Evening star., 1933-08-30
PERMANENT TEST
OF CODES BEGUN
Anxiety of Public Passing
With Adoption of All but
That of Coal.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

hUODllCIl VI I1lC culOlIOOllC SOdC
completes. with one exception-coal-
the permanent legal codes for all large
industries and substantially all others.
With this done. anxiety for adoption of
the temporary voluntary code of Blue
Eagle substantially ceases.
Behind the scenes it was well under
stood that the fundamental reason for
the temporary blanket code was delay
in getting the regular codes adopted.
The N r. A law was enacted June Is.
By a month later only one regular
code the cotton textile one, had been
adopted There were nine more major
industries and some 1000 minor ones
to be put under codes.
In the meantime. a strong upward
surge of prices had started. There
seemed to be danger of a runaway rise
in prices. 1t was alarm over that con-
ditiCn mainly that gave rise to the
idea of a universal blanket code. Ihe
blanket code and its Blue Eagle were
limited to December 81 next. Actually,
the acute need for it is ending before
September l.
Difference in Code.
From now on attention can be cen
tered on the permanent legal cooeS.
call them permanent" to distinguish
them from the temporary blanket Blue
Eagle code These regular codes ana
the whole N R A. come to an END TWO
wears from enactment tunIeSS. OF course
Congress should re-enact N. r. A.
which is a question for the future). Inc
Presidents principal power OF legal dis
cipline comes to an end IN cne year
frcm enactment. which is only nlne
and one-half months from now. Ihat
is too brief a period for legal tests OF
N. R. A. to find their way through the
courts to final determination. Consld-
ering this and for broader reasons, 1t
is likely no attempt to exercise the
drastic powers of N R. A. will ever be
attempted.
What will happen now will be 2l-
month trial Of N. R. A. as workable
basis for American industry. Depend
ing on how industry likes it, how labor
likes it and how the country likes 1t,
either the existing Congress or the
future one to be elected next year Will
either let N R. A lapse when it comes
to its statutory end or will re-enact
such parts of it as are found TO oe a
help to business and to the country.
This is what Administrator johnson
himself believes. He calls n. R. A an
experimental test OF 'sef-government
by industry
In the regular codes now adopted. the
one feature most often described as
revolutionary is the labor provision.
Distinctly that is not revolutionary at
all 1t is a stradGling. tight-rope-w
ing group of words which has led to
further tight-rope walking by Gen.
johnson in his attempts to interpret 1t.
So far as a concrete meaning can be
49, 1ol, iei0 nrh
employers to use interference. re-
Straint or coercion" whenever and If
employees choose to 'organize and bar
gain collectively through representatives
of their own chosing." As a practical
matter there is not great deal in this.
1t is admitted by N. R. A. to be con-
sistent with a provision the automo-
bile manufa cturerS wrote into their
code. reading " employers in this
industry may exercise their right to
select, retain or advance employees on
the basis of individual merit without
regard to their membership or nom
membership in any organization"
Far From Revolution.
Even granting that N R. A in prac-
tice means complete unioniZation of all
industry. which. in fact it decidedly does
not. it is still far from revolution. A
greater degree Of unoniZation than the
labor provision of N. R. A. contem-
plates has long existed in much of the
building and much of the printing
trades. 1t has been satisfactory 10
many employers and has not prevented
those industries from prOSpering greatly
in normal times. A form of collective
bargaining called 'employe representa-
ton or the company union,' long in
existence in the International Harvester
Co, Bethlehem Steel. some Standard
Oil Cos. and many others, is so salts
factory to employees that there is con-
fldence they will not attempt to change
it under N. R. A.
Most of the excited talk of "revolu-
ton is based not on present fast but
on future apprehension. One appre-
henslon excitedly discussed is price-fix-
ing OF the products of industry. AS to
that, there is convincing evidence of
the attitude of the Government. An
element of ice-fiXing was written into
the Gil code. 1t was put there by the
industry Itself because of determined
demand by group within the indus
try. Gen. johnson as administrator of
N. R. A. did not want it, tried almost
desperately to prevent it. His efforts
to put the price-flxlng cup from his lips
were almost frantic and comic.
1t is conceivable price fixing may
come in the United States, but it is not
here now and the administration is not
longing for it. Much of the apprehen-
sion about revolutionary innovations
arises from President Roosevelt's usage
OF permitting large number of sub
ordinates to seem to speak for the ad-
ministration. 1t is a fair judgment to
infer that the largest desire of Mr.
Roosevelt's heart at this moment is
prosperity which will produce profits,
so that profits will produce taxes next
year, so that the budget can be bal
anced. That is the outstanding color
in the pattern of Mr. Roosevelt's actions.
(Copyright, 1880