St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1914-01-16
Price Maintenance

vate monopolies. The recent
efforts that have been made to
limit the right Of a manufacture
er to maintain the price at which
his article should be sold to the
consumer have been inspired by
a motive that is good the desire
for free competition but they
have been misdirected. If sue
cessful, they will result in the
very thing that they seek to
curb monopoly. Price main
tenance the trade policy by
which an individual manufacture
er of a trade marked article in
sures that article reaching all
consumers at the same price
instead of being part of the
trust movement is one of the
strongest forces of the progress
sive movement which favors
individual enterprise.
There is no justification in
fixing the retail price for an
article without individuality.
Such articles do not carry the
guarantee of value that identifies
them with the reputation of the
man who made them. But the
independent manufactures of an
article that bears his name or
trade mark says. in effect:
That which | create, in
which | embody my experience.
to which give my reputation.
is my own property. BY my
own effort ] have created a pro.
duct valuable not only TO myself
but TO the consumer. for | have
endowed this specific article
with qualities which the con-
sumer desires and which the
consumer may confidently rely
upon receiving when he pur-
chases any article in the original
package. II is essential that
consumers should have con-
fidence in the fairness of my
price as we'll as in the quality
of my product. To be able to
buy such an article with those
quail tiles is quite as much of
value 10 the purchaser as il is
of value TO the maker TO find
customers for il" b"
There is no improper restraint
of trade when an independent
manufacturer i'm a competitive
business settles the price at
which the article he makes shall
be sold 10 the consumer. There |
is dangerous restraint of trade |
when prices are fixed on "A com |
mon article of trade by a mon
opoly or combination of manu-
facturer.
The independent manufacture
er may not arbitrarily establish |
the price at which his article is |
TO be sold 10 the consumer. III
he would succeed he must adj
just il 10 active and potential |
competition and various other
influences that are beyond his |
control. There is no danger of /
profits being too large as long /
as the field of competition is kept |
open; as long as the incentive |
20 effort is preserved; and the !
opportunity of individual devel-
opment is kept untrammeled.
And in any branch of trade i'm
which such competitive condi-
tions exist he may safely allow
Il manufacturer 10 maintain the
price at which his article may /
be sold 10 the consumer.
Competition is encouraged. |
not suppressed, by permitting
each of n dozen manufacturers
Of safety razors or breakfast |
foods to maintain the price at
which his article is To bc sold to
the consumer BY permitting
price maintenance each maker is ,
enabled Ia pursue his business
under conditions deemed by him ,
most favorable for the widest
distribution of his product at a
lair price. He may open up a
new sphere of merchandising ,
which would have been impos- /;
iible without price protection.
rhe whole world can be drawn
nto the field. Every dealer,
very small stationer every 4
mall druggist, every small hard &
ware man can he made pur- \
Ieyor of the article, and il be- s
ONES available TO the public i'm In
he shortest time and easiest $
manner. S
Our efforts should be directed /
Iot to abolish price maintenance 1
" the individual competitive =
manufacturer, but TO abolish O
monopoly. the source of real il
ppression in fixed prices. The s
adopted by the Ma {
ional Federation of Retail Mer- o
hants, at its annual convention, o
raws clearly the distinction 81
onted out above. The resolu-
on declared that the fixing of Of
etail prices in and of itself is al
n aid TO competition; among n,
her reasons, because il pre- e
ents the extension of the trust ca
nd chain stores into fields not ol
Dw occupied by them. But the pl
solution also expresses the III
1ited voice of the retailers liz
yainst monopoly and against in
,oca cop, p,binations 4, ,.,,t,.,:, N,