Evening star., 1935-01-27
Decree, Signed Jan. 22, but
Not Made Public, Designed
to Restore Confidence of
Business Groups.
BASIC LAW DECLARED
COMPLETELY DOMINANT
All Trade Agreements Under
N. R. A. Affected by Implicit
Ruling of President-Confused
Situation Regarded as Ter
minated by Action.
Copyright, 1885, by the Associated Press1

Copyright, 1885. by the Associated PressJ
Full retention of constitutional
rights for all past and future signers
Of N. r. A. codes was disclosed yester-
day to have been assured by Presi-
dent Roosevelt in an executive order,
signed early last week but not an
nounced publicly.
The order, actually a modification
Of the terms of approval whereby the
Chief Executive gave force to all pre-
vailing codes said:
1T is understood that neither the
Government nor any member Of in
duStry valves, or can properly insist
that the other has waived, any con-
stitutional right pertaining to the
Government or to any individual by
approving, asserting to, or co-operat-
ing under code Of fair competition"
Clarifies Situation.
Illus Tic OIlIcA EhCCutINC aSOcO W
clarity a confused situation resulting
from the fact that some codes con-
tanned = clause specifically asserting
no waiver Of such rights was involved
while others did not Some signers Of
the latter codes are understood to
have been perturbed by this circum-
stance.
Mr.. RooSevelt's view. repeatedly
stated, has been that under no inter-
probation could a code Signer be held
TO have foregone any constitutional
right by the act of asserting TO the
code. that the Constitution. Of course.
took precedence over any such in
Strument.
However. some business organiZa-
tions, including the National Asso-
ciation of Manufacturers, have main-
tanned this was not implicit. They
said that in case of conflict between
code and Constitution the courts might
easily hold that the signer had spe-
ciflcally waived the rights conferred
upon him by the latter.
Order Signed January %.
The order was signed on January %.
the day that Mr.. Roosevelt upheld the
newspaper publishers in their con-
tention over the case OF Dean S. Jen-
nings. a rewrite man discharged 0y
the San Francisco Call Bulletin Tor,
the board had held, activities in con-
nection with the American Newspaper
Guild.
The publishers contended, the case
must go before the Industrial Rela-
tionS Board established by their code.
Otherwise. they maintained the code
was violated by the Government and
their constitutional right Of freedom
Of the press infringed. Mr.. Roosevelt
upheld them.
1t was recalled, too, that when the
President approved the newspaper
code. the product Of protracted nego-
tiations in which the publishers in
sisted that the right of free press be
safeguarded by stipulation, Mr.. Roose-
velt referred to the clause which did
SO as pure surplusage' in the exec
utive order of approval. and said:
"Of course, also nobody valves any
constitutional rights by asserting to
a code. The recitation of the freedom
of-the-presS clause in the code has
no more place here than would the
recitation Of the whole Constitution,
or of the Ten Commandments"
Text Of New Order.
The text OF the executive order fol-
lows:
by virtue of and pursuant to the
authority vested in me by title of
the national industrial recovery act
of June l6, 1888 (48 Stat. 1857, and
in order to etfectuate the policy Of
said title and TO eliminate any con-
fusion or miSapprehenSion which may
have arisen concerning the effect on
constitutional rights of assent to or
cooperation under codes of fair COM
petition, hereby order that:
81. 1t is understood that neither the
Government nor any member Of in
dustry valves. or can properly insist
that the other has waived. any con-
stitutional right pertaining to the
Government or to an individual by
approving. asserting to or cooper
ating under a code of fair competition.
-. The approval orders of all such
codes heretofore approved are hereby
modified to the extent necessary to
make this order q condition thereof,
and this order shall operate as a con-
dition OF the approval Of any such
EzEl- l. H.