Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-05-04

more cheaply there because they see
articles of known value advertised at
cut prices by big metropolitan stores.
In closing the speaker declared that
inasmuch as manufacturer is re-
sponsible to the ultimate consumer Tor
the quality of trade-marked article,
he should also have the right to
regulate the price for which it may
be sold.
He was also Of the opinion that the
present high cost of living in America
is largely due to the expensive meth
ods of merchandising employed. BY
price maintenance, he declared, the
cost of distributing an article from
producer to consumer is kept down 10
the lowest possible point and yet each
man in the long line OF distribution
is enabled to obtain reasonable, sate
and certain remuneration for the
services rendered.
In opposing any legislation to per-
nit manufacturers to regulate prices
Mr.. Hacker. who is general counsel
for the National Retail Dry Goods
Association, presented a number of
arguments.
Bills Are Misleading
Price maintenance, he declared, is
freedom of contract, and If a federal
act is passed permitting price main
tenance retailers will be soon con-
verted from free selling to contract
ridden agents.
The titles of the bills now before
Congress to permit price maintenance
are misleading, the speaker charged,
and the manufacturers have some
ulterior motive in endeaVoring to
have the acts passed.
THE highest courts in the land
have declared" said Mr.. Hacker,
that when a manufacturer parts
with an article he also parts with all
rights to it. Now that the big manu-
facturers are beaten in the courts they
want to run to Congress and secure
new legislation" said he.
Business Is War;
while at the present time there
are comparatively few trade-marked
articles" pointed out the speaker,
should this act become law there
would at once be thousands of manu-
facturers who would rush to Wash
ington with their trademarks and at
once set high schedules of prices by
which their goods would have to be
sold by the retailers who would have
the collar of price maintenance around
their necks. Everyone will trade
mark and set their price" he de-
clared.
Business is war" declared Mr..
Hacker. land it will always be war.
Cooperation has been tried and has
failed: will doubtless be tried again
and fail, but we insist that if a mer-
chant wishes to cut a price to meet
the exingencies of his business, he
should have that right"
Charges Ulterior Motive
Those who oppose price mainten-
anCe are opposed also to reckless
price cutting, the speaker declared,
but he maintained that the dealer
should have the right of price regula-
ton.
He charged that large manufac-
turers have banded together in the
American Fair Trade League to pass
this price maintenance law and de-
clared that huge publicity campaign
was being waged by these interests
to secure passage of one of the acts
now before Congress.
Mr.. Hacker took exceptions to the
truth or accuracy of the literature be-
ing distributed by the Fair Trade
League and declared that the league
has some Interior motive which I,
myself, sometimes feel 1 am unable
to discern" He charged that the
widespread demand" for a federal
legislation permitting price main
tenance, which was referred TO bv
Mr. Ingersoll, was manufactured
demand"
Following the addresses both speak
ers were given ten minutes in which
to refute each others arguments,
which each did by denying in blanket
form about everything the other had
said.