New-York tribune., 1922-01-05
PrOfiteer Rule
In u. S. Barred
By Unternyer
Trade Combinations, Called
''Barnacles Choking In.
dustrial Life,' Too Power
full to Break, He Saws
Two Solutions Offered
Amnesty to ''Open Price,
Associations; federation
Under Federal Control

tions, which he described as "festerinv
harnacles on our industrial life which
are fairly choking it to DEATH" are too
numerous and powerful to bc cxtermi-
mated, Samuel Untormyer, Of New
York, declared here tonight in an ad-
dress before the Building Trade EN-
ployers' Association and the General
Contractors Association of Massachu-
sets.
Mr.. Untermyer, director Of an ex-
tensive investigation into the housing
situation in New York which resulted
in the indictment Of number of men
and firms for criminal practices raising
the cost of home building, offered two
possible solutions for the problem
which he said must be dealt with if
price gouging was to be stopped One
of these would be granting amnesty
to all "open-price" associations which
did not violate any laws except the
antitrust laws, and the other would
be to tolerate such organizations, but
put them under rigid Federal and state
regulation. similar to the present pro-
enforcement
Granting of Amnesty
''The granting of such amnesty" said
Mr.. Untermyer, "to those applying
therefor and complying with the con-
oitions should be accompanied by the
vigorous prosecution of all who do not
promptly meet these amnesty condi-
tions, and particularly of all future Of
Tenders. For that purpose there should
be maintained by the Department of
Justice and in the Office of the Attorney
General Of each state a separate or
ganization, with investigators and
others whose duty it would be to in
quire into and prosecute violations OF
the law.
"The suggestion of such an amnesty
Is prompted solely by my conviction
that the great mass of the culprits are
no longer reachable. They are too nu-
merous. 1t would take an army of law
yers and Investigators and scores of
additional judges, devoting themselves
to this task alone, to cope with the
situation as to do equal justice, and
1T would require wellnigh q decade in
which to accomplish the work, if it
could be accomplished at all after this
lapse of time. To attempt it on a small
scale by prosecuting a few unfortu-
mates here and there, while allowing
the others to go free, would be trav-
csty upon justice. The result would
be likely to be, as is usual in these
cases, that the little fellows would be
ensnared in the meshes of the law.
while the big fellows would escape.
z. III, unfortunately, experience
should confirm my prophecy that these
combinations can no longer be cxter-
minated or their members adequately
and lmpartially punished we are driven
to the only remaining alternative Of
tolerating them in their least objec-
tionable form and placing them under
rigid supervision and control. Surely
all must agree that to leave them in
the present situation, absolutely un-
controlled and free to prey upon the
public, with their own ideas of the ex-
tent to which they will elect to control
production and boost prices, is un-
thinkable.
Plan For Regulation
THE regulation I have in mind will
require both Federal and state legisla-
ton.
Mr.. Untcrmyer suggested also alter
native measures under a plan for req
ulation which he summarized as "in a
sense price-fxing output-restricting
program, but under such strict sur
safeguarded"
The, increased cost of labor, he said
was more properly an effect than a
cause" of high living costs, adding that
when the price of everything that la
Dor uses to create the product is ar
tifcially controlled it is hardly fair
to place upon labor the responsibility
for increased costs"
The speaker recited some of the rev.
elations before the joint legislative
committee on housing of New York
State, and added that conspiracies in
tested almost every industry in the
country. They were usually inspired,
ne said, by professional promoters. An
intricate network of combinations
local. state and national-has been
built up in many industries, Mr.. Inter
myer said, "the prices and terms of
sale being directly or indirectly regu:
lated all the way down the line"