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 stories in Joplin, Missouri and in Carthage, Missouri, w'.hich
 is only a short distance from Joplin, they should f'irnish an
 additional labor market for the i.eeker Company frou, which to
 procure ecoerienced workers.

 "I em enclosing you a lette-_ that vill at least enlighten you as to
 the New York cro-d's attitude toward us when the Cod was being formed.
 This letter from 1ir. Mittenthal I will ask you to return. I don't like :
 to go on record as being constantly complaining: against these fellows,
 but I have a busine-se here to mnaiIntein; not a rented loft like most of
 these fellows, but a big investment, as you will note from my balance
 sheets. A building and equipment w-,hich we own. On account of this it
 is rather hard to arrive at a decision to pass out of any manufacturing i
 line; leaving buildings and equipment idle and throwing people out of
 work, many of whom have virtually been raised up in this business, a
 business I have been more than t'ientyr-five ye-rs in developing and de-
 voting my energy to."

 The letter written by ir. littenthal, a copy of which h was sent
 to the Administration, was a personal letter written to a per-
 sonal friend, Mr. C. Meeker, while Lir. idittenthal was a member
 of the handbag industry acting as Chairman of the Board of Gov.*
 ernors of the associated Handosg Industries of America, Inc.,
 and while e he was Chairman of the Code Committee appointed by
 the Associated'Han.dbag Industries of America, Inc. to draft a
 code for the industry. The Ladies' Handbag Code was not approved
 until March 14, 1934 and beca-e effective i.arch 26, 1934, so
 that Ir. ivlittentnal's letter was not written to the Meeker Corn-
 pany in an. official capacity as Code Director. The opinion ex-
 pressed by Mr. IMittenthal was a personal one, which he held as 0.
 an individual manufacturer at a time when it seemed impossible
 to obtain a code satisfactory to all members of the industry.
 The dispute involved was whether classification and wage scales
 above the minimum should be included in the code. The New York i
 manufacturers 'iho were in contractual relations '-'ith the Union
 insisted that they should be included, '-hile manufacturers with M:
 factories outside of Iewv York City insisted that they should not
 be included. 'hen the final code was approved, no classifica- I
 tion rnd no rage scales above the minimum were included. Pro- i
 visions were made in Sections 2 and 6 of Article IV, but they i
 were stayed by an Administrative Order approving the Code, and
 still remain stayed.

 t7e are at a loss to understand '-hy the Ijeeker Company should
 use a personal letter sent to M!Jr. C. Kieeker to support their
 claim for an exemption to the code 14 months later.

"On our balance sheet under assets you will note listed salesmen's ac-
counts overdrawn. This reflects the earnest effort we have made to
keep our business xoinc since the depression set in, in advancing sales-
men money to keep theia going, thereby keeping our factory going and keep-
ing our people employed; money we nave e-cpected to recover from the
salesmen when our business again got back on better basis."

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