Evening star., 1925-12-09
LOW PRICES LAID
TO TRADE BODIES
Hoover Praises Work of
Grocery Association in Ad-
dress at Meeting.

The various trade associations ara
I'm the cost of production and distrihu-
tion and for the superior trade rcla-
tOns that have heen csta hlished
among business men" Secretary of
Commerce Hoover told delegates tn
the Seventeenth annual convention nf
the American Grocery Speciality Mann
facturerS Association at the May
flower Hotel this morning.
Only n few OF the great number of
trade associat tions have used Illegal
methods. the speaker said empha Siz-
ing that the rest have been a power
full force in the esta hlishment Of fair
and honora bic business methods. Sec
retary Hoover declared that through
their organization the dealers have rs-
Ia ablished the fact that voluntary rec'I-
lation Of trade without Government
Interference is Uossible and practical.
He concluded by assuring the
srocers that the Department of Com
merce is desirous of cooperating with
them in the furtherance of the work
they have started.
L. s. Friend of Orient.
America is the welcomed nation
and the friend of the Orient" Charles
Wesley Dunn, counsel for the So
ciety. said. Mr.. Dunn. who has just
returned from an extensive trip
through China and Japan. told Of the
extensive Introduction of American
products in these countries and Of
the esteem with which America is
regarded there
In referring To the Federal Trade
Commission, he spoke of the Wads-
worth Williams act now pending in
Congress. which. if passed, will bring
about certain changes in The method
of procedure of the commission.
The most important of these are
that the Commission will proceed
against the method rather than the
! user of the method. that the com
mission Will institute informal pro-
oeedinss without any publicity before
starting any court action. that the
trader Will he fully informed Of the
rea sons for the action. and that court
action will he taken only as last
resort.
l.. :. Tenny. assistant chief of the
Bureau of Agricultural Economics
discussed the larger aspects of aeri-
culture and of the imperative necee-
sity of reducing The cost of produc-
! ton.
Sealed Package Defense
! most effective means availa he 10
ma nufa cturers for protecting the con-
sumner against the adultera ton or de-
| basement of their goods during the
/ Intermediary channels of ira ffic. Dr
! &. r.. Browne. Bureau of Chemistry
/ Department of Agriculture. told the
| delegates at the opening of the after
noon session.
| DR.. Browne expla ined in deta il the
| functionings Of the Bureau of Chem
/ istry in fighting fires, particularly
! combustion
! When a complaint has been flea
against firm. William F.. Humphrey.
! member of the Federal Trade Com
] mission, said. the commission believes
! in giving the accused concern an op-
| portunity to give its side of the Sc
before any action is taken in the mat
ter. If, after hearing both sides Of
the case, the commission Is convinced
of guilt. the commission drops the
case if the accused party will sign a
stipulation agreeing to do away with
the objectionable practices, he said
Has Brought Criticism.
Mr.. Humphrey said this policy "f
stipulation has brought n great deal
of criticism upon the commission, rs
its opponents claim il is not a suf-
! ficiently drastic method Of handling
the guilty parties. In support of the
| policy, the speaker said the primary
| duty of the commission is to protect
the public and they are justified in
using the methods they deem hest in
accomplishing this end. He added that
| through the policy of stipulation many
OF the back cases in the courts have
! heen cleared up and congestion gen
orally relieved.
| Merle Thorpe. editor Of Nation $
| Business. speaking AT the session yes
/ terday afternoon. urged less inrerfer-
ence with trade by the Government
| Frank B. Connolly, president OF the
! Pacific Coas Retail Grocers' ASsoci-
alton, told of the work done by his
association in the fight against some
| of the chain stores and in the estalr
! lishment of price protection.