Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-10
Washington Ticker
BY CLINTON COFFIN,
Associated Press Financial Writer.

members of the Federal Trade Commas
sion cause for satisfaction with results
attained, and in addition is leading
them to pay substantial compliment to
the publishing and advertising world
In that time. the commission has
found itself called upon to issue 1853
orders against individuals and concerns
! held guilty of obvious Misrepresentation
in newspaper, periodical or other forms
! Of advertising.
when this work was first begun
/ there was some fear that publishers and
advertisers might not cooperate and
| might block any effort the trade COM
mission undertook" commented Will E.
Humphrey, one of the members OF that
body. Even a mere lack of sympathy
on the part of publishers, We realized,
would have handicapped us greatly in
erdeavoring to repress fake advertising.
Instead of opposition we have had
! general and hearty cooperation. While
we have issued 1853 orders requiring in
dividual advertisers to cease and desist
a practice we have found fraudulent,
there have been 20 times that many in
dividuals and enterprises who have been
warned by better business bureaus and
| publishing houses to cease their prac-
ticeS and have been put out OF opera
ton without any necessity of appeal to
the commission All this primary po-
Icing work has been done in the pub
fishing and business world, and We feel
that very high degree of public spirit
and responsibility for the common well
fare has been shown by representative
individuals in advertising and publish
ing all over the country.
The commissions powers, when eX-
ercised after an investigation, are quite
adequate to bring about the suspension
of an individual advertising campaign
that is determined to be fraudulent. The
order to cease and desiSt has the effect
of court decree.
"At the same time we cannot take ac-
ton except in cases where we have
specific proof of fraudulent representa-
tionS, and a good many border line
cases of misrepresentation have to be
passed up without orders
Though railroads and public utility
companies embarking upon consolida-
ton projects seem to find plenty Of
opposition and delay, whether they pro-
coed before State or Federal regulative
bodies, it is noticeable that the Ameri-
can Telephone e. Telegraph Co. strides
forward with merger steps in a practi-
cally frictionlesS fashion. This is true,
though the scope and extent of its ac-
QUESTION Of new telephone service is
now approaching the absolute Of having
108 per cent of the vocal wire communi-
cation under a single organization.
Interstate Commerce Commission
records since 1920. when Congress re-
quired the telephone companies to OBJ
tain permission from that body to con-
solidate, show that the process of COM
bining telephone facilities has proceeded
| with greater and greater momentum
through the years, even though the
number of telephones still outside the
Bell system is now relatively trivial. In
1921 the commission approved the ac-
QUESTION by Bell subsidiaries of two in
dependent telephone systems; in 1922
the acquisition increased to 10: to IA in
1928 and ran around Is year from
1924 to 1926, increasing yearly in num-
bers until there were A independents
absorbed by the Bell system in 1929.
1t does not appear that protest Of
any sort against the absorption of the
independent lines was raised in any but
one or two of the 202 mergers which
the Bell system has brought about since
1920. In fact, the mergers were used
in most cases by local governmental
body and telephone users. The record
makes 1t very clear that the telephone
business is being tactitly permitted to
set up regulated monopoly without the
slightest public opposition, though the
rail carriers, public utility companies,
and apparently the radio communica-
questioning when they attempt a par
tial advance toward the same unif1ca-
ton.
Canada last year won classification as
the best national customer of the United
States, displacing from the post Great
Britain, which has been traditionally
the biggest buyer of American goods
throughout its history. However, as the
Commerce Departmet prepared the
monthly trade figures for January, 1t
became doubtful that Canada will be
able to hold its rank in 1880. While
British purchases of American goods
in that month amounted to STA, 1851 900,
the Canadian import from this country
slumped off to $54, 161 900. Both coun-
tries showed a lesser total of exports
from the United States than last year,
but the Canadian loss was relatively
much greater than that of Great
Britain
In the matter of furnishing the United
States with goods, however, Canada
showed up much better in January.
American exports from the Dominion
for the month were $37, 1894, 900 against
SIS, COO from Great Britain. Prob
ably the turn of the weather in its eff
fects on the wheat crop during the next
Summer will finally determine whether
Canada is to maintain its 1929 per-
Torrance and remain permanently the
most important nation trading with the
United States.
In an endeavor to keep up the pearl
button supply, which is mostly derived
from the shells of fresh water CLAIMS
caught on the Mississippi River and its
tributaries, the Federal Fisheries Bu-
reau has developed some new methods
of propagating that humble bivalve.
At the same time, the Governments
SCI ntists who have worked out the
scheme conclude that unless the amount
of pollution in the Midwestern river
basins is cut down, there simply won't
be any more fresh water mussels, and
the button pearl will have to be gotten
some other way.
PRO: to 1914, the Lake PepinF region
on the Mississippi is said to have pro-
duced 1000 tons of shell a year, and
Il catch now is practically nothing. In
spite of this. the new method of propa-
eating the clans will be undertaken this
| year in zones of least polluted water
in an attempt to re-establiSh the supply
J