The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-04-18
URGE LEGISLATION TOBROADEN POWER
 IN PRICE PROBES
Federal Trade Commission Makes Report on General Trade Situation at Re-
 quest of the President
By Associated Press

Washington, April 17.-Legislation to eliminate unnecessary brokerage transactions and the distribution or wide information regarding marketing conditions and strengthen the powers of the federal government in it's price investigation is recommended by port on the general industrial situa- tion, drawn up at the request of Presi- dent Harding and made public tonight at the White House.
 "Open price associations" which operate within the law to keep their respective members advised confiden- tially of one another's prIce schedules are accused by the commission of cort- tributing to the maintenance of un- duly high retail prices. It is suggest ed that means must be found to res duce costs of necessities. such as fuel and clothing, before other commodities can come back to normal
 Tt should be said" the report cons cludes, that following the disordereo condition of the worlds affairs, a shrinkage in values is inevitable, and that normal conditions will be the more quickly restored if the producer the laborer, the manufacturer, the job- Der and the retailer will each share at once in the unavoidable loss, and fur ther that any effort by any element to place its share of the common loss on the shoulders of others, and particu- larly the consumer, can but result in a continuation of the conditions under which the country is now suffering"
 CONSUMER HARD HIT
 Declaring that the cost of commodi- ties to the consumer has not, broadly
 
 portion to the decline in agricultural and other raw materials, the commis- sion sets forth it's belief that fin gem eral, it would appear that the move ment toward the reduction of prices to the consumer Is retarded chiefly at the retailing stage, and that relief at this point would be reflected back in in> creased production which would re- duce the production cost and relieve to some extent at least the check upon the manufacturer and by increasing the demand for raw materials would react upon the producers
 The report also takes note of the in- fluence of foreign combinations of capital in determining the price of such commodities as phosphate tobac- co and grain, and adds that among dos nestle combinations one of the newest and most widespread agencies for af- fecting markets is the "open price as- sociation."
 MEMBERS ONLY BENEFIT
 One of the, purposes of these asso- ciations," the report continues, nom irally is to determine uniform cost accounting methods, and to steady the market by furnishing the supply which It can readily absorb. These assecia- tons collect and publish for the bene- 1t of their members figures of pros auction, production costs, sales and sales prices and orders and stocks in pursuance of plan whereby the mem pers of such associations are to conn pete among themselves and with others with knowledge of their own and their competitors production costs ana prices, the available supply ana the demand The collection and public dissemination of such statistical data n ght make the operation of such as- soclation of benefit to the producer and consumer alike, but unfortur.ta- ly tha tendency is here manifested to confine the information to member. and to bring about uniform prices and to maintain them at an artif;.;alis, high level by curtailing production or supply through action which tends strongly toward uniformity because
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