Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-04-17
.eE PAN TO AID
TRADE IS TAKEN Up
@orDey Senator Seeks to Protect
M Cooperative Bodies From
'Ss Sherman Law
Doom To COMMERCE SEEN
BY CLINTON w. GILBERT

eeaR Corse spondcnt Evening Public Ieiser
0cpyri0ht. fsas, BY Public LEDGER Company
Washington. April tT.--Senator
Edges resolution for the appointment
Z OF a committee to investigate the status
y Of trade associations was made the un-
4 enished business Of the Senate for to-
day. 1t is a resolution of great i'm.
povtance to the commercial interests Of
the country. An inquiry may lead to
modification Of the Sherman Antitrust
Act which will enable those associa-
ti0ns to carry on what they call CO.
= operative competition.
In what is known as the hardwood
lumber case. the supreme Court de-
cided by n five to four vote that one
such association. apparently harmless
one, was a combination in restraint OF
trade on the ground apparently that
the producers of hardwood lumber could
not get together for the exchange of
Information without yielding to the
natural temptation to eliminate compc-
tition.
Secretary Hoover had conference
here the other day with about 700 rep
d resentativcs. He is strongly in favor Of
permitting such ASSOCIATIONS ns bcneh-
eiAl. for the most part. holding that
not more than 10 per cent of them
actually indulge in practices Injurious
70 the consumer.
Points to Henefts
"It is obvious Mr.. Hoover said,
ssthat trade associations have many
functions which do not enter at all
Upon the field of restraint of trade.
lirst, a trade association comprises a
sort OF educational institution in the
problems of foreign trade and approved
business practices. and their function
In to secure presentation of their prob
lens before Congress and Government
departments and to other industries
with u view 70 securing action that
makes for the general welfare. In the
main these are issues between producer
and consumer. such as the advancement
Of standards. elimination of wastage,
reduction Of litigation. ETC.
Both Mr.. Hoover and Mr.. Edge are
! Of the opinion that If the trade asso-
Citations are put out Of business as
result of the Supreme Court decision.
foreign trade will suffer materially.
Foreign producers are permitted large
leeway in such co-operatiOn and have.
2 in addition. large government assist
ance.
The hardwood association which was
condemned bv the court exchanged in
formation about business done by mem.
bers. about prices. about trade condi-
tions, about policies. No information
thus exchanged was kept secret. a copy
Of every report and every letter was
1led with the Department of Justice and
with the Federal Trade Commission.
district meetings Of the association were
open to the public. Dealers and con-
snmers TO some extent participated. In
brief. Il was not secret and there was
no. evidence that prices were agreed
upon among the members.
N.Iu., ssr>-kl>~,.us,
t Yet Justice Clarke in the majority
opinion declared that It was simply an
expansion of the gentleman agree +.
ment of the former days. skillfuIly dc L.
vi9eh to evadc the law.
The theory on which those whO are
trying to modify the Sherman act Is
that there is room for .iilst such trade
corporation as the hardwood producers
effected. We have the soft coal indus.
try now as an example of the evils Of
unrestricted and unintclligcnt compete
tion. There il chaos in this industry
which injuriously affects labor and does
the public no good. So great rs this
chaos that even the most conserva-
tive believe the cure lies in the nation.
alizatiOn of coal mines or at least Fed 1.
eral restriction of coal production.
Mr.. Gaskill. chairman of tho Fed
eral Trade Commission. believes that
whnt IL needed in the Sherman law is
positive directions TO industry which
will tell it just how tor it can go IN
CO. operation. The sherman act is now
entirely prOhbitivc. no attempt being
made TO define and describe what prac
tices are legal. The courts interpret
the prohibitions broadly.
Busfncss makes attempts TO cooper.
ate and months or years after tho event
Nyis told by the courts that its prac-
ticfs are illegal.
-. Seek to Define Law
What Mr.. Edge and Mr.. Hoover seek
as result Of inquiry is to make the
Sherman act a clear definition of what
may be done and put It's administration
in the hands of the Federal Trad,
Commission. to which organized busl
ness may go to learn what Is permit
ted. and what is not.
Such definition is extremely diff
cult. Hitherto Congress has been afrait
to approve expressly forms of cOmbina.
tion and 60 cooperation in business fO
fear that clever lawyers would stretcl
its language to cover practices tina
would restrain trade.
And 50 hard is 1t to say what doe
restrain trade that the learned Justice,
of the Supreme Court divided five L
four on the question whether or not til,
4 hardwood men were restraining trade
the two most liberal members o
the bench, Justice Clarke and Jus
tice Brandes, taking opposite sides II