Approved Code No. 506 Registry No. 1310-o9 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

ELECTRIC AND NEON SIGN 

INDUSTRY 

AS APPROVED _ON AUGUST 24, 1934 

· -' 

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UNITED STATES 

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Approved Code No. 506 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

ELECTRIC AND NEON SIGN INDUST~Y 

As Approved on August 24, 1934 

ORDER 

APPROVING CoDE OF I1"'Am CoMPETITION FOR THE ELECTRIC AND NEON 

SIGN INDUSTRY 

An application having been duly made pursuant to and in full compliance with the provisi<ms of Title I of the National Industrial 

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

Fair Competition for the 'Electric and Neon Sign Industry, and 

hearing having been duly held thereon; and the annexed report on 

said Code, containing findings with respect thereto, having been 

made and directed to the President: 

NOW THEREFORE, on behalf of the President of the United 

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

pursuant to authority vested in me by Executive Orders of the President, including Executive Order No. 6543-A, dated December 30, 

1933, and otherwise; do hereby incorporate by reference said annexed report and do find that said Code complies in all respects with 

the pertinent provisions and will promote the policy and purposes 

of said Title of sa.id Act; and do hereby order that said Code of 

Fair Competition be and it is hereby approved. 

Approval recommended: 

HuGHS. JoHNSoN, 

Adrninistrato1· for Industrial Reco(l)ery. 

BARTON W. MuRRAY, 

Division Administrator. 

WASHINGTON, D.O., 1

A ugtvst 24, 1934. 

82307°--.--1044-112----34 (131) 
REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT 

The PRESIDENT, 

The White House. 

SIR: Thi is a report on the Code of Fair Competition for the 

Electric and Neon Sign Indu try, the hearing having been conducted 

thereon in vVashington, D.C., April 23, 1934, in -accordance with the 

provisions of Title I of the National Indu -trial Recovery Act. 

PROVISIO~ OF THIS CODE AS TO WAGES AND H OUR 

lVlaximum hours for employees are established as follow : All employees, except outside salesmen or employees engaged in emergency 

maintenance or emergency repair work or per ons em_ployed in a 

managerial or executive capacity who are paid at the rate of $35.00 

or more per week,-forty hours in any one 11eek, or eight hours in 

any twenty four hour period beginning at midnight; watchmanfifty four hours per week; all employees-six days in any seven day 

period. Employees engaged in emergency maintenance and emergency repair work shall be paid at not less than one and one~half 

times their normal hourly rate for all hours in excess crf eight hours 

per day and forty hours per week. . Minimum wages for employees are established as follows: All employees, except skilled employees-$16.00 per week of forty hours, 

and part time employees working less than forty hours per week45 cents per hour; skilled employees-75 cents per hour. No hourly-1 

daily or full time weekly compen ... ation for employees -who are paid 

less than $50.00 per week shall be le s than such compensation existing as of June 16, 1933, and no employee shall be paid a wage rate 

which will yield a less wage to the shorter full time _week herein 

establi heel than he could have earned for the same class of work 

for the full time week existing as of June 16, 1933. Wage increases 

established under the President Reemployment Agreement shall 

at least be maintained. Female employees performing substantially 

the same work as male employees shall receive the same rates as 

male employees. 

Employment of any person under 16 years of age and anyone under 

18 years of age at occupations hazardous in nature or danaerous to 

health is prohibited. 

No reclassification of employees for the purpose of defeating the 

purpose of the Act is permitted, and no employee is permitted to 

work more than the specified maximum hours whether for one or 

more employers. 

The_ right of employees to organize and bargain collectively 

\hrough representatives of their own choosing is recognized. No employee shall be required as a condition of employment to join any 

company union, or refrain from joining, .organizing, or assisting a 

labor organization of his own choosing. 

(132) 
133 

No employee who has been regularly employed in any one establishment of this Industry for eight weeks or more shall be discharged 

on less than one week's notice, and no employee shall be dismissed or 

demoted by reason of making a complaint or giving evidence with 

respect to an alleged viola.tion of this Code. 

ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE CODE 

The Electric and Neon Sign Industry ranks among those industries experiencing the greatest loss of business due to the depression, 

the annual sales of the Industry falling from an estimated eiO'hty 

million dollars in 1928 to an estimated thirty-eight million dollars 

in 1932, a decline of 53% from the 1928-1929 peak; and employment 

declining from 18,000 in 1928 to 13,000 in 1932, a decrease of 29%. 

The total estimated number of concerns, however, increased from 

1,000 in 1928 to 1,500 in 1932 and 1933, an increa-se of 50% while 

the invested capital decreased during the same period from thirty 

million dollars to twenty-five million dollars, a decrease of 17% . 

It is believed that the provisions of the Code permit adequate 

control and at the same time insure development and sound 

expansiOn. 

FINDINGS 

The Acting Deputy Administrator in his final report to me on 

said Code having found as herein set forth and on the basis of all 

the proceedings in this matter: 

I find -that : 

(a) Said Code is well designed to promote the policies and purposes of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act, including 

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 anwng the trade groups, by 

inducing and maintaining united action of labor and management 

under adequate governmental sanctions and supervision, by elim- inating 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 rehabilitating industry. 

(b) Said Industry normally employs not more than 50,000 

employees; and is not classified by me as a major industry. 

(c) The Code as approved complies in all respects with the pertinent provisions of said Title of said Act, including without limitation Subsection (a) of Section 3, Subsection (a) of Section 7, and 

Subsection (b) of Section 10 thereof; and that the applicant association is an industrial association truly r epresentative of the aforesaid Industry; and that said association imposes no inequitable 

restrictions on admission to membership therein. 

(d) The Code is not designed to and will not per1nit monopolies or 

monopolistic practices. 
134 

(e) The Code is not designed to and will not eliminate or oppress 

small enterpri es and will not operate to discriminate against them. 

(f) Those engaged in other steps of the economic process have 

not been deprived of the right to be heard prior to approval of said 

Code. 

For these reasons, therefore, I haYe approved this C-ode. 

Re pectfully, 

AuGusT 24, 1934. 

HuGHS. JoHNSON, 

Administrator. 
CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE ELECTRIC AND 

NEON SIGN INDUSTRY 

ARTICLE I-PURPOSES 

To effectua~ the policies of Title I ·of the National Industrial 

Recovery Act, the following provisions are established as a. Code of 

Fair Competition for the Electric and Neon Sign Industry, and the 

provisions of this Code shall be the standards of Fair Competition of 

such Industry and shall be binding upon every member thereof. 

ARTICLE II-DEFINITIONS 

SECTION 1. The term "Electric and Neon Sign Industry'' or 

"Industry" as used herein shall mean and include the manufacture, 

lease and sale of electric and neon signs; the installation, main~­

nance and servicing of such signs upon premises not owned or controlled by a member of this Industry; and the manufacture, installation, maintenance, lease and sale of luminescent tube products and 

neon tube electrodes designed for use only in electric and neon signs 

and advertisina displays. - SECTION 2. ;fhe term "employee" as used herein includes any and 

all persons, except a member of the Industry, engaged in the industry in any capacity receiving compensation for his services, irrespective of the nature or method of payment of such compensation. 

SECTION 3. The term "employer" as used herein includes anyone 

by whom any such employee is compensated or employed. 

SECTION 4. The term "member of the Industry" includes, but 

without limitation, any individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other form of enterprise engaged in the Industry as above 

defined, either as an employer or on his or its own behalf. 

SEcTION 5. The terms "President", "Act", "Administrator", and 

"Code Authority", as used herein shall mean respectively the President of the United States, Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the Administrator for Industrial Recovery, and the agency 

herein creat-ed to administer this Code for the Industry. 

SEcTION 6. The term "Association" as used herein shall mean the 

National Electric Sign Association or its successor. 

SECTION 7. The term "Confidential Agent" as used herein shall 

mean the person or persons designated by the Code Authority to perform certain duties hereinafter set forth. Such person or persons 

shall be impartial and in no way connected with any member of the 

Industry. 

SECTION 8. The term " service " as used herein is defined to mean 

leasing, contracting at the time of a lease or sale for the servicing of 

the products of the Industry for a specified length of time, and also 

contracting for the servicing of the products of the Industry for a 

specified length of time. 

(135) 
136 

ARTICLE III-Houns 

SECTION 1. No employee shall be permitted to work in excess of 40 

hours in any one 1\eek, or 8 hours in any 24 hour period beginning 

at midnight, except as herein otherwise provided. 

SEcTI N 2. No watchman shall be permitted to work in excess of 

54 hours per week The tern1 "watchman '

5 as used herein is defined 

to mean any employee who devotes not less than ninety percent of 

his time watching and/ or guarding the premises and/ or property of 

the employer and who doe - not engage in production or repair work. 

SECTION 3. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to outside salesmen or to employees engaged in emergency 1naintenance or 

emergency repair work or to p@Tsons employed in a managerial or 

executive capacity who earn re~rularly thirty-five ($35.00) dollars 

per week or more; provided however, that employees engaged in 

emergency maintenance and emergency repair work shall be paid not 

less than one and one-half (llj2 ) tin1es their normal hourly rate for 

ull hours worked in excess of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. 

SECTION 4. No employee hall be permitted to work more than six 

(6) days in any seven (7) day period. 

SECTION 5. No employer shall knowingly permit any Bmployee to 

worl.: for any time which, when totaled w-ith that already performed 

with anothet employer or employers, exceeds the maxin1um permitted 

herein. 

ARTICLE IV-WAGES 

SECTION 1. No employee shall be paid in any pay period less than 

sixteen ($16.00) dollars per week of forty ( 40) hours; provided, 

nowever, that part time employees working less than the forty (40) 

hour week shall be paid not less than forty-five ( 45) cents per hour. 

SECTION 2. (a ) The term " skilled employee " as used in this Section shall mean sign painters, iron workers, sheet metal workers, 

maintenance men, electricians, glass blowers and pumpers, expressly 

excepting therefrom helpers as hereinafter defined. 

(b) No member of the Industry shall employ n1ore than one helper 

for each three journeymen. The term" helper" as used h.erein shall 

mean all employees other than journeymen engaged in the skilled 

trades defined in paragraph (a) of this Section. 

SEcTION 3. This Article establishes a minimmn r ate of pay, regardless of whether an employee is compensated on a time-rate, 

piecework or other basis. 

SECTION 4. F e1nale employees performing substantially the same 

work as male employees shall receive the same rates of pay as male 

employees. 

SECTION 5. A person whose earning capacity is limited because of 

age or physical or mental handicap may be employed on light work 

at a wage below the n1inimum established by this Code if the employer obtains from the State authority designated by the United 

States Department of Labor a certificate authorizing his employment 

at such wages and for such hours as shall be stated in the certificate. 

Each employer shall file monthly with the Code Authority a list of 

all such persons employed by him, showing the wages paid to, and 

the maximum hours of work for such employee. 
137 

SECTION 6. No hourly, daily, or full time weekly compensation for 

employees who are paid less than fifty ($50.00) dollars per week 

shall be less than such compensation existing as of June 16, 1933, 

and no employee shall be paid a wage rate which will yield a less 

wage to the shorter full time week herein established than he could 

have earned for the same class of work for the full time week exist- ing as of June 16, 1933. "\Vage increases establi hed under the President's Reemployment Agreement shall at least be maintained. 

ARTICLE V-GE:\ERAL LABOR PROVISIONS 

SEcTION 1. No person under sixteen (16) years of age shall be employed in this Industry nor anyone under eighteen (18) years of 

age at operations or oc upations hazardous in nature or detrimental 

to health. The Code Authority shall submit to the Administrator 

within ninety (90) days after the effective elate of this Code a list 

of such occupations. In any State, an employer shall be deemed to 

have complied with this provision i£ he shall have on file a certificate or permit, duly issued by the authority in such State empowered 

to issue employment or age certificates or permits, showing that the 

employee is of the required age. 

SEcTION 2. (a) 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-organization or in other concerted activities for the purpose 

of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. 

(b) 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 

(c) Employers shall comply with the maximum hours of labor, 

minimum rates of pay, and other conditions of employment approved 

or prescribed by the President. 

SECTION 3. Every employer shall provide for the safety and health 

of his employees at the place and during the hours of their employment and shall comply with the standards of safety and health approved by the Administrator. Such standards shall be recommended 

by the Code Authority to the Administrator within three (3) months 

after the effective date of this Code. 

SECTION 4. Within each State this Code shall not supersede any 

laws of such State or Federal laws imposing more stringent requirements on employers regulating the age of employees, wages, hours .of 

work, or health, fire or general working conditions than under this 

Code. 

SECTION 5. No employer shall reclassify employees or duties of occupations performed by employees or engage in any other subterfuge 

so as to defeat the purposes of the Act or the provisions of this Code. 

SECTION 6. If any employer of labor in this Industry is also an 

employer of labor in any other Industry, the provisions of this Code 

shall apply to and affect only that part of the business which is a 

part of the "Electric and Neon Sign Industry." 82307°-~. -1044-112-34-2 
138 

SEcTION 7. No employee shall be dismissed or demoted by reason 

of making a complaint or giving evidence with respect to an alleged 

violation of this Code. 

SECTION 8. No employee who has been regularly employed in any 

one e tablishment of this Indu try for eight (8) weeks or more shall 

be discharged on less than one week's notice. 

SECTION 9. Each employer shall post and keep posted in conspicuous places acce ible to employees, full copies of Articles III, IV, 

and V, of this Code an l any amendments thereto. EYery member 

of the Industry shall comply "·ith all rules and regulations relative 

to the po ting of provi ions of Code of Fair Competition which 

may from time to time be pre cribecl by the Administrator. 

ARTICLE VI-Ao::urNISTRATION 

To further effectuate the policies of the Act, a Code Authority is 

hereby con titutecl to admini ter thi Code. 

SECTION 1. A Code Authority is hereby established consisting of 

twelve ( 12) persons to be elected in the following manner : 

During the period of sixty days from the effective date of this 

Code, the Code Committee ball act a a temporary Code Authority 

and shall cause a meeting of the member of the Industry to be held 

for the purpo e of electing a Code Authority. Twenty days' advance 

notice of such meeting hall be sent to all members of the Industry 

whose names and addre ses can be ascertained after diligent search. 

The members of the Code Authority shall be elected in the following 

manner: 

(a) Nine (9) members who shall be members of the Industry anq. 

members of the Association shall be elected by a majority vote of all 

members of the Indu try present in person or by proxy or letter 

ballot, each member to have one vote. 

(b) Three (3) members of the Industry who shall be non-members 

of the As ociation shall be elected by a majority vote of all nonmembers of the Association present in person or by proxy or by letter 

ballot, each member to have one vote. 

The members of the Code Authority so elected shall serve for a 

period of one year or until their succes ors are elected and qualified. 

Thereafter, members of the Code Authority shall be elected at a 

meeting of the members of the Industry to be held at the time and 

place of the annual meeting of the Association, in the manner hereinabove set forth. 

Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the Code Authority 

shall be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members of the 

Code Authority subject however, to the classifications of membership hereinabove set forth. 

In addition to membership as above provided, there may be three 

(3) members without vote to be known as Administration lVIembers 

to be appointed by the Administrator to serve for such term as he 

may specify. The Administration Members so appointed shall 

receive notice of, and may sit at, all meetings of the Code Authority. 

SEcTION 2. 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, 
139 

and (2) submit to the Administrator true copies of its Articles of 

Association, By-Laws, regulations, and any amendments when made 

thereto, together with such other information as to membership, 

organization, and activities as the Administrator may deem necessary 

to effectuate the purposes of the Act. SECTION 3. 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 prescribe 

such hearings as he may deem proper; and thereafter if he shall find 

that the Code Authority is not truly representative or does not in 

other respects comply with the provisions of the Act, may require an 

appropriate modification of the Code Authority. 

SECTION 4~ Nothing contained in this Code shall constitute the 

members of the Code Authority partners for any purpose. Nor shall 

any member 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. Nor shall any member of the Code Authority, 

exercising reasonable diligence in the conduct of his duties hereunder, 

be liable to anyone for any action or omission to act under this Code, 

except for his own wilful malfeasance or non-fea ance. 

SECTION 5. Powers and Duties.-The Code Authority shall have 

the following powers and dutie to the extent permitted by the Act: 

(a) To adopt by-Jaws and rules and regulations for its procedure 

and for the administration of this Code in accordance with the 

powers herein granted; the same shall be submitted to the Adminis- trator 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 purposes of the Act. 

(b) To insure the execution of the provisions of this Code and 

to provide, subject to rules and regulations established from time 

to time by the Administrator, for the compliance of the Industry 

with the provisions of the Act. 

(c) To make r ecommendations to the Administrator for the coordination of the administration of this Code with such other Codes, 

if any~ as may be related to the Industry or to any subdivisions 

thereat. 

(d) 1. It being found necessary in order to support the administration of this Code and to maintain the standards of fair competition established hereunder and to effectuate the policy of the Act, 

the Code Authority is authorized: 

a. To incur such reasonable obligations as are necessary and 

proper for the foregoing purposes, and to meet such obligations 

out of funds which may be raised as hereinafter provided and 

which shall be held in trust for the purposes of the Code; 

b. To submit to the Administrator for his approntl, subject 

to such notice and opportunity to be heard as he may deem necessary ( 1) an itemized budget of its estimated expenses for the 

foregoing purposes, and (2) an equitable basis upon '"hich the 

funds necessary to support such budget shall be contributed by 

the members of the Industry; 

c. After such budget and basis of contribution have been 

approved by the Administrator, to determine and obtain equita-
140 

ble contribution as above set forth by all members of the Industry and to that end, if neces ary, to institute legal proceedings therefor in its own name. 

2. Each m-ember of the Industry shall pay his or its equitable 

contribution to the expenses of the maintenance of the Code Authority, determined as hereinabove provided, and subject to rules 

and regulations pertaining thereto issued by the Administrator. Only members of the Industry complying with the Code and contributing to the expen es of its administration as hereinabove provided, unless duly ex-empted from making such contributions, shall 

be entitled to participate in the selection of members of the Code 

Authority or to receive the benefits of any of its voluntary activities 

or to make u e of any emblem or insignia of the National Recovery 

Admini tration. 

3. The Code Authority shall neither incur nor pay any obligation 

substantially in excess of the amount thereof as estimated in its 

approved budget, and shall in no event exceed the total amount 

contained in the approYed budget except upon appro\al of the 

Administrator; and no sub equent budget shall contain any defi- ciency item for expenditures in excess of prior budget c timates 

except tho e \\hich the Administrator shall have so approved. 

(e) To recommend to the Administrator further trade practice 

provisions to govern the members of the I ndustry in their relations 

with each other or with other industries and to recommend to the 

Administrator mea ures for industrial planning and stabilization of 

employment; and to consider and recorrunend to the Administrator 

proposals for modification or amendment of this Code which shall 

become effective as part hereof upon approval by the Administrator 

after such notice and hBaring as he may specify. 

(f) To appoint a Trade Practice Committee which shall meet with 

the Trade Practice Committees appointed under such other codes as 

may be related to the Industry for the purpose of formulating fair 

trade practices to govern the relationships between employers under 

this code and under such other codes to the end that such fair trade 

practices may be proposed to the Administrator as amendments to 

this code and such other codes. 

(g) To use such trade associations and other agencies as it deems 

proper for the carrying out of any of its activities provided for 

herein, provided that nothing herein shall relieve the Code Authority 

of its duties or responsibilities under this Code and that such trade 

associations and agencies shall at all time be subject to and comply 

with the provisions hereof. 

(h) To provide for local administration of the code through the 

selection of district Code Committees for various districts as may 

from time to time be set up by the Code Authority, each such district Code Corrunittee to be selected from the members of the Indu try 

residing within the district in a manner truly representative of the 

members of the Indu try within that district. The set up of the 

district or districts and the method of election shall be subject to 

review by the Administrator. 

(i) The District Code Committees shall have such power a may 

be delegated to them by the Code Authority, provided that nothing 

herein shall relieve the Code Authority of its duties or responsibili-
141 

ties under this Code; and that such district Code Committees shall at 

all times be subject to and comply with the provisions of this Code. 

(j) To obtain from members of the Industry such information 

and reports as are required for the a lministration of the Code. In 

addition to information required to be submitted to the Code Authority, members of the Industry subject to this Code hall furnish 

such statistical information as the Administrator may dee1n necessary 

for the purposes recited in Section 3 (a) of the Act to such F ederal 

and State agencies as he may designate ; provided that nothing in 

this Code shall relieve any 1nember of the Industry of any xisting 

obligations to furnish reports to any Government agency. No individual report shall be disclosed to any other member · of the Industry 

or any other party except to such other Governmental agencies as 

may be directed by the Administrator. 

(k) To authorize and empower Regional Code Committees, or 

other such Agencies as it m~y lesignate, to install a method of 

checking competitive bids after the opaning and after the award of 

the contract of such bids and when such authorization is gr anted to 

require such Regional Code Committees or Agencies to designate a 

depository, or to use such other method as may be approved by the 

Code Authority. 

(l) To present to the Administrator, from time to time, recommendations based on conditions in the Industry, which will tend to 

effectuate the operation of the provisions of this Code. Such recommendations, when approved by the Administrator, shall have the 

same force and effeet as the other provi s of this Code. 

SECTION 6. The Code Authority may with the approval of the 

Administrator maintain a representative in each major trade area 

and in such minor trade areas as may be designated, who shall be 

nominated by the Industry in said trade area, and who shall keep in 

touch with all members of the Industry, explain the provisions and 

applications of the Code and rulings made thereon by the Code 

Authority, investigate complaints, instruct members in the keeping 

of data required, and perform such other duties as shall be designated by the Code Authority to create and maintain harmony in 

the Industry, and to provide members of the Industry with a direct 

personal channel for ecuring the full benefit of the operation of this 

Code. This representative shall exercise only such authority as may 

be specifically invested in him by the Code Authority with the approval of the Administrator. 

SEcTION 7. In each division or subdivision of the Electric and 

Neon Sign Industry, truly repre. entative associations or groups of 

employers and employees respectively concerned, after proper notice 

and hearing and as a result of bona fide collective bargaining, may 

establish by nmtual agreement (when approved by the President as 

provided in Section 7 (b) of the Act), for a specifically defined 

region or locality the standards of hours of labor, rates of pay, 

and such other conditions of emJ?loyment, relating to occupations 

or types of operations in such regwn and locality, as may be necessary to effectuate the policy of Title I of the Act. For the purposes 

. of this Section, the entire United States may be defined as a region. 

SECTION 8. All statistics, data, and information filed or required 

in accordance with the provisions of this Code shall be confidential 
142 

and the statistics, data, and information of one member shall not 

be revealed to any other member. No such data or information shall 

be published except in combination with other similar data and only 

in such a manner as to avoid the disclosure of confidential information, or except upon the written consent of a particular member of 

the Industry supplying such statistics, data and information. The 

Code Authority shall arrange in such manner as it may determine 

for the current publication of Industry statistics to members. 

SECTION 9. If the Ad~inistrator shall determine that any actim1 of 

a Code Authority or any agency thereof may be unfair or unjust 

or contrary t~ the public interest the Administrator may require 

that such action be suspended to afford an opportunity for investigation of the merits of such action and further consideration by 

such Code Authority or agency pending final action which shall 

not be effective unless the Administrator approves or unless he shall 

fail to disapprove after thirty (30) days' notice to him of intention 

to proceed with such action in its original or modified form. 

ARTICLE VII-CosTs AND PRICE CUTTING-CosT FINDING AND 

AccouNTING 

SECTION 1. (a) Wilfully destructive price cutting is a.n unfair 

method of competition and is forbidden. Any member of the Industry or of any other industry or the customers of either may at any 

time complain to the Code Authority that any filed price constitutes unfair competition as destructive price cutting, imperiling small 

enterprise or tending toward monopoly or the impairment of code 

wages and working conditions. The Code Authority shall within 

5 days afford an opportunity to the member filino· the price to 

answer such complaint and shall within 14 days make a ruling or 

adjustment thereon. If such ruling is not concurred in by either 

party to the complaint, a.ll papers shall be refened to the Research 

and Planning Division of NRA which shall render a report and 

recommendation thereon to the Administrator. 

(b) 'Vhen no declared emergency exists as to any given product 

or service, there is to be no fixed minimum basis for prices. It is 

intended that sound cost estimating methods should be u eel and that 

consideration should be given to costs in the determination of pricing 

policies. (c) When an emergency exists as to any given product or service, 

sale below the stated minimum price of such product or service, in 

violation of Section 2 hereof, is forbidden. 

SECTION 2. (a) If the Administrator, after investigation shall at 

any time find both ( 1) that an emergency has arisen within the Industry adversely affecting small enterprises or wages or labor conditions, or tending toward monopoly or other acute conditions which 

tend to defeat the purl?oses of the Act; and (2) that the determination of the stated min1n1um price for a specified product or service 

within the industry for a limited period is necessary to mitigate the 

conditions constituting such emergency and to effectuate the purposes 

of the Act, the Code Authority may cause ail impartial agency to 

investigate costs and to recommend to the Administrator a detennination of the stated minimum price of the product or service affected 
143 

by the ~mergency ~nd thereupon the Administrator may · proceed 

to dete1·mine such stated minimum price. 

(h) When the Administrator shall have · determined such stated 

minimum price for a specified product or service for a stated period, 

which price shall be reasonably calculated, to mitigate the conditions 

o:f such emergency and to effectuate the purposes of the National 

Industrial Recovery Act, he shall publish such price. Thereafter, 

durJJt&,!i1Uch stated period, no member of the Industry shall sell such 

specined products. or services at a net realized price below said stated 

minimum price and any such sale shall be deem.ed destructive price 

cutting. From time to time, the Code Authority may recomn1end 

review or reconsideration or the Administrator may cause any determinations hereunder to be reviewed or reconsidered and appropriate 

action taken. · 

· SECTION · 3. The Code Authority shall cause to be formulated 

methods of cost finding and accounting capable of use by all members 

of the industry, and shall submit such methods to the Administrator 

for review. If approved by the Administrator, full information concerning such methods shall be made available to all members of the 

Indu-stry. Thereafter, such member of the Industry shaH utilize 

such methods to the extent found practicable. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to permit the Code Authority, any agent 

thereof, or any member of the industry to suggest uniform additions, percentages or differentials or other uniform items of cos.t 

w~ich are designed to bring about arbitrary uniformity of costs or 

prlOOS. 

.ARTICLE VIII-- OPEN PRICE PROVISIONS 

SECTION 1. Each member of the Ind1lstry shall £le with a confidential and disinterested agent of the Code Authority, or, if none, 

then with such an agept designated by the Administrator, identified 

lists of all of his prices, discounts, rebates, allowances, and all other 

ternlS or conditions of sale, hereinafter in this Article referred to as 

"price terms " which lists shall completely and accura-tely conform 

to and represent the individual pricing practices of said 1nember. 

Such lists shall contain the price terms fm· all such stand.a.rd products 

or set·vices of the Industry as are sold or offered for sale by said 

member and for such non-stand~rd products of said membeF and for 

such non -standard services of said member as shall be designated by 

the Code Authority. Said price tern1s shall in the first instance be 

filed within thirty (30) da.ys after the date of approval of this provision. Priee terms and revised price terms shall become effective immediately upon receipt thereof by said agent. Immediately upon 

receipt thereof, said agent shall by telcegraph or o-ther eqlflally prompt 

m..eaiJ.s notify said member of the time of such receipt. Such lists and 

revisions, together with the effective ti:r;ne thereof, shall upon receipt 

be inunediately and simultaneously distributed to all members of the 

Industry and to all of their customers who have applied therefor and 

have offe:red to. defray the cost actually incurred by the Code Au.-

thority in the preparation and distribution thereof and be available 

:for inspection by any of their customers at the office of such agent. 

Said lists or revisions o.r an.y part thereof shall not be m.ade. availabl€~ 

to any person until released to all members of the Industry and their 
144 

customers as aforesaid; provided, that prices filed in the first instance 

shall not be released until the expiration of the aforesaid thirty (30) 

day period after the approval of this Code. The Code Authority 

shall maintain a permanent file of all price terms filed as herein provided, and shall not destroy any part of such records except upon 

written consent of the Administrator. Upon request the Code Authority shall furnish to the Administrator or any duly designated 

ag~nt of the Ad1ninistrator copies of any such lists or revisiql)s of 

pr1ce terms. · 

1 " 

SECTION 2. When any member of the Industry has filed any revisions, such member shall not file a higher price within forty-eight 

(48) hours. 

SECTION 3. No member of the Industry shall sell or offer to sell 

any products or services of the Industry, for which price terms have 

been filed pursuant to the provisions of this Article, except in accord.: 

ance with such price terms. 

SECTION 4. No member of the Industry shall enter into any agreement, understanding, combination or conspiracy to fix or maintain 

price terms, nor cause or attempt to cause any member of the I ndustry to change his price terms by the use of intimidation, coercion, 

or any other influence inconsistent with the maintenance of the free 

and open market which it is the purpose of this Article to create. 

ARTICLE IX-TRADE PRACTICES 

A. The Following Practices Constitute Unfair ~Iethods of Competition for Members of the Industry, and are Prohibited: 

RuLE 1. No member of the Industry shall publish advertising 

(whether printed, radio, display, or of any other nature) as to his 

own business which is misleading or inaccurate in any material particular, nor shall any member in any way misrepresent any credit 

terms, values, policies, services, or the nature or form of the business 

conducted. 

RULE 2. No member of the Industry shall knowingly withhold 

from or insert in any quotation or invoice any statement that makes 

it inaccurate in any material particular. 

RULE 3. No member of the Industry shall publish advertising as 

to his own business which refers inaccurately in any material particular to any competitors or their prices, values, credit terms, 

policies, or services. 

RuLE 4. No member of the Industry shall publish or circulate 

unjustified or unwarranted threats of legal proceedings which tend 

to or have the effect of harassing competitors or intin1idating their 

customers. 

RuLE 5. No member of the Industry shall secretly offer or make 

any payment or allowance of a rebate, refund, commission, credit, 

tmearned discount, or excess allowance, whether in the form of 

money or otherwise, nor shall a member of the Industry secretly offer 

or extend to any customer any special service or pr1vilege not extended to all customers of the same class, for the purpose of influenc-· 

ing a sale. 

RULE 6. No member of the Industry shall give, permit to be given, 

or directly offer to give, anything of value for the purpose of in-
145 

fluencing or rewarding the actioJ;l of any employee, agent or representative of another in relation to the business of the employer of 

such employee, the principal of such agent or the r~prec:ente d party, 

without the knowledge of such employer, principal, or party. This 

provision shall not be construed to prohibit free and general distributioil of articles commonly used for advertising, except so far 

as such articles are actually used for commercial briber~y us hereinabove defined. 

RDiE' 7. No mem.ber of the Industry shall induce or attempt to 

induce the breach of an existing contract between a competitor and 

his customer or source of supply; nor shall any such member interfere with or obstruct the performance of such contractual duties or 

services. 

RULE 8. No member of the Industry shall brand or make or pack 

any goods in any manner which is intended to or does deceive or 

mislead purchasers with respect to the brand, grade, quality, quantity, origin, size, substance, character, nature, finish, material, content, or preparation of such goods. 

RuLE 9. No member of the Indu try shall knowingly convert or 

adapt to his own use the whole or any essential part of any designs, 

drawings, sketches, models, or copy of any products which have been 

submitted to a prospective customer by a competitor; nor c:hall any 

member of the Industry knowingly consumm.ate a sale on a design, 

sketch, or plan originally furnished by a competitor to a prospective 

customer unless the purchaser or seller has made arrangements for 

compensation to the competitor for the use of such design, sketch, 

or plan. 

RuLE 10. No member of the Industry shall conceal or remove from 

any electric sign the name of the ]llanufacturer thereof, or any 

Insignia required by this Code. 

RULE 11. No member of the Industry shall furnish any sample 

sign especially built for a prospective purchaser having a prime cost 

in excess of $10.00, except on a definite purchase contract. 

RuLE 12. No member of the Industry shall lease or sell or offer to 

lease or sell any product of the Industry through an outside salesman known to be employed solely by a competitor without first 

obtaining the consent of the competitor, nor shall any member of the 

Industry employ or contract with any sales agent employed solely by 

or representing a competitor for the purpose of obtaining business 

developed by a competitor through such salesmen or sales agent ( ) . 

RuLE 13. No member of the Industry shall mislead or deceive 

customers with respect to the quality and/ or quantity of material or 

workmanship, the size of letters, dimension of signs and amount and 

kind of service given with a sale. . 

RuLE 14. No member of the Industry shall make any unauthorized 

use of any insignia, trade marks, designs, or brands established to 

identify persons who have entered into an agreement with the N.R.A. 

to observe and conform to the provisions of this Code and approv d 

rules issued thereunder, nor shall any member of the Industry make 

any false statement that he has entered into any such agreement. 

RuLE 15. No member of the Industry shall defame a competitor 

by falsely imputing to him dishonorable conduct, inability to perform contracts, questionable credit standing, or by other false repre-
146 

sentations or by :false disparagement o:f the grade or quality of the 

competitor's goods. 

RuLE 16. No member of the Industry shall reduce a bid without 

changes in the specifications and/or plans justifying the same. 

ARTICLE X-l\1oDIFICATION 

SECTION 1. This Code and all the provisions thereof are expressly 

made subject to the right o:f the President, in accordance with the 

provisions of subsection (b) of Section 10 of the National Industrial 

R·ecovery Act, from time to time to cancel or modify any order, 

approval, license, rule, or regulation issued under Title I of said Act. 

SEcTION 2. Such of the provisions of this Code as are not required 

to oo included herein by the Act may, with the approval of the 

Administrator, be modified or eliminated in such manner as may 

be indicated by the needs of the public, by changes in circumstances.; 

or by experience. All the provisions o:f this Code, unless so modified 

or eliminated, shall remain in effect until June 16, 1935. 

ARTICLE XI-l\1oNOPOLIES 

No provjsion of this Code shall be so applied as to permit monopolies or monopolistic practices, or to eliminate, oppress, or discriminate against small enterprises. 

ARTICLE XII-PRICE INCREASES 

'Vhereas the policy of the Act to increase real purchasing power 

will be made more difficult of consummation i:f prices of 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 

possible, be limited to actual increases in t.he seller's costs. 

ARTICLE XIII-EFFECTIVE DATE 

This Code shall become effective on the tenth day after its 

approval. 

Approved Oode No. 506. 

Registry No. 1310-09. 

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