Evening star., 1933-11-14
WHOLESALE CODE
ASSA|LED BY MANY
Dickinson Announces He Will
Seek Repeal of N. R. A.
Laws in Congress.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
A master wholesale code" which
would establish price levels for direct
sales from manufacturers to retailers
and consumers, drew fire from many
angles on its presentation to the Ma
tional Recovery Administration yester-
day.
Almost simultaneously Senator Dick
inson, Iowa Republican. announced he
will seek complete repeal in the next
Congress of the law which created the
N. r. A.
The wholesale code plan is that, in
any trade division in which manufac-
turers sell to other groups as we'll as
wholesalers the code authority for the
particular distributing division may"
subject to approval of the Federal ad-
ministrator, establish price differentials
between the various types of buyers
which shall be fair and reasonable" :"
Practice Held Unfair.
once the differentials we're estab-
lished by manufacturers competent to
adequately serve the wholesalers" it
would become an unfair trade practice
for any distributor to buy from manu-
facturers not complying.
Arthur D. Whiteside N. r. A. div1-
sion administrator. observed Il would
very much like to see this provision go
further if 1t were possible to do so. This
is lifetime opportunity for whole
salers and several provisions might be
included in this section of the code to
strengthen it,
The National Association of Manu-
facturers, however, filed a porteSt, say
ing this in effect authorized a boycott,
and that "the executive department OF
the Government cannot under any law
now existing authorize wholesalers or
distributors or other functional groups
to initiate and practice boycotts against
other groups"
Consumers Protest.
The protest was joined by the Con-
sumers' Advisory Board OF N. r. A.,
whose spokesman argued this would
prohibit economies from reaching the
consumer and freeze" the present dis
tribution system. The National Retail
Dry Goods Association likewise argued
that price concessions based on vol
ume of purchases are legitimate, but
that charging a chain of department
stores more than a small wholesaler
would be "unsound economics"
Another new proposal, under which
wholesale trade divisions would be au-
thorized to Danish sales to ultimate con-
sumers at wholesale prices, drew no
objections except from the Consumers
Board.
Labor opposition was filed against
the proposed basic 40-hour week, with
Joel Berrall N. r. "A. adviser, arguing
that 35 hours would be needed to effect
substantial unemployment.
wholesalers Defended.
Code proponents asserted more than
900 600 retailers are wholly dependent
on wholesalers, and that the 169, 900
wholesale distributors of the country
employed l,607 900 persons last year,
paying more than three billion dol
lars in wages.
Senator Dickinson explained his move
with:
I want the country to get over its
headache, and that's (repeal OF the
N. r. A.) the quickest cure know of. "
He said he was preparing the repeal
measure and would be ready to offer
it at the reconVcning of Congress.
"If the proposed price-f1xing order on
gasoline is permitted to go into effect.
Dickinson said, ut will not only saddle
high prices on the consumer, but 1t
will mean the destruction Of every in
dependent gasoline retailer in this
country. In my own State Of Iowa
it will put literally hundreds OF inde-
pendents out of business and will CEN
tralize distribution in the hands of a
few big companies who will then have
the consumer at their mercy"