The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-10-12
Blue EAGLE
DRIVE AIMED
AT CH|SELERS
Housewives Carry Burden
of Success for National
Recovery Plan.
3 INSIGNIA REMOVED
Buying Boycott Is Termed
Grave Punishment by
MIRA Chief.

BIZ Tnitfd Press
WASHINGTON. oct. 12.-The
long overdue drive to purge the blue
eagle of chiselers was in full swing
today.
Within a week housewives will
have chance to demonstrate, in
most cities of the country, the full
strength of their determination to
make the recovery program a sue
cess.
Three blue eagles have been taken
away from employers More will
be taken away soon. If housewives
and other buyers refuse decisively
to purchase from these establish
ments the drive for unemployment
and better wages will be given a
great forward impetus.
Administrator Hugh Johnson has
no doubt that women buyers of the
country will refuse to patronize
stores which can not show a blue
eagle. Weeks ago, as the eagles
flight started, he said When ever
American housewife understands
that the blue eagle on everything
she permits to come into her home
is a symbol of its restoration to
security, may God have mercy on
the man or group of men who at
tempt to trif1e with this bird" He
predicted then that removal of
blue eagle will be "a sentence of
economic doatb
Three Eagles Removed
It is because MIRA is so convinced
of the gravity of the punishment
it is inflicting that it has waited
this long before starting its en-
forcement program. 1t waited until
local compliance boards were es-
tablished to make painstaking in
vestigation into every circumstance
surrounding alleged violations of the
Presidents unemployment agree
ment.
It has gone over and over re-
ports made by compliance boards,
acting finally only on those where
unanimous recommendation was
made for removal of blue eagles.
Eagles have been removed from
Theodore H. Rahutis, restaurant
owner of Gary, Ind; Miss B. Will
mer, proprietor of a New Rochelle
beauty parlor, and Maurice Rapo-
port, New Rochelle groceryman. All
three were given repeated opportn=
mites to present their cases before
local compliance boards, and have
been warned that failure to COM
ply with the terms of their agree
mentS would lead to the action now
taken.
40 Employees Complain
Every one of Mr.. Rahutis' forty
employees complained they were be-
ing forced to work longer hours at
less pay than the blue eagle agree
ment called for. Miss Wilmer is
accused of raising the pay of two
girl employees only 81 each, making
their salaries SO a week, a total far
below the minimum of her agree
ment with the President.
Having thus Increased overhead
charges 81 a week, she raised her
prices so per cent, the NRA reports.
Mr. Rapoport's workers filed affl-
davits saying they had been COM
PEELED to work twelve hours and
more day for $3.50
NRA intends to go forward with
ito enforcement drive as rapidly as
it can secure evidence of violations.
1t has thousands of complaints be-
fore it, but is experiencing great
difficulty in getting affidavits from
workers, particularly from those en-
ployed by larger establishments who
fear they will be dismissed if it is
learned that they have complained.
To meet this situation, General
johnson promised again today that
his organization will take every pre-
caution to prevent employers from
learning who complains against
them.
The recovery administration is
watching particularly for evidence
sound enough on which to base &C
ton that employers are diScharging
workers receiving more than the
minimum wage and rehiring them
at the minimum.