Evening star., 1935-03-17
Could N. r. Il. Be Rude? Neuer!
Not as Long as Red Tape Exists
Lady With Indigestion Vas a Problem,
but the Issue Vas Met Squarely,
for a Code Is q Code.

to deputy administrator aide, who
makes recommendation. This rec
ommendation then is sent for ap-
proval to the Labor Advisory Board.
the Legal Division, the Industrial Ad-
visory Board, the Consumer Advisory
Board and the Research and Planning
Division.
Eventually the merchant received
formal statement, which, after sew
eral 'whereases," concluded: THE
petitioner is hereby permitted to ex-
tend the lunch hour of Miss Ida Erler
from one hour to one hour and half
until such time as the physical dis
abilities complained of have been al
leviated."
There may have been a reason.
other than conscience, that prompted
the New Ulm man to write to the
N. r. A. about Miss Erler's digestion,
or rather, lack thereof. Perhaps
there is q troublemaker among his
employees who is waiting for an op-
portunity to complain about his en-
ployer. If the proprietor had refused
to give Miss Erler an extra half hour
for lunch he might have been ac-
cuSed Of cruelty, and if he had ex-
tended her lunch period without
getting permission from N. r. A. he
might have been reported to N. r. A.
for violating rules of the Blue Eagle.
Opportunity to Twit N. R. A.
OF course, the merchant may have
taken the course he did for the sole
purpose Of twitting the N. r. A.
While N. R. A. officials disclaim
knowledge of any case similar to that
of Miss Erler. they point out there
are occasional requests for exemptions
on grounds that might seem, offhand,
of minor Importance. but which
actually involve consequences of
major nature.
There was, for example, the request
of retailer to return IL dozen hand
kerchiefs to the manufacturer be-
cause he found they we're not the
style men would buy readily. 1t took
red tape to grant this simple request,
as the handkerchief code forbids re-
turn of merchandise 10 the manufac-
turer unless defective. The restric-
ton was placed in the code to do
away with the evil of dumping goods
back on the factory for no good rea-
son.
The request Of the handkerchief
merchant was granted because the
manufacturer was willing to take the
goods back.
Sometimes such requests are weeks
and even months in the course of
consideration before final action is
taken. There have been cases in
which retailers asked for permission to
work employees overtime during the
Christmas season or other rush pc
RODS, and did not receive formal no.
tifcation of final approval from Wash
ington until the emergency long was
past. In all such instances, however,
N R. A. officials declare, kilograms
are sent advising the petitioners to
go ahead with the overtime plan
pending receipt of formal approval by
mail
If after investigation the request is
found to be unreasonable. or otherwise
contrary to policy, and the final action
of N. r. A. is negative, the merchant
who has proceeded with his plan on
the basis of the telegram may find
himself subject to penalty. He must
take his chance on that.
The consensus of officials at N. r.
A. seems to be, however, that the New
Ulm merchant would have incurred
no serious risk if he had granted Miss
Erler that extra half hour for lunch
without telling Uncle Sam about 1t.