The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-02

changed that the commission itself has become an instrumentality for un- fairness" Charges of unfairness, oftel initiated by a jealous competitor, the report declares, are preferred by the commission and made public without giving the accused firm advance mo- tice of the charges, or sufficiently def mite information on the charges to enable it to make proper answer, while by filing about 1S0 formal complaint s and disposing of only about 90, giving full publicity to the original com plaints with meager announcement of dismissals, the commission has caused great injustice, injury and confusion.
 BIG FEE FOR HENEY
 In criticism of methods adopted dur ing the recent investigation of the packing industry, the report says a special counsel (Francis J. Heney) was employed at s30,000 year and ex- penses, although it had been stated to committee of Congress that the salary would be at the rate of s5000."
 In this inquiry the commission "se- lected documents already in it's pos session and had them presented to it at public sessions by it's special coun- sel," says the report. Refusing to permit concerns that were mentioned in the documents to offer any testi- mony or produce other documents. IL held public sessions at Boston. Phila- delphia, St. Paul and other cities, ex- amined witnesses of it's own choosing and prevented cross examination by the concerns at which 1t was made clear the proceedings were directed At each city the public counsel or other members of the staff let it be known that the government contem- plated taking over and operating the industry
 STRANGE SPECTACLE
 'This strange spectacle ended in Chicago in February, 1918, when appli- cation was made on behalf of the com mission for search warrant under section of the espionage act and the circuit court of appeals quashed the warrant.
 "The result of the commissions course was not to give information to the public. but to place the commis- sion in the position of seeking to cre- ate prejudice which would support an apparently preconceived purpose to in augurate government operation of the business"
 Referring to the commissions recent report to Congress on profteering, the report says:
 The commission again showed it's lack S@ tSSPohSipiHly Dy SltlfS SuCn IOrm and content to a report as to make general charges of a caluminous nature against business enterprises without SUD- porting it's charges with adequate facts. The committee couched it's statement un- warranted by the facts set out. For ex- ample, it spoke of barefaced fraud monopolistic control manipulation of the markets by illegal devices and proving with shameul avarice upon con- SumerS'
 It even resorted to hearsay in recit- ing. it is understood, that producers of airplane spruce in the northwest have taken advantage of'allied governments. INCREASES PRICES Intrinsic faults in this report are even more serious The commission criticized the principle of fixed prices which every other agency of the government has ap- proved as a means of at once regulating the market and obtaining the increased production the nation requires. It warns against the profits of producers of southern pine, unusually or unneces- saFily large yet the priceA fixing com mittee of the government having before 1t the commissions own figures of costs, has recently increased the price for southern pine to the government by ap- proximately 15 per cent.
 The report comedies that individual ploliteeTS eAiSt ana SnOulQ De prose- cuted vigorously, but adds:
 The existence of individual error and crime is no reason for condemnation of the whole community or any part of it by broad accusation and innuendo."
 RESIGN TO RUN FOR OFFICE
 Members of the federal trade commits sion are William B. Colvar, chairman; John F. Fort and Victor Murdock Jo- seph F.. Davies and William J. Harris recently resigned membership to seek senatorial nominations in Wisconsin and Georgia, respectively, and Francis J. Heney, special counsel during the pack CTS inquiry, was a candidate for the democratic nomination for governor of California.
 Besides Alr Butler, the chairman, mem bers of the federal trade commission of the Chamber of Commerce are. William J. Dean, St Paul. member of a hard ware firm; Alfred B. Koch, Toledo, de- partment store proprietor; w. L. Saun- ders, New York. president of machin- cry manufacturing company; Henry R. Seager. professor of economics at Co., lumbia university; Alexander w. Smith, Atlanta, lawyer; Dr. I. c. White, West Virginia, state geologist; Silas F. Adams, Portland, Me, and William c. Coffin, Pittsburg, consulting engineer.
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