Evening star., 1934-09-05
n. RIA. TO IGNORE
FUEL CODE BOARD
Accepts Resignation of Au.
thority and Plans to
Rule Alone.
by the Associated Press.

ey the Associated Press.
N.R. A. today drafted plans to ad-
minister the retail solid fuel code
without the National Code Authority
In accepting its blanket resignation
last night, c. A. Lynch, N. r. A. exc
cutive officer, said divisional code au-
thorities would administer the agree
ment. There was a sharp notice to
the coal dealers that the code con-
tinues "in full force"
N r. A. announced simultaneously
that it would continue to supervise
determination Of minimum prices in
areas where emergencies had been de-
clared to exist.
The seven members of the National
Code Authority resigned in protest
against changes in the code which
they said were made by Hugh S.
johnson, administrator, without the
approval of the industry. They con-
tended the changes rendered the
agreement unavoidable.
Replying to the resigning code au-
thoritys assertion that coal price
schedules filed a month ago had yet
to be approved by the N. r. A. Re-
search and Planning Council, N. r. A.
said IL of 118 regional price schedules
had been passed upon. Decision on
the remainder, it explained, awaited
additional information.
Col. Lynch Outlines Stand.
The Recovery Administrators
stand in the coal controversy was
given in letter to the Code Authority.
The letter, signed by Col. Lynch,
termed the Code Authority's letter Of
resignation substantially mislead-
ing and added:
self government by industry Is a
privilege under the act which can
only be exercised so long as the
individuals constituted as agencies for
that purpose operate in consonance
with the interests of the public.
1T is to be hoped that this incident
will tend to make clear to the industry
and the public the nature Of the
undertaking involved in code admins
tration by N. r. A. and code author
tiles"
Future Steps Unrevealed.
Lynch's letter gave no indication
Of what steps N. R. A. might take to
set up a new national code authority
for the industry. For the present,
N. r. A. said:
1T must be made clear that the
act is still in effect, the code stands
unrevised and the divisional code
authorities are still in operation for
the purpose of carrying out their
functions under the code and the act,
and N. r. A. must continue to super
wise operations under the code and
the act in order to provide adequate
protection of the public interest"
N. r. A. Limits Cited.
Divisional code authorities may
exercise the powers granted under
the code with reference to prevention
Of destructive price cutting and other
wise, If the facts justify such action,
but may not do so except in con-
formity to the principles binding N
r. A, some Of which have been herein
SeI IOTIH.
The divisional authorities on which
N. r. A. now will rely for admins
tration of the code. number nearly
half hundred and govern hundreds
of marketing areas. The action OBJ
jected to by the resigned code au-
thority was an Office memorandum
Of Johnson's directing administration
members of divisional code authori-
ties to submit price schedules to
N. r. A. before approving them and
making them effective. Formerly
only the approval of the administra-
ton member was needed.
Lynch's letter to the code author
ity saying your resignation is ac-
cepted" was drafted at a three-hour
conference participated in by Leon
Henderson, chief of the planning di-
vision charged with reviewing retail
coal prices; C. E. Adams and Robert
Houston, division administrators, and
other officials.