Boils, Benefits & Burdens

General Hugh S. Johnson's disposition was made no sweeter because he had to spend the week-end in Washington's Walter Reed Hospital having an abscess treated. But the abscess that troubled his flesh was less sore than a flock of boils which last week broke out on the hide of NRA.

Two months ago the General tried to salve a chronic NRA sore spot by getting President Roosevelt to decree the cancellation of the irksome price-fixing and "fair trade practice" provisions of the codes of service industries: cleaning & dyeing, laundry, automobile storage & parking, etc. Last week three of the affected industries boldly renounced what remained of their codes. In plain-spoken letters to the White House the cleaners and garagemen all gave the same reason: The benefits of a code had been taken away and only the burdens remained.

The automobile storage men: After six months of frustration, confusion, contradiction and total inaction on the part of the Recovery Administration the Administration's order attempts to wipe out with one stroke of the pen all that is of possible value in the code to the trade, retaining only its burden, the labor provisions. Such action, if legal, must abrogate the entire code and will, in fact if not in theory, abolish the other half as to hours and wages. There is strong and uncontrollable opinion among the complying members of the code that . . . the Administration's announcement practically amounts to notice that the Government will not perform its part of the bargain. . . .

Cleaners & Dyers: Abandonment of price control in our industry has resulted in complete demoralization. . . . Reports now indicate that workers are being discharged and that wives and children are again being pressed into service to meet cut-throat competition. We are back where we started, with many added disadvantages. Racketeering is again showing its sinister head among the service tradesmen. This gentry is circulating among the trades, offering protection where the Government failed.

On top of this bad news NRA received notice from Harriman Hosiery Mills that it would shut down if General Johnson did not restore the Blue Eagle he took away from it last April for failure to obey the hosiery code's labor provisions. For months General Johnson has adjured the public to buy only Blue Eagle goods. His campaign was sufficiently effective for the Harriman mill to claim it could not work without a Blue Eagle, had, in fact, already lost an order for 30,000 doz. pairs of stockings placed by the State of Pennsylvania. NRA did not rejoice over its triumph. The mill with its 650 workers is practically the only industry at Harriman, Tenn. When, early this week, officials closed the mill, it looked as though the town would close too and Government relief would replace private industry.

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