New-York tribune., 1919-07-13
Sees Benefit to
Public in Fixing
OF Resale Prices
Federal Trade Commission
Urges Change in Law to
Permit Manufacturers to
Protect Trade-Marked
Goods

WASHINGTON, July 12.-Renewed
recommendation that manufacturers be
permitted by law to fix and maintain
resale prices, subject to review by a
disinterested agency. was made by the
Federal Trade Commission to-day in a
special report to Congress-. Existing
laws which have ben interpreted by
the Supreme Court in the case against
Colgate & Co. and in other test cases,
to prevent fixing of resale prices
should be amended, the commission be-
lieves, with view to removing the
present complexity in the BUSINESS
manufacturing and commercial insti-
tuition and to serving the interests of
the consuming public.
Under the commissions recon-
mendation, first advanced in report
to Congress last December, manufact-
urers desiring to fix and maintain re-
sale prices would file with an agency
to be designated by Congress, descrip-
tions of their articles, contracts of
sale and the price schedules to be
maintained. The disinterested agency
would be charged with the duty upon
complaint of any dealer or consumer
or other party at interest" to review
the terms of contracts and prices.
Conclusions Reached
The commissions recommendations,
lowing conclusions:
That producers of Identified goods
identified by trademark or trade prac-
tice- should be protected in their in
tangible property right or good will,
created through years of fair dealing
and of sustained quality of merchan-
disc;
That the unlimited power both to x
and to enforce and maintain resale
prices may not be made lawful with
safety; and
That unrestrained price cutting is not
in the public interest and tends event.
ually to impair, if not to destroy, the
production and distribution of articles
desirable to the public.
There must be a common ground"
: the commissions report said, "wherein
the rights of producer, purveyor and
consumer may each be fully secured
and equity done to all. The Supreme
Court has made it clear that in the
present state of the law the mainten-
ance of resale price by the producer
is q restraint of trade and is unlawful
"Such being the judgment of the Su-
preme Court, the Federal Trade Com
mission has enforced the lew, even
though it may have appeared to oper-
ate inequitably in some cases. In it's
enforcement of this rule the commits
sion has been mindful that the cutting
of recognized resale price on we'll
established and identified articles has
been at times indulged in for unfair
trade purposes. When so unfairly
used such price cutting is attempted
to be cloaked as lawful competition
and justified by the Supreme Court de-
cisions.
"Thus, both price maintenance and
price cutting, under certain conditions,
ere found to be unfair, and business
men are perplexed.
Would Curb Producers
at is urged, and, the commission be-
lieves, with reason, that it would be
unwise to vest with the manufacturers
of articles the right, without check or
review, both to fix and compel the
true that business practice inclines
producers to fix the lowest possible
retail price in order to secure the
greatest possible sale of their product,
but in the complex commercial organ
ism functioning between the produc-
tion of an article and its final sale for
actual consumption both the wholesale
ana retalt merCnant are entltled TO
just compensation for useful service
performed.
at is similarly urged that manufact-
urers should be protected in their good
Will, created by years of fair dealing
and of sustained quality Of merchan-
disc.
"hTe consuming public does not
enjoy benefits by unfair price cutting
to compensate it for the injuries fol-
lowing generalization caused by'price
cutting. This for the reason that, in
the long run, unrestrained price cut
ting tends to impair. ifnot to destroy,
the production and distribution of arti-
cles desirable to the public"