial Flower and Feather Industry; 

and that 

(c) The Code is not designed to promote monopolies or to limit 

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 Indust6.al Recovery Act. 

EARL DEAN HowARD, 

Deputy Adntinistrator. 
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CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE ARTIFICIAL 

FLO\'VER AND FEATHER INDUSTRY 

ARTICLE I 

To effectuate the poli ies of Title I of the National Industrial 

Recovery Act, the following provisions arc ubmittecl as a Code of 

Fair Competition for the Artificial Flower and Feather Indu try, 

and upon approval by the Pre ident, shall be the standard of fair 

competition for this indu try. 

ARTICLE II-DEFL TITIONS 

1. The term "industry ' as used herein includes the manufacture, 

whole ale distribution, and importation of artificial flowers and 

feathers and such branches and subdivisions thereof as may from 

time to time be included under the provi ions of this Cede. 

2. The term "employee" as used heroin includes any person engaged in any phase of the industry, in any capacity, irrespectiv of 

his method of compensation or interest otherwise in said industry. 

3. The t erm ' employer" as used herein incluclos anyone for who e 

benefit or on whose business such employee i engaged, and anyone 

engaged in said industry on his own behalf. 

4. The term "persons " as used herein shall include, but shall not 

be limited to, natural persons, tru tees, partner hips, recoivers, a sociations, and corporations. 

5. The term "effective date" as used herein shall mean and this 

Code shall become effective on the first Monday after this Code shall 

have been approved by the President of the United State . 

ARTICLE III-Ho R OF LABOR 

1. Except as hereinafter provided, no employee shall "ork, or be 

permitted to work, in excess of forty ( 40) hours in any one week, or 

more than eight (8) hours in any twenty-four (24) hour period. 

2. Subject to review by the Aclmini trator, the Code Authority 

may designate the hour before which work shall not begin and the 

hour after which work shall not continue, and may determine in 

which localities such reo·ulations shall apply. 

3. No overtime shall be permitted except upon the recommendation 

of the Code Authority and the app·roval of the Administrator, and 

under such conditions and upon such terms as the Administrator may 

prescribe. 

4. No employee shall work or be permitted to work for a total 

number of hour in excess of the number of hours pre cribed for 

each week and day, whether employed by one or more employers. 

12106°----133-34----33 (1) 
AnTICLE IV-RATES OF PAY 

1. No employees shall be paid at lec:s than the rate of fifteen 

dollars ($15.00) per week of forty (40) hours. 

2. Apprentices.-(a) No apprentices shall be paid at less than the 

rate of ten dollars ($10.00) per week of forty (40) hours for the 

first six (6) weeks of employment, and thereafter not le s than the 

minimum wages provided in Section (1) of this Article. 

(b) If the operation at which any apprentice is engaged has a 

piecework rate and the amount earned at piece rate is more than 

ten dollars ($10.00) per week, such apprentice shall be paid on a 

piece-rate basis. 

(c) The period of apprenticeship shall be strictly limited to six 

(6) weeks and any time worked by an apprentice shall be deemed 

a part of such apprenticeship period, whether such time is worked 

continuously or in more than one shop or for more than one employer. 

(d) The number of apprentices engaged by any one employer shall 

at no time exceed ten percent (10% ) of the total number of employees engaged by such employer. 

3. No employee shall be paid less than the minimum wages set 

forth in this article, regardless of whether such employee is compensated on a time-rate or a piece-rate basis. 

4. No employer shall reduce the hour:ly rate of compensation for 

employment in effect as of July 1, 1933, whether heretofore paid on 

a monthly, weekly, daily, or hourly basis. The hourly rates of pay 

of all employees whose hours of employment have been reduced by 

the provisions of this code, but whose wages have not been increased 

by the foregoing sections of this article, shall be increased by an 

equitable readjustment. 

ARTICLE V-MINIMU:l\i AGE 

No person under sixteen (16) years of age shall be employed in 

the industry. ·' 

ARTICLE VI-ADMINISTRATION 

To further effectuate the purposes of the Act, a Code Authority 

is hereby set up to cooperate with the Administrator in the administration of this Code. 

A. (1) The Code Authority shall consist of seven (7) memoors 

who shall be representative of the various interests in the industry 

and such other interests as the Administrator may designate, and 

shall be appointed by the Administrator. 

(2) Any trade or industrial association participating in the selection or activities of the Code Authority shall at all times comply with 

the following requirements: 

(a) It shall impose no inequitable restrictions on membership. 

(b) It shall not violate any rule or regulation prescribed by the 

President of the United States, or any other provision of theN ational 

Industrial Recovery Act. 

(c) It shall submit to the Administrator, or his deputy, for 

approval true copies of its articles of association, bylaws, regulations, and any amendments when made thereto, together with such 
other in:formation as the Administrator may require from time to 

time to effectuate the policies of thi Act. 

(3) The Administrator hall entertain complaint and provide uch 

hearings as he may deem necessary or proper for tho c claiming the 

right to be represented on the said Code Authority, and he shall 

have the right from time to time to change the method of selection 

and the organizations selecting the members of the ode Authority 

in order that the Code Authority shall be truly representative of the 

industry. 

( 4) An appeal from any action by he Code Authority affecting 

the rights of any person subject to this Code may be taken to the 

Administrator. 

( 5) Hereafter only employers assenting to this Code shall be 

entitled to participate in the election of the Code Authority and to 

share the benefits of its activities as herein set forth. Any employer 

accepting the benefits of the activities of the Code Authority shall 

pay his proportionate share of the expense of the maintenance of the 

Code Authority and its activities. 

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

to the ext-ent permitted by this Act and subject to rev-iew by the 

Administrator: 

(1) To elect officers and assign to them such duties as it may consider advisable, and to provide rules for its selection by the industry, 

its procedure, and its continuance as tho administrative agency of 

this Code, in accordance with the terms of the Act and the principles 

herein set forth. 

(2) To admini ter and enforce the provisions of this Code. 

(3) To obtain from time to time from employers in the industry 

reports in re pect to wages, hours of labor conditions of employment, number of employees, and other matters pertinent to the 

purposes of this Code as the Code Authority may prescribe, and 

to submit periodical reports to the Administrator in such fonn 

and at such times as he may require, in order that the Pre ident 

may be kept informed with respect to the observance hereof. 

( 4) To regulates the use of the N .R.A. in ignia and to limit the 

same to employers in the industry who have agreed "-o comply wi"-h 

this Code, so long as they confonn to its provisions. 

(5) To coordinate the administration of this Code with such 

other codes if any, as may be related to the Artificial Flower and 

Feather Industry or any subdivision thereof, with a view to promoting joint and harmonious action upon matters of common 

interest. 

(6) To make Stl.rveys, to compile reports to collect statistics and 

trade information, to investigate unfair trade practices, to make 

recommendations for fair-trade practices, to initiate and consider 

proposals for amendments or modifications of this Code, and otherwi e assist the Adnunistrator in effecting the purpo es of this Code 

and the National Indu trial Recovery Act. 

(7) To secure a proportionate payment of the expense of maintaining the Code Authority and its activities from those employers 

accepting the benefits of the activities of the Code Authority. 

U. The Code Authority shall studv the following matters and provisions relating to trade practices and the operation thereof, and may 
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make recommendations thereon in the form set forth, or as modified, 

to the Adminj,strator. Upon the approval of the Administrator and 

after such hearing as he may prescribe, such recommendations, or any 

part of them, shall become a part of this Code and shall have full 

force and effect as provisions hereof. 

(1) False M arking.-The false marking or branding of any product of the industry which has the tendency to mislead or deceive 

customer,s or prospective customers as to the grade, quality, quantity, 

substance, character, nature, origin, size, finish, or preparations of 

any product of the industry is prohibited as an unfair method of 

competition. 

(2) False Adve-rtising.-The making or causing or permitting to 

be made or published, any false, untrue, or deceptive statement by 

way of advertisement or otherwise concerning the grade, quality, 

quantity, sub.stance, character, nature, origin, size, or preparation of 

any product of the industry having the tendency and capacity to 

mislead· or de·ceive purchasers or prospective purchasers is prohibited 

as an unfair. method of competition. 

(3) T erm-S and Discounts.-The ma~imum terms that shall operate 

in the :following branches o£ the industry, namely, decorative flowers, 

wax flowers, flowers and :feathers manu:factured :for the dress, cloak 

and suit, negligee trade, raw :fancy :feathers, naturally prepared botanical products and :feather dyers, shall be two percent (2%) discount in ten (10) days c.o.m., or the equivalent thereo£; on all other 

manu:factured artificial flowers and :feathers a maximum discount of 

eight percent (8% ) in ten (10) days c.o.m., or the equivalent thereo£ 

at the rate o£ six percent ( 6% ) per annum. 

( 4) R eturn of M erchandise.-N o merchandise purchased and 

shipped in good :faith and in accordance with the buyer's specifications may be returned :for credit by any purchaser, unless returned 

within three (3) days. 

(5) Selling on Oonsignment.-No merchandise shall be shipped on 

memorandum or on consignment for sale. 

(6) Gratuities.-The giving o£ gratuities or girts to buyers, 

whether in the :form o£ money, goods, or privileges is prohibited. 

(7) Advertisin.q.-Allowance o£ discounts :for advertising or for 

payment :for space in newspapers, magazines, guides, or directories 

on behal£ o£ any retailer to be used in promoting the sale o£ merchandise to the consumer is prohibited. The supplying of cuts, 

matrices, and window cards shall, however, not be included in such 

prohibition. 

(8) .Assign1nents.-No person shall take or receive :from any customer, either before or a:fter the delivery o£ merchandise, either directly or indirectly, an assignment o£ accounts receivable, or security 

in any :form whatsoever, in payment of the purchase price o£ merchandise or as security there:for, without first noti:fy1ng the Code 

Authority that such assignment or security has been or is about to 

be received, nor shall any person assign, sell, trans:fer, or mortgage 

its accounts receivable or chattels, either directly or indirectly, without first noti:fying the Code Authority that such trans:fer, sale, 

assignment, or mortgage has been or is about to be taken or given. 

(9) F.O.B. Ship1nents.-All shipments to retailers shall be made 

f.o.b. city o£ manu:facture. 
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(10) False lnvoicing.-No ale shall b'-' maJc by any per on upon 

any other terms :s:cept as expre ·ly ·et forth in the order, contract of 

sale, or the invoice pertaining to such ale. 

(11) The regulation of style and design pira y. 

ARTICLE VII 

1. Employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own chao ing, and shall be 

free from interference, restraint, or coercion of e1nployers of labor, 

or their agents, in the de ignation of such representatives or in selforganization or in other concerted activities for the purpose of collcctiv bargainina or other mutual aid or protection; 

2. No employee and no on a seeking employment hall be required 

as a condition of employment to join any company union or to refrain from joining, organizing or a...:sisting a labor organization of 

his own choosing· and 

3. Emplo3 ers hall comply with the maximum hours of labor, 

minimmn rates of pay and other condition of employment approved 

or prescribed by the President. 

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

subject to the right of the President, in acr>orclance with the provision of Subsection (b) of SBction 10 of the N n.tional Industrial Recovery Act fron1 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 the right of the President to cancel or modify his approval of this Code or any conditions 

impose 1 by him upon his approval thereof. 

5. \Vithin each state, members cf the indu try shall comply with 

any la\\s of such state impo ·ing more stringent requirements, regulating the age of employees, wages~ hours of 1\0rk or health, fire or 

general working conditions, than under this Code. 

6 . .No goods shall be manufactured by any employer in any prison, 

prison camp, penitentiary, reformatory, or other penal institution 

or in any place by means of pri on labor. 

7. No work hall be done or be permitted to be done in any basement , unsanitary 1 uildings, buildings un afe on account of fire risks, 

or otherwise dangerous. In any state in which buildings used in 

the industry, including dwellings, are subject to inspection by the 

D epartment of Labor of such tate, or of the Government of the 

United States, no work shall be done in such buildings or dwellings 

without the provisions relating to such inspection having first been 

complied with, and proof of such compliance having been supplied 

to the Code Authority. . 8. Any employer who at any time shall manufacture any article 

or articles subject to the provisions of this Code, shall be bound by 

all the provisions of this Code as to all employees engaged in whole 

or in part in such manufacture. In case any employee shall be engaged partly in such manufacture and partly in the manufacture of 

goods of another character, this Code shall only apply to such 

portion of such employee's time as is applied to the manufacture of 

articles subject to this Code. 
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9. Nothing in this Code is designed to promote, nor shall it permit 

monopolies or monopoli tic practices; nor is it designed to, nor shall 

it eliminate, oppre , or discriminate against small enterprises. 

ARTICLE VIII-HoMEWORK 

1. No home work shall be permitted after :May 1, 1934. After 

January 1, 1934, no employer shall employ more than fifty percent 

(50% ) of the number of home workers employed by him as o:f 

September 1, 1933. 

2. Until May 1, 1934, no work shall be done in any home unless 

and until evidence has been presented to the Code Authority, as 

agent for the Administrator, that all State, municipal, and other 

laws and regulations relating to home work have been complied with 

and unless the names and addresses of such home workers and their 

employers shall have been filed with the Code Authority. 

3. The Code Authority shall file with the Administrator a list o:f 

the names and addresses of all horne workers employed in the industry and shall indicate by whom all such home workers are employed. 

4. No home worker shall be engaged at the same time by more 

than one employer. 

5. All home workers shall be paid on the same piece-rate basis as 

1actory employees engaged in similar work. 

6. Copies of Articles III, IV, and VIII of this Code shall be 

supplied to all home workers. 

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