The Washington times., 1924-04-25
DAUGHERTY.
EASY ON
TRUSTS
Chairman Thompson and At
torney So Testify, Citing
Cases to Committee.
By WILLIAM X. HUTCHINSON,
international News Service.

by WILLIAM Il. hUfCHlNSONs
international News Service.
The Wheeler Brookhart COM
mittee today continued its investi-
cation Of charges that former At
torney General Harry M Daugh-
erty failed to prosecute violations
of the antitrust laws.
Huston Thompson, chairman of
the Federal Trade Commission,
charged the Department of Justice
under Daugherty failed to prose-
cute a number Of complaints filed
by the commission against alleged
monopolies.
Thompson said the department
either returned the complaints
without acting on them or else
"pigeon-holed" the commissions
requests for prosecutions. An at
torney for a stationary company
testified that he won a case
against a combine Daugherty re-
fused to prosecute.
GAPAuh1Ao OAS OVhAUAAOs
Chairman Thompson first ex-
planned a complaint filed by the
commission against a number of
stationery firms. The complaint. he
said, grew out of an investigation
of the trade made in 1918 and 1919.
The stationery trade, Thompson
said, was organized into the Whole
sale Stationery Association and the
National Association of Stationers.
members of the two associations
organized the National Catalogue
Association, which issued monthly
bulletin to the trade generally" said
Thompson. This bulletin contained
a price list and the effect was to
fix prices generally throughout the
country. A year book was also is
sued and with the same. effect"
Thompson told how one concern,
the Sidney Morris Company, refused
to obey the price list, and was os-
tracised by the remainder of the
trade. In a complaint to the COM
mission, the Morris company wrote.
1--WE are Disseminated against and
cannot obtain supplies from the
wholesalers because we would not
IHdlHldIH IHo 1ooOSA1IAOh
list"
RObbing Children, Charge.
The company also charged the
associations activities "were rob-
bling school children of their peTA-
MES" and driving independent
companies to the wall"
After a number Of complaints
Thompson said j. A. Fowler, of
the Department of Justice, wrote
the Sidney Morris Company that
"there was an evident conspiracy
among stationery dealers in Chi
cago to either put you out Of busi-
ness or compel you to sell goods
at the associations prices"
Fowler commended that the con-
spiracy, did not come within the
confines Of the Sherman antitrust
law because it was purely local
and did not enter the interstate
commerce.
"Those documents show there
was a combination of manufacturers
and wholesalers to fix prices?"
asked Senator Wheeler D) Of
Montana.
Eyes, the year book did. The
trade supported the price list sent
out by the National Catalogue AS
ISOLATION" said Thompson.
1.-THE department finally sent the
commission an opinion saying the
evidence did not justify q prosecu-
tion," continued Thompson. "Wc
learned later that the Sidney Nor.
ris Company then filed a suit OF
its own against the association, ask
ing triple damages under the Sher.
man act for the business losses It
has experienced.
After some delay, the Company
was given a cash settlement by
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