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Executive Order 6513 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations

Executive Order 6513-J—Amendments to Code of Fair Competition for the Men's Clothing Industry and Amendments to Code of Fair Competition for the Cotton Garment Industry

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Monday, December 18, 1933
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6 min read (1,280 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 6 min read (1,280 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Code of Fair Competition for the Men's Clothing Industry was approved by me on August 26, 1933.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Private Citizens & Property Owners

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 18, 1933, this order concerns Amendments to Code of Fair Competition for the Men's Clothing Industry and Amendments to Code of Fair Competition for the Cotton Garment Industry. Code of Fair Competition for the Men's Clothing Industry was approved by me on August 26, 1933. A public hearing having been held by the Administrator on due notice, with respect to certain amendments to the said Code, the Administrator having recommended the modification of my approval of said Code accordingly, the amendments being as follows: 1.

Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Code of Fair Competition for the Men's Clothing Industry was approved by me on August 26, 1933.

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That the first paragraph of Article I of the Code be amended to read as follows: "The term 'Clothing Industry' as used herein is defined to mean the manufacture of men's, boys' and children's clothing, uniforms, single knee pants, single pants (except work pants or single pants when made in work clothing factories), and men's summer clothing (except men's wash suits of one hundred per cent (100%) cotton content when made in work clothing factories in conjunction with work clothing)." 2.

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That the second paragraph of Article II of the said Code be deleted, which paragraph reads as follows: "The minimum wage paid by employers to employees working on single knee pants shall be at the rate of thirty-seven cents (37¢) per hour." 3.

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That there be substituted for the above paragraph the following: "The minimum wage paid by employers to employees working on single knee pants and/or single pants shall be at the rate of thirty-four cents (34¢) per hour when employed in the southern section of the industry, and thirty-seven cents (37¢) per hour when employed in the northern section of the industry." 4.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Policy Areas & Topics

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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
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"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)

Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.

Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)

Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.

Hamiltonian Stance: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
30 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Moderate Friction

The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.

Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
1,280
7,677 characters
Estimated Read Time
6 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
23
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

1. A Code of Fair Competition for the Men's Clothing Industry was approved by me on August 26, 1933. A public hearing having been held by the Administrator on due notice, with respect to certain amendments to the said Code, the Administrator having recommended the modification of my approval of said Code accordingly, the amendments being as follows: 1. That the first paragraph of Article I of the Code be amended to read as follows: "The term 'Clothing Industry' as used herein is defined to mean the manufacture of men's, boys' and children's clothing, uniforms, single knee pants, single pants (except work pants or single pants when made in work clothing factories), and men's summer clothing (except men's wash suits of one hundred per cent (100%) cotton content when made in work clothing factories in conjunction with work clothing)." 2. That the second paragraph of Article II of the said Code be deleted, which paragraph reads as follows: "The minimum wage paid by employers to employees working on single knee pants shall be at the rate of thirty-seven cents (37¢) per hour." 3. That there be substituted for the above paragraph the following: "The minimum wage paid by employers to employees working on single knee pants and/or single pants shall be at the rate of thirty-four cents (34¢) per hour when employed in the southern section of the industry, and thirty-seven cents (37¢) per hour when employed in the northern section of the industry." 4. That the following paragraph he added to Article II, which shall be the third paragraph of said Article: "The minimum wage paid by employers to employees working on men's wash suits of one hundred percent (100%) cotton content, shall be at the rate of thirty-four cents (34¢) per hour in the southern section of the industry, and thirty-seven cents (37¢) per hour in the northern section of the industry; the minimum wage paid by employers to employees working on men's summer clothing (other than men's wash suits of one hundred percent (100%) cotton content) shall be at the rate of thirty-seven cents (37¢) per hour in the southern section of the industry, and forty cents (40¢) per hour in the northern section of the industry." 5. That paragraph (a) of Article II be amended to read as follows: "On and after the effective date, the minimum wage which shall be paid to cutters shall be at the rate of one dollar ($1.00) per hour, and the minimum wage which shall be paid to off-pressers shall be at the rate of seventy-five cents (75¢) per hour; except that in the southern section of the industry the minimum wage which shall be paid to cutters of all men's wash suits and or summer clothing shall be at the rate of eighty-five cents (85¢) per hour, and the minimum wage which shall be paid to off-pressers of such garments shall be at the rate of sixty cents (60¢) per hour." B. A Code of Fair Competition for the Cotton Garment Industry was approved by me on November 17, 1933. A public hearing having been held by the Administrator on due notice, pursuant to the second paragraph of Section A of Article II of the said Code, which paragraph reads as follows: "The products covered by Section A, paragraphs 8, 10 and 14, are included in this Code pending the prompt holding of such further hearing on such notice as the Administrator in his discretion may fix, and the final determination of whether the definitions of any of them shall be modified or eliminated or whether any of the sub-divisions shall continue to be included in this Code." Paragraphs 10 and 14, to which the foregoing refers include: "(10) men's and boys' pants in chief content of cotton;" "(14) men's cotton wash suits." The Administrator having rendered his report together with his recommendations and findings with respect to the following amendment to the said Code: That Section A of Article II be amended to read as follows: "As used in this Code the term 'Cotton Garment Industry' means and includes the production by any of the following processes: (a) cutting, (b) creasing, (c) sewing (all or part of the garment), (d) trimming, (e) pressing, (f) finishing, (g) examining and inspecting, (h) boxing, or all of them, of any article or garment known as (1) work clothing, work garments, work pants and children's play suits; (2) men's shirts, including knitted outer shirts and polo shirts; (3) boys' shirts and blouses; (4) boys' wash suits; (5) work shirts of any material, including flannel shirts; (6) pajamas and nightshirts; (7) men's collars; (8) cotton wash dresses; (9) oiled cotton garments; (10) men's and boys' pants, when made in work clothing factories; (11) sheep lined and leather garments; (12) nurses and maids aprons and uniforms; (13) washable service apparel; (14) men's wash suits of one hundred percent (100%) cotton content, when made in work clothing factories in conjunction with work clothing." Now, Therefore , I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, pursuant to the authority vested in me by Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act, approved June 16, 1933, and otherwise, do approve the foregoing amendments, on the following conditions: 1. That no manufacturing employee engaged in the production of men's wash suits of one hundred percent (100%) cotton content and/or men's and boys' pants when either of the foregoing is made in work clothing factories in conjunction with work clothing or work pants, shall be paid at less than the rate of thirty-four cents (34¢) per hour in the southern section of the industry, or less than thirty-seven cents (37¢) per hour in the northern section of the industry. 2. It is hereby ordered that an Inter-Code committee of seven (7) persons shall be appointed by the Administrator, three (3) of whom shall be chosen from the Cotton Garment Industry, with the advice of the Chairman of its Code Authority, and three (3) of whom shall be chosen from the Men's Clothing Industry, with the advice of the Chairman of its Code Authority, and the seventh (7th) member shall be chairman of the said committee. The committee is hereby authorized to administer and supervise enforcement in respect of cotton wash suits and/or single pants. The said committee, may, on its own initiative, or upon reference by either Code Authority concerned, recommend to the Administrator, changes in maximum hours, or differentials or changes in the minimum wage to be paid employees, engaged in the production of single pants and/or cotton wash suits, and issue interpretations of this Order with respect to such garments. All questions arising from the operation of this Order shall be referred to the Inter-Code Committee for determination. Interpretations or determinations made by the said committee shall be subject to an appeal to the Administrator. On or before June 30, 1934, the Inter-Code Committee shall report to the two Code Authorities concerned, and to the Administrator, as to whether these provisions should be changed or modified by the Administrator. The Administrator shall arrange with the two Code Authorities for an equitable basis of contribution to cover the necessary expenditures for administration by the Inter-Code Committee. It is hereby ordered that the final approval of the Code of Fair Competition for the Men's Clothing Industry, contained in my Executive Order, dated August 26, 1933, and that the final approval of the Code of Fair Competition for the Cotton Garment Industry, contained in my Executive Order, dated November 17, 1933, shall be modified to the foregoing effect on and after January 2, 1934. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT Approval recommended: Hugh S. Johnson. Administrator. The White House, December 18, 1933.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 6513 (Dec. 18, 1933), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6513-j-amendments-code-fair-competition-for-the-mens-clothing-industry-and.