Valdez daily prospector., 1914-10-20
BILL REFERRED
 ID TRADE BODIES

UO UuUIO1 OOOI1O Initiated by Chamber of Commerce of
 United States on Report of Special
 Committee - Voting to Be For or
 Against Seven Recommendations.
 Result to 1e Made Public.
 Washington. - A referendum rela- tive to the proposed interstate trade commission bill recently reported into the house of representatives by the committee on interstate and foreign commerce was initiated by the cham Der of commerce of the United States of America. It goes to the 543 con- mercial organizations in forty-seven states, and the votes of these organiza- tions, when recorded, will be made public.
 The referendum is based on the re- port of a special committee composed of two business men. The committee presents its recommendations in such form that the membership of each or ganization is enabled to express its opinions by voting for or against the various proposals.
 The seven definite recommendations to be supported or rejected are:
 That there be created an interstate trade commission of at least five members, ap- pointed by the president and confirmed by the senate, not more than @ mere ma jority of whom shall be of the same po- litical party.
 That jurisdiction of the commission in conducting investigation extend to all cor porations engaged in interstate or foreign commerce except such as are amenable to tho interstate commerce commission. ut has not been judicially determined wheth- CT or not banks are engaged in interstate commerce. but 1t is not understood to be the purpose of the bill creating an inter- state trade commission to include banks among the corporations placed within the Jurisdiction of the commission.)
 That the commission should not now be given authority to advise applicants con- cerning the legality of proposed contracts, combinations. etc., under the Sherman act
 That the annual reports of corporations. if required should at the outset be con fined to those of the larger corporations (say. to those having capital resources of $5 100000 or moro or to those having an other classes of corporations as the com mission may officially determine.
 That in the annual reports made to the commission corporations ought not to be required to disclose trade processes. shop costs. classification of sales and profits among particular articles. names of cus- toners or other like private information.
 40 % ~AA oI by the commission be confined to such as are to the public interest.
 That congress should direct the com- mission to investigate and report to con- gress at the earliest practicable date on the advisability of amending the Sherman act to allow a greater degree of co-opera- tion in the conduct and for the protection of the foreign trade.
 In suggesting that the membership of the commission should be composed of five members rather than three as proposed in the present house bill, the committee argues that since large proportion of interstate business of i'm portance is now transacted by corpo- rahons the duties of the commission will be so important that so small a membership as three is inadequate. The committee also concludes that a commission may earn greater degree of popular confidence for nonpartisan- ship and impartiality than a depart mental official can hope to attain. The committee also is convinced that the larger commission would provide for different points of view and opportu- nifty for the inclusion of business ex- perience.
 The committee believes that there should be no discrimination as to the kinds of corporations with which the commission deals, since such limita- ton might develop a suspicion of fla voritism. It says. Neither size nor any other arbitrary standard of classi- f1cation Is sure criterion of lawful ness or unlawfulness under the anti trust acts or under any other laws" The committee is convinced that the general jurisdiction of the commission should not extend to persons and part nerships, giving this reason:
 "As a matter of business judgment, individuals and partnerships as such will not engage in interstate or for eign trade on a scale sufficiently large as to have the potentality of efecting a restraint of trade or creating mo nopoly. Before their business assumes a character or a volume that creates possibilities of illegality under the anti trust acts they are under practical necessity of adopting the corporate form with its limited liability and oth- CT advantages"