Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-08-11
BAR ASSOCIATION
To HOLD ANNUAL
MEET IN BOSTON
Topics of Special Interest to
the Public at This Time Dis
CuSSed in Reports of Vafi-
GUS Committees.


tsPeciH- CONSCIOUSNESS TO MORNING JOURNAL
Baltimore, Md, Aug. 1O.-SeVeral
topics of special interest to the pupllc
at this time are discussed in reports
of committees of the American Bar
association to be submitted at the next
annual meeting in Boston on Septell-
Der 3. and 5. Those reports nave
NOT vet received the consideration OF
the association, but embody the rec
concentrations of it's committees.
A suggestion that congress empower
an administrative body, Such as inc
federal trade commission, 10 ue-
termine in advance whether u Dusl-
ness agreement or arrangement Is que
and reasonable, and therefore lawful
or undue and unreasonable, and there
fore unlawful. is made in the report
of the committee on commerce. trade
and commercial law. 1t is proposed
that if an authorized administrative
hodv should find that a business ar
rangement is due and reasonable that
then the agreement should not come
within the penalties of the sherman
antitrust or other anti-t trust leSlsla-
ton.
The report comments on the fact
that at first the courts were inclined
to construe the Sherman antitrust
act literally and not to look beyond
it's text and context to ascertain It's
meaning. In the Standard Oh case,
however, the supreme court showed
that it was necessary to state stand
ard" by which to measure the conduct
of business; that the standard of law
fulness was due and reasonable re-
straint of trade, and the standard of
unlawfulness was undue and unrea-
soma HE restraint of trade
In view of the fact" says the re-
port that business agreements ana
arrangements in due and reasonable
restraint of trade come within the
standard of lawfulness and that UNI
due and unreasonable restraint OF
trade come within the standard OF
unlawfulness and that these stand
ards are administered under the flex-
ible limits of Judgment of judges. II
seems only proper. right ana just thal
some administrative body, such as the
federal trade commission, should be
empowered by law in the interest of
right end Justice, TO predetermlne
whether a business agreement or ar
rangement is within the standard of
being due and reasonable and there
fore lawful, or within the standard
of being undue and unreasonable and
therefore unlawful. The public and
all interested should have a free right
to intervene and be heard in all pro-
ceedings. A provision for court re-
view should be provided If such ad-
ministrative body should adjudicate
such business agreement or arrange
ment, in the limits of its flexibif
judgments was due and reasonable,
the law should expressly provide That
such business agreement or arrange
ment should not come within the PEN
alties of the Sherman antitrust or
other antitrust legislation. The con-
slant fear and dread of grand and
petty juries and penal institutions are
preventing the investment of capital
in legitimate business enterprises"
Other Recommendations.
Following is a summary of other
important recommendations made by
the committee on commerce. trade
and commercial law
That the American Bar association
renews it's adherence to the national
bankruptcy act and that it is opposed
to the repeal thereof and to needless
amendments thereof;
That it endorses Mott House Bill
No. 402, first session sixty-siXth con-
gress to supplement Section 20 of the
national bankruptcy act by adding a
SuDulNlSlOn prov tlIclt u PStAtioii
for review of an order or finding of
a referee must be filed within thirty
days of the service of notice of the
order or findings;
That the committee be given addi-
tional time for the preparation of a
tentative code covering the law of
common carriers of freight in inter-
state and foreign commerce.;
That the committee continue to re-
port on the working of and the prac-
teal administration of right and JUS
tice by the various federal admins
trative bodies;
That if the federal trade commits
sion does not abandon its practice of
the general averments in complaints
filed by it that the committee report
a tentative bill for discussion at the
next meeting of the association requir-
ing the federal trade commission to
be more specific in the aveTments in
complaints filed by it;
That it indorses the following bills
introduced at the first session of the
sixty-sixth congress which propose to