Evening star., 1933-10-29
Proposals Made
ON Six Points
of Study.
RETATTCODEIS
INTERPRETED
Roosevelt to Farley
on Mine Situation
Tomorrow.
BY the Associated Press,


The National Recovery Admin
istration went on yesterday to-
ward its mass mobilization of in
duStry by proposing way for all
trades to agree upon baniShing
unfair competitive practices.
simultaneously, to get into op-
GRAFTON tomorrow morning the re-
tail code, its biggest single one,
N. r. A. issued a series of inter
pretations, reduced to simplest
terms so that every storekeeper
might get the requirements of the
compact straight without delay.
The next N. R. A. problem, the
captive mine situation, was at the
White House. President Roosevelt
has summoned leaders of the steel
industry, which owns these mines,
to his office tomorrow for an ac-
counting on his demand made
out Immediately an agreement
with the employees of the coal
mines they control.
Six Principles Worked Out.
The code proposals to govern COM
petition made at N. r. A. today were
for six basic principles worked out by
a joint committee of the recovery unit
and the Department of Commerce after
a survey of the ! 900 proffered codes;
of resolutions adopted by trade associa-
tlonS; OF rules approved by the Federal
Trade Commission over Is years. and of
agreements for fair advertising and SELL
ing worked out by newspapers and bet
ter business bureaus.
The six practices singled out for ban
1hment were: Inaccuracy in advertis-
ing and selling: attacks on competitors;
price discrimination. commercial brib-
cry; breach Of contract or interference
with those Of others; coercion By black
lists and other devices.
The interpretations of the retail code
were:
The code must be observed by all
stores which do not engage primarily"
in selling food. milk and tobacco, or
those coming under separate codes:
lumber and material yards and sellers
Of oil burners, ice, coal, jewelry and
sewing machines.
It does not apply to we'll segregated
divisions of department stores such as
restaurants, lunch fountains, barber
shops.
Loss Leader" Dies Tomorrow.
Starting tomorrow the loss leader"
Is dead That is. no merchant shall
sell any article, except those specifically
exempt. at less than it cost him or at
which he could buy it today, whichever
is lower
Once the code authority sets an al
lowance for labor costs to be charged
above cost of the goods to the merchant
''mark-up," about 10 per cent, must be
charged on all articles. As the bulk OF
articles are sold at or near profit level
which is still higher than this, it should
not affect price marking generally.
No employe in a town of $500 or less
may legally make an "unwarranted re-
duction" In the number Of his en-
ployes to come within the exemption
from all code terms given to those with
five or less workers in the small towns.
Part-time workers must be counted.
The exemption shall not apply in
towns of 2,5OO or less whose boundaries
touch the line of bigger community
nor to those within the metropolitan
area Of cities of 100000 or more as de-
fined by the last census.
Complaints on any subject by mer-
chants are to be made to the nearest
district Office of the Department of
Commerce, pending creation by the
trade itself of local committees, au
thorized by the code to help administer
and enforce the pact.
Two important qualifications were
made to these rules.
A retailer may cut below his own
invoice cost to meet a competitors
price based on lower invoice. but to
avoid being classed as a violator must
report his action Immediately to the
regional manager until the local COM
mittee is created. He cannot cut to
meet bona fide clearance sales and dis
posal of damaged goods, etc, where
merchant Is free of minimum price re-
strictions.
Even in towns Of $500. merchant
who will not suffer exceptional hard
ship Is expected to conform to the
7Cont;n,,ed IN PAGE 9 Column A.