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Executive Orders Historical Archive
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Executive Order 6606 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 6606-E—For the Electrotyping and Stereotyping Industry

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Saturday, February 17, 1934
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4 min read (849 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 4 min read (849 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

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 hereby adopt and approve the recommendation of the /Administrator and do order that my Executive Order approving the Code of Fair Competition for the Electrotyping and Stereotyping Industry be and it is hereby amended accordingly.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities

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 February 17, 1934, this order concerns For the Electrotyping and Stereotyping Industry. 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 hereby adopt and approve the recommendation of the /Administrator and do order that my Executive Order approving the Code of Fair Competition for the Electrotyping and Stereotyping Industry be and it is hereby amended…

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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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 hereby adopt and approve the recommendation of the /Administrator and do order that my Executive Order approving the Code of Fair Competition for the Electrotyping and Stereotyping Industry be and it is hereby amended accordingly.

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The White House, Feb. 17, 1934 The following statement shall be published with my Order amending my Executive Order approving a Code of Fair Competition for the Electrotyping and Stereotyping Industry.

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Nor shall such condition interfere with the right of the employees of any locality to express their desire to share regular work with bona fide resident unemployed competent mechanics in their particular trade or craft and to appeal to all agencies of the government to assist them in the exercise of this right.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities

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 1 (Maximum Authority)
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"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
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: Supportive of Execution
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)

Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.

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
31 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

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

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ 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
849
5,094 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
20.3
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

A Code of Fair Competition for the Electrotyping and Stereotyping Industry was approved by me on December 23, 1933, subject to the following condition, inter aha: "1. That the maximum hours of work specified in Article III of the Code and/or any other provisions of the Code relating to hours of work, shall not be construed as a minimum work day or work week; " Provided , that if at any time in any locality, employees engaged in any trade or craft, through their chosen representatives, express by written request to their employer or employers, a desire to share available work with bona fide resident competent mechanics in their particular trade or craft, the number of hours may be adjusted by mutual agreement; " Provided , further, that if local agreement proves impossible within fifteen (15) days after such request, the question may be appealed by either party to a local board set up by mutual agreement of the parties, or to the Labor Board established in Article VIII of the Code." An application having been duly made by the Code Authority of the Electrotyping and Stereotyping Industry, pursuant to the Code, for the following amendment of my Executive Order of December 23, 1933, the Administrator having recommended the granting of said application, the amendment to be in accordance with the following proposal: That the first condition of my approval of the Code be deleted and that the following be substituted therefor: "1. That the maximum hours of work specified in Article III of the Code and/or any other provisions of the Code relating to hours of work, shall not be construed as a minimum work day or work week; " Provided , that if at any time in any establishment a majority of the mechanical employees actually engaged in any trade, express by written request to their employer a desire to share available work with bona fide resident unemployed competent mechanics in their particular trade, the number of hours of work may be adjusted by mutual agreement. "(a) If mutual agreement proves impossible within fifteen (15) days the question may be appealed by either party to a local Fact Finding Board made up of tw o representatives of the employer and two representatives of the employees. "(b) The local Board as thus formed, shall endeavor to agree upon the facts with regard to the number of resident unemployed competent mechanics in the locality for the purpose of reducing the number of such unemployed mechanics so far as is possible without undue hardship to cither the employer or his employees. "(c) If a majority agreement cannot be arrived at, the four members shall choose a fifth and impartial member of the Board, who shall act as Chairman. "(d) The Board shall proceed diligently to complete its findings of fact and make its recommendations. "(e) Should either the employer or his employees disagree with the findings and recommendations of the local Fact Finding Board, appeal may be made to the Labor Board provided for in the Code, to which shall be added by the Administrator one disinterested member to act as Chairman and one member, a representative of labor, on nomination of the Labor Advisory Board of the National Recovery Administration, which, after notice and opportunity for the parties to be heard, shall make a finding which shall be binding upon all parties of interest." 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 hereby adopt and approve the recommendation of the /Administrator and do order that my Executive Order approving the Code of Fair Competition for the Electrotyping and Stereotyping Industry be and it is hereby amended accordingly. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT Approval Recommended: Hugh S Johnson Administrator. The White House, Feb. 17, 1934 The following statement shall be published with my Order amending my Executive Order approving a Code of Fair Competition for the Electrotyping and Stereotyping Industry. I understand that there is some disagreement in the industry on the provisions of Section 1 of my Executive Order. The terms of the aforesaid condition were strenuously contended for by certain members of the industry. They have been inserted. On the other hand these terms were opposed by the Labor Advisory Board and by certain of the groups of employees of the Electrotyping and Stereotyping Industry. In view of the disagreement concerning the application of the condition it appears to me desirable to state here that my aforesaid condition is not to be construed or interpreted in such manner as to conflict with Section 7 (a) of the National Industrial Recovery Act. Nor shall such condition interfere with the right of the employees of any locality to express their desire to share regular work with bona fide resident unemployed competent mechanics in their particular trade or craft and to appeal to all agencies of the government to assist them in the exercise of this right. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, Feb 17, 1934.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 6606 (Feb. 17, 1934), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6606-e-for-the-electrotyping-and-stereotyping-industry.