The L'Anse sentinel., 1923-06-08


Washington.-Th federal trade COM
mission is engaged In a war upon the
1000 Investigations of oil schemes have
been made and each day adds its quota.
The schemers comprise all types and
the victims are found all over the
country.
Yet, although publicity Is the only
weapon at the command Of the commits
sion, the campaign has been successful
In large measure. The commission can
not send any man to Jail. 1t cannot
even assess fine. Its authority rests
on the construction of slender clause
In the law giving 1t the nominal power
to prevent unfair competition. 1t pro-
ceeds on the theory that the man sell
ing fraudulent stock is competing un-
fairly, and when 1t finds that an oil
stock promoter Is making fraudulent
representations II issues an order
against him to "cease and desist" from
the practice.
The promoter does not have to obey
the order. No penalty attaches II he
violates 1t. But In about ninety-nine
cases Of every hundred he stops his
operations. In majority of cases the
proceeding never gets to the stage Of
issuing an order. Mere publication Of
notice that an Investigation will be
made usually Is sufficient to drive a
fraudulent operator out of business. He
ty. t,x I,NA 1A. y,
name or move to greater fields, but
the particular fraud that he has been
perpetrating comes to an end. The final
order, denouncing an individual or
company as fraud, disposes of class
inclined to resist, with the exception Of
a few old and hardened offenders.
Is Fragile Sword.
It Is fragile sword with which the
federal government has gone into bat
tie. Nobody knows better than the
commission that It ought to have
stronger weapon, but 1t uses what II
has. "And," said one of the members,
-it Is an Illustration of the queer fact
that the weakest things In the world
are sometimes the strongest. Who
knows that we could do better, or even
as well, with more rigid law?'
OF the 1000 investigations those
which went to the final stage Of orders
TO "cease and desist" make only COM
Portable handful Of manuscript. Every
proceeding begins with a complaint
from some one who thinks he has been
defrauded. The commission makes an
Investigation. An inspector may be sent
20 the scene Of operations. Four of
them give full time to this work, and
others are switched to II upon occasion.
II the commission has reason to believe
that an unfair method Of competition
has been used, It issues complaint
which is Immediately made public.
Most Of the proceedings end there. II
Is not always possible, however, to con-
front the evildoer with even the suspi-
cion OF his guilt. The deal has been
done and the doer very likely has
passed on to fresher pastures. He usu-
ally Is the sort Of man who can change
his name upon occasion without doing
violence to his conscience. He may bob
up again In distant field, to be routed
once more by another complaint.
For those who have the courage to
face the matter ont, there Is a public
hearing. The man cited has 40 days
IN which to answer the complaint. II
he does answer, the case goes to trial.
Witnesses are examined under oath
and the proceeding generally resembles
trial In court If, at the end Of II,
the commission r. still Of Its original
belief, the order to "cease and desist"
n Issued.
The defendant may take an appeal