The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1922-08-24

hines. We have collected money
penalties from price fixers in four
cases, and in one case we got a
permanent injunction prohibiting the
acts complained of. Why pernla-
nent injunction? Well, you know. |
must take the remedy that will be
most effective, and in this case-the
shoe and leather findings association
case--I mad twenty-three defendants
to deal with. This is the kind of
evidence we got on that outfit. We
had two cancelled checks, one for S25
and one for $50. The first was a fine
that the association imposed upon one
of their members for cutting the
price that they had agreed to MAIN
tain. The second was cancelled
check for $50, theA amount they fined
him for cutting the price second
time. The third time they expelled
him and then he was ready to talk.
Now. we have no laws which will per-
nit me to send price-fixer to jail.
No Jail penalty for the ordinary
price-fixer. So went into the circuit
court of Dane county and got a
permanent injunction, and am not
worried that any of that outfit Will
violate the terms of that injunction,
because if they do / will send them to
jail for contempt of court. | would
like to have the fun using the injunc-
ton for the benefit of the working
man, and I would like to see how
price-fixer would look in jail, for con-
tempt of court.
\ "Must / tell you about regular
little old-fashioned trust that ! found,
too. You know, thought the trust
was out of date. The modern way of
holding the people up and gouging
them is by means of secret
agreement among the competitors to
fix prices. But right in the city of
Madison, in the shadows of the state
capitol, found real, live trust.
Fourteen automobile dealers had i'm
corporated company to deal in
secondhand cars and they had agreed
among themselves and with the Used
Car Company that they would buy NO
secondhand automobiles except of
their own make. If you had an
Overland car and wanted to buy
another make, when you went to the
dealer who handled, the make you
wanted to buy he would say, II don't
buy secondhand Overlands. You
will have to GO to the Used Car Com
pany." Then you could go around to
the dozen other dealers and they
would tell you the same thing. So.
finally you would have to take what
ever the Used Car Company would
give you, or drive your car to Mil
waukee or Chicago DO get rid of it.
If you drove to Milwaukee you would
bump into a pnice-fxing combination
which l have since busted up. If
you drove to Chicago, you would
meet Chicago Blue Book prices. The
Used Car Company would issue GER
tifcate for, say $500, or whatever else
they decided to give you, and you
could turn this in as so much cash to
any dealer who held stock in the
Used Car Company Well, sent
for the officers and attorneys of the
Used Car Company and when / told
them you are violating the law, you
have absolutely destroyed competi-
tion,' they had the nerve to tell me
that they could compete with each
other on the amount they allowed on
a due bill, that is to say, one dealer
might allow $205 on "a due bill, while
another dealer allowed $210. That
argument did not get anywhere, for
the trust has broken up, has dis
solved its charter and gone out of
business.