Evening star., 1934-01-21
NYE DELAYS MOVE
FOR CODE PROBE
Will Not Ask Senate Investi.
cation Pending Outcome of
Revision Program.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The first round of controversy be-
tween Congress and N. r. A. ended
yesterday with Hugh s. johnson still
firm in the saddle, but with the Fed
eral Trade Commission ordered to
backstop the recovery unit on all ques-
tions involving charges Of monopoly.
Senator Nye, Republican, of North
Dakota, who had led the onslaught
against N. r. AS codes, announced he
would make no move for q senatorial
investigation until after Johnson's s
program Of code revision has had q
chance to show whether or not 1t will
be effective
At the same time President Roose-
velt issued an executive order empow-
ering the Trade Commission to receive
and act upon the complaints of any
person charging oppressive or discrim-
tnatory practices by or within an in
dustry whenever the complainant Is
dissatisfied with the disposition of his
case by N. r. A. or any other agency.
Richberg Issues Warning.
simultaneously Donald r. Richberg
general counsel Of the recovery unit.
warned that the industrial law did not
suspend the antitrust statutes in full:
that monopolistic practices, whether
apparently sanctioned by codes or not,
remain illegal, and that all price fixing
an9. other restrictive agreements not
expressly sanctioned by the admins
traitor and the codes are punishable
just as they always were.
The presidential order. though closely
tied in with the exchange that occurred
Thursday between Senators Nye and
Borah and Administrator johnson. did
not spring from that row.
The policy was decided upon when
the Two Senators declined to sit in on
an N. r A. board for review Of monop-
ollstic practice charges johnson him
SELF outlined the program TO news men
last wednesday. saying five or six con-
ferenceS between himself and the trade
commissioners had been held to estab-
llsh ''modus vivendi."
Nyes suspension of attack until the
johnson policies have had their chance
was apparently what the administra-
tor sought in his blistering reply to
Nye and Borah in a speech in New
York
Except for the trade commission re-
view. the President is expected to leave
johnson a free hand until it is shown
whether administrative methods are
adequate to prevent abuses or whether
material alteration of the law is re-
quired
Should the Chief Executive decide
on the latter, friends of johnson be-
lieve he would resign
Climax Approaching.
The code revision program. already
under way, will come to a climax in
the middle of February. when johnson
intends to have in the more than 200
code-ruling industrial committees for
general review.
Although the trade commission does
not see eye to eye with johnson on
all policies. the side row which de-
velOped Thursday between them over
Johnson's charge that a confidential
spy report on his organization had been
sent TO the President by the commits
sion was expected to be harmonized
without casualties.
Richberg said There has been
widespread misunderstanding even
among public officials, that monopolistic
practices might be sanctioned in the
codes"
Without singing out one group" he
said. ''it should be stated that during
the meetings of the National Industrial
Bituminous Ccal Board it became evi-
dent that some groups Of coal operators
had the impression that they were now
free to fix prices and otherwise to
act in combination without obtaining
the approval Of the representatives of
e 70 -f4l. o.
safeguard the public interest.
Limitations Explained.
1T cannot be too strongly empha-
sized that no combina tions of industrial
operators are authorized 10 take con-
certed action. except so far as ex-
plicitly authorized under the terms of
the codes and the requirements of the
N. r. A without subjecting themselves
to the penalties of the antitrust laws
wherever such laws would prohibit such
combined action
The Presidents trade commission or
der was accompanied by an eXplana-
tory statement, which said, in part;
Where a complainant shall have
been dissatisfied with the disposition of
his case by the agency of the Govern
ment which he may have invoked, the
COLI plduldllI IIldE pltSS Ills case OtlOlc
the Federal Trade Commission, or II
this commission has no jurisdiction to
handle the complaint. it is to be re-
ferred to the Department of Justice.
Under such a method. grievances aris-
ing out Of codes Of fair competition or
based upon violations of those portions
of the antitrust laws of the United
States that prohibit monopolistic prac-
tices can be adequately aired and set
tied by disinterested governmental
agencies in accordance with the princi-
Piles set forth in the recovery legisla-
ton. The Federal Trade Commission,
in handling such complaints, will fol-
low the procedure set forth in its or
ganic act-a procedure that is in
formal. not costly to the complainant,
and expeditions"
The last sentence was interpreted by
some observers as a rap at johnson for
saying in New York that the trade
commission processes could be likened
to modern Spanish inquisition or a
Mark Twain version of the trial Of
Joan of Arc. and were sometimes ruin
ously expensive to the defendant and
the Government.