New Britain herald., 1917-06-13
Trade Commission Recommends
 Drastic Action at Once
SEES PANIC MARKET AHEAD
Prospect Is Serious for Public, Gov- ernment and Publishers, Report Asserts -susgests Canada Be In- vited to Oo-opesate.

Washington, une 13.-Pooling od newspr1nt paper production and im- portation under . government agency for distribution to newspapers at . price providing a fair profit to manu- facturers was recommended today by the federal trade commission in . re- port on its investigation of the paper industry conducted during the last year. It also suggestsd that the gov- ernment seek to induce Canadian au- thorittes to stablish . similar agency to cooperate with tho American pool.
 In a letter transmitting the report to the senate which ordered the inves- tisation the committee asked emer- gency legislation to make the recom- mendations effective. It declared that if the 1916 consumption of 1.771.000 tons of print paper is equalled this year the cost to consumers will be- $106 ,000. .000, an increase of $36, 6,000,. 900, or fifty per cent over 1916, and that one-half of this increase repre- sents additional profits to manufac- turers.
 The voluntary agreement arranged with manufacturers several months ago for distribution of paper to pub fishers at moderate prices was aban- doned, the commission reported, and the plan failed because no governs ment authority for enforcement ex- isted The situation is serious and likely to reach . panic state in few: months because Of lack of suflcient competition among producers. said tho commission. Al preliminary re- port was presented March ,.
 The letter accompanying the final. report today said:
 Situation Very Serious.
 'The efforts of the commission to- restore competitive conditions in the news print industry expeditiously and to arMtrate and effectively project . fair price for newsprdnt paper have failed. The plan failed for several reasons. the principal reason being that the Arrangement Was voluntary and the commisston hAd no power or. wAr11nt under the law to mAleA q. effective. The manufacturers Agna~, tory to the agreement notified the commission they would not proceed under such arbitration agreement. The result has been the news print paper situation is very serious, not only to the consumers of paper but to the public generally and to the gov ernment of tho United States which itself is . large consumer of paper. The commission has reason to believe that this situation will be still more aggravated and serious In the ensuing months. The demand 1or news print paper is constantly increasing and gives promise of still greater increase with the continuance of the war. The supply of news print paper available to, meet this demand Is dependent upon mills already in existence.
 Tt seems probable. therefore, that with the demand for news print paper tncreastng and the supply remaining constant or possibly diminishing there will be . repetition of the panic mar ket of last year and the exaction of prices that are entirely out of measure with the cost of production. The conssquences to thousands of smaller ones, and, through them, to the read- ing public. will be most serious.
 Remedy Recomnenaed
 ''8y reason of this condition and be- cause of the vital interest to the public of an efncient dissemination of news in this crisis, the commission recom- mends as . war emergency measure that campaign by appropriate lesis- lation provide:
 ''1-That all mills producing and all agencies distributing print paper and chemical pulp in the Unitel States be operated on government account: that these products be pooled in the hands of . government agency and equitably distributed It Q price based upon cost of production and distribu- ton. plus a fair profit per ton.
 '2-That pursuant thereto. some federal agency be empowered and di- rected to assume the supervision and control thereof during tho pendency of the war. ~
 "3-That. by reason of the fact that approximately 76 per cent of tho pro- duction of newsprint paper In Canada comes into the United States. proper action be taken to secure the co-op- eration of the Canadian government 1v, IA nf eiroilor