By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me under the provisions of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act of June 16, 1933 (ch. 90, 48 Stat. 195), and in order to effectuate the purposes of said Title, I hereby order that the following clause or any appropriate modification thereof shall become effective as a part of any code of fair competition approved under said Title, upon application therefor (1) pursuant to the provisions of the code relating to amendments thereto or (2) by one or more trade or industrial associations or groups truly representative of the trade or industry or subdivision thereof covered by the code, if the Administrator for Industrial Recovery shall find that approval by him of such clause is necessary in order to effectuate the policy of Title I of said Act: 1. It being found necessary, in order to support the administration of this Code and to maintain the standards of fair competition established by this Code and to effectuate the policy of the Act, the Code Authority is authorized, subject to the approval of the Administrator: (a) To incur such reasonable obligations as are necessary and proper for the foregoing purposes and to meet such obligations out of funds which may be raised as hereinafter provided and wliich shall be held in trust for the purposes of the Code; (b) To submit to the Administrator for his approval, subject to such notice and opportunity to be heard as he may decin necessary, (1) an itemized budget of its estimated expenses for the foregoing purposes, and (2) an equitable basis upon which the funds necessary to support such budget shall be contributed by members of the Industry; (c) After such budget and basis of contribution have been approved by the Administrator, to determine and secure equitable contribution as above set forth by all such members of the Industry, and to that end, if necessary, to institute legal proceedings therefor in its own name. 2. Only members of the Industry complying with the Code and contributing to the expenses of its administration as provided in Section 1 hereof shall be entitled to participate in the selection of the members of the Code Authority or to receive the benefit of its voluntary activities or to make use of any emblem or insignia of the National Recovery Administration. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT Approval Recommended: Hugh S Johnson, Administrator. By G. A. Lynch, Administrative Officer. The White House, April 14, 1934.
Executive Order 6678—Making Provision for a Clause in Codes of Fair Competition Relating to Collection of Expenses of Code Administration
Executive Brief • At a Glance
The following clause or any appropriate modification thereof shall become effective as a part of any code of fair competition approved under said Title, upon application therefor (1) pursuant to the provisions of the code relating to amendments thereto or (2) by one or more trade or industrial associations or groups truly representative of the trade or industry or subdivision thereof covered by the code, if the Administrator for Industrial Recovery shall find that approval by him of such clause is necessary in order to effectuate the policy of Title I of said Act: 1.
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 April 14, 1934, this order concerns Making Provision for a Clause in Codes of Fair Competition Relating to Collection of Expenses of Code Administration. The following clause or any appropriate modification thereof shall become effective as a part of any code of fair competition approved under said Title, upon application therefor (1) pursuant to the provisions of the code relating to amendments thereto or (2) by one or more trade or industrial associations or groups truly representative of the trade or industry or subdivision thereof covered by the code, if the…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
The following clause or any appropriate modification thereof shall become effective as a part of any code of fair competition approved under said Title, upon application therefor (1) pursuant to the provisions of the code relating to amendments thereto or (2) by one or more trade or industrial associations or groups truly representative of the trade or industry or subdivision thereof covered by the code, if the Administrator for Industrial Recovery shall find that approval by him of such clause is necessary in order to effectuate the policy of Title I of said Act: 1.
It being found necessary, in order to support the administration of this Code and to maintain the standards of fair competition established by this Code and to effectuate the policy of the Act, the Code Authority is authorized, subject to the approval of the Administrator: (a) To incur such reasonable obligations as are necessary and proper for the foregoing purposes and to meet such obligations out of funds which may be raised as hereinafter provided and wliich shall be held in trust for the purposes of the Code; (b) To submit to the Administrator for his approval, subject to such notice and opportunity to be heard as he may decin necessary, (1) an itemized budget of its estimated expenses for the foregoing purposes, and (2) an equitable…
Only members of the Industry complying with the Code and contributing to the expenses of its administration as provided in Section 1 hereof shall be entitled to participate in the selection of the members of the Code Authority or to receive the benefit of its voluntary activities or to make use of any emblem or insignia of the National Recovery Administration.
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
Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.
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. 6678 (Apr. 14, 1934), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6678-making-provision-for-clause-codes-fair-competition-relating.