A Code of Fair Competition for the Farm Equipment Industry has been heretofore approved by me. After such approval, and in accordance with the provisions of my further Executive Order dated July 15, 1933, hearings have been granted by the Administrator to the above named applicants, allegedly directly affected by said Code, who have claimed that applications thereof have been unjust to them and have applied for an exemption therefrom with reference to the minimum wage provided in the said Code, and a change in wording to effect more complete dissemination of statistics. It appears to me on the basis of the showing made at the hearings granted the applicants above named as set forth in the report thereon, dated November 21, 1933, rendered to me by the Administrator, which is hereby adopted and approved, that no case of injustice has been made out by the Southern Plow Manufacturers Association respecting minimum rates, but that the wording of Article VI, Section 2, of the Code is unnecessarily restrictive: Now, Therefore , I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, pursuant to the authority and discretion vested in me under Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act, approved June 16, 1933, and otherwise, and in accordance with the provisions of my Executive Order dated July 15, 1933, providing for hearing on the application of Codes under certain circumstances, do order that the application for exemption by the Southern Plow Manufacturers Association, be and is hereby denied, but that the words "members of the Association" in the last sentence of Article VI, Section 2, be and is hereby changed to "employers who have agreed to the Code." FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT Approval recommended: Hugh S. Johnson. Administrator. The White House, December 21, 1933.
Executive Order 6526—In the Matter of the Application of the Southern Plow Manufacturers Association and the Blount Plow Works, For Certain Exemptions From the Code of Fair Competition for the Farm Equipment Industry
Executive Brief • At a Glance
A Code of Fair Competition for the Farm Equipment Industry has been heretofore approved by me.
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 21, 1933, this order concerns In the Matter of the Application of the Southern Plow Manufacturers Association and the Blount Plow Works, For Certain Exemptions From the Code of Fair Competition for the Farm Equipment Industry. A Code of Fair Competition for the Farm Equipment Industry has been heretofore approved by me. After such approval, and in accordance with the provisions of my further Executive Order dated July 15, 1933, hearings have been granted by the Administrator to the above named applicants, allegedly directly affected by said Code, who have claimed that applications thereof have been unjust to them and have applied for an…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
A Code of Fair Competition for the Farm Equipment Industry has been heretofore approved by me.
It appears to me on the basis of the showing made at the hearings granted the applicants above named as set forth in the report thereon, dated November 21, 1933, rendered to me by the Administrator, which is hereby adopted and approved, that no case of injustice has been made out by the Southern Plow Manufacturers Association respecting minimum rates, but that the wording of Article VI, Section 2, of the Code is unnecessarily restrictive: Now, Therefore , I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, pursuant to the authority and discretion vested in me under Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act, approved June 16, 1933, and otherwise, and in accordance with the provisions of my Executive Order dated July 15, 1933…
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
Policy Areas & Topics
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 6526 (Dec. 21, 1933), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6526-the-matter-the-application-the-southern-plow-manufacturers.