Norwich bulletin., 1917-02-27
ACCEPT OFFER
 OF PAPER MANUFACTURERS
To Have Federal Trade Commission
 Fix the Price of Paper.

 Washington. Feb. 2s. = Newspaper publishers from throughout the United States, meeting here today with the 1 federal trade commission, voted unani- mously to cooperate with the com mission if it decides to accept the pro- posal by news print paper manufac- turers that the commission fix a prlce for their products The publishers agreed to reduce their requirements if
 Francis J. Heney, speaking for the commission, told the publishers that any of their number who would not agree to hold paper requirements to l the minimum would be kept from hem citing by the. price reduction if the commission could accomplish it More than 100 publishers, representing both large and small newspapers, were present at the. meeting.
 The publishers assent to the propos- al removes virtually all doubt of it's acceptance by the trade commission and after manufacturers are seen again Wednesday,. it is believed the commission will announce it is ready to go ahead with the plan. Most of the publishers present buy from the paper mills whose representatives mission believes enough manufactur- CTS are participating to insure a gen. eral price break.
 Publishers made it clear today that in a/cepting the proposal they will moi accept. any plan carving with it a promise that manufacturers guilty of violating the antitrust laws escape punishment At a meeting held before they saw the commission a resolution was adopted saying:
 Tt is the sense of those assembled that whatever may be the outcome of these pending conferences there should. in the judgment of this meet ing, be no suspension or Interruption of the investigation into the causes leading to the conditions now exist ing in the news print paper trade now proceeding through the agency of the department of justice"
 When this declaration was read to the commission, MT. Henry, who is conducting the commissions news print investigation, declared the de- partment of justice had no intention of stopping it's investigation. Pub fishers have insisted that they want free competition restored in print pa per n1anufa cture and .thruoehout con ferences here within the last few days have demanded action either by the trade commission or the department of justice that will bring, permanent re- lief
 After the meeting today most of the publishers si:yTl 1l an agreement sub cnittel by the commission in which they pledged themselves to cut their requirements at least five per cent. be- low their 1916 supply of paper
 The final consent of the publishers
 
 ferences at which many of the larger newspaper owners objected strongly to Ty condition that would take from ti'sm paper they have contracted for. Smell publishers and members of the trade coI-jssion, however pointed out that success Of the proposal de- pended entirely on such a concession and when q vote was taken not a pub fisher voted in the negative. This res oiution was adopted as representing the attitude of the publishers pres ent:
 Resolved, That the newspaper pub fishers present at this meeting agree to usee less print paper in 1917 than they used in 1916. with the thought in mind that this will create a surplus which will insure a supply to all news papers, particularly the smaller pa pers who have difficulty in securing an adequate supply: and we recom- nent to all newspaper publishers that they do likewise in our common inter- est"
 Members of the commission had de- clared positively that no price arbi- tration plan could be taken up unless T.uf fishers would cooperate to the ex- tent of reducing tonnage if 1t became necessary. They said. however. that it might not become necessary for any publisher to use less than he needs. The danger, as they saw it, was that publishers won1d take advantage of the lower price to go into the market Ter ldrSe QudnIlIleS or paper ana Df1nB about shortage. The statement was made that the commissions investi- gation had shown there was no short age, but that the margin between pro- duction and. consumption was close. It was made clear that the commission would enter into no arbitration plan with the price alone the factor and with no arrangement as to distribu- tion.
 Questions put to Mir Henry by pub fishers brought out that the depart ment of justice is considering chare- es that manufa cturers limited their as a phase of the criminal investigation now in progress in the New York federal courts.