The Washington herald., 1921-11-20
False


country have complained to Us Of this situa-
tion, have signihed their desire to get away
from this method, have asked us to take
steps to prevent this commercial bribery.
We have called on the ship-chandlers and
have talked the situation over with them.
We have brought them into an agreement
that the practice shall be discontinued. We
have set them to police each other, to see
that there is no violation Of this agreement
We have laid the basis for clearing up this
sort Of commercial bribery.
"HoMMERC1AL bribery appears In many
~ lines of business. One of the first
cases which the Federal Trade Commission
handled, for example, had to do with the
methods used in selling ink. The ink bust
ness Is a very extensive one and a very
old one and a given manufacturers con-
tract with a given printing establishment
is an item which bulks quite large. The
ink salesman actually transacts his business
with the manager of the printing estab-
hshment, but one Of his subordinates is
pretty likely to be able to control the ink
order So the ink salesman finds 1t neces-
sary to cultivate that subordinate and if he
can arrange a collision with him he Is
likely to get and hold his ink contract.
This salesman may make a old-blooded
deal allowing a commission on the ink. He
may hold the employees favor by entertain
ment Of gifts which he may shower upon
him. We have developed the fact that these
ink statesmen sometimes use odd and ingeni-
GUS methods of bribery which technically
may not appear to be bribery. The salesman,
for instance, may masquerade Is a betting
man. He may, for example, congratulate
the foreman upon the fact of his possessing
twelve children. The foreman may deny
that he has a family Of that size, may
assert that there are but three children in
his family. Whereupon the ink salesman
will lay a wager of $500 that the foreman
has twelve children in his family. The
foreman will establish the proof that he has
but three children and will collect the wager.
Thus is he subsidized for a xiven period. ut
the end of which the ink salesman will
APPEAR and bet him he has six toes on his
foot or nose twelve inches long.
Where one ink maker resorted to such
practices as these, others were forced to do
likewise to meet his competition II came
to pass that practically all of them resorted
to some such device Of commercial bribery.
In the end none Of them derived any ad-
vantage from it, but were forcedito maintain
this most unpleasant practice. Many ink
manufacturers complained to the Federal
Trade Commission and it finally issued an
order against this sort of commercial
bribery, and, while individuals break over
here and there, much progress has been
made toward eliminating it.
STTHE commission has attacked first one
phase after another of commercial mis-
representation. 1t found, for example, that
many materials were being currently sold
which were branded all wool and which
might contain as low as 10 per cent wool.
When it first attacked this misbranding and
sought to have it officially ruled as unfair
competition, that proposal In certain quar-
tiers was vigorously fought. 1t was main
tanned that this was not unfair competition
because it was 4 general trade practice and
nobody had an advantage over an body else.
The commission held, however, that mis-
branding was, under the law, unfair COM
petition, and has ordered its discontinuauee
In one case after another. The industry