Evening star., 1932-03-06
TRADE COMMISSION
BREAKDOWN LOOMS
200 Face Job Loss if House
. Cuts Appropriation
: by S46O,OOO.

Dismissal by July / Of 200 employees
as or so of whom face loss of theil
Jobs this month, and a breakdown IL
the machinery of the Federal Trade
Commission, was declared yesterday by
Chairman william E. Humphrey to bt
inevitable if the -million-d -dollol
slash in the 1888 appropriation bill just
reported to the House goes through
The trouble lies, he explained in the
fact the House Appropriations Com.
mittee, in framing the measure, went
along with the Budget Bureau anc
knocked out $4,000 requested by the
commission to pursue Investigations or
dered by the Senate into four indus
tries. 1t then, however, directed that
two Of these inquiries-utilities and
chain stores-be financed to the extent
of 100000 out Of the lump sum al
lotted the commission.
Fund Diversion Looms.
Consequently, to get the money for
this special work, it will be necessary
to divert 1t from the amount that
should be allowed for the regular
quasi-judicial functions of the COM
mission, hampering these actlv1tles ana
hitting the personnel involved.
Further the two other Investigations
under way at the behest of the Senate,
namely, cement and building mate
riaIs. must be halted to avoid a de-
ficiency. This will account for the
rest of the reduction in force.
1t is temporary workers engaged
principally in these two inquiries, de-
signed to uncover price-fxing, who will
lose out around the middle OF this
month, unless congressional aid Is
Forthcoming, it was said.
The remaining 125 or so, due for dis
misSa1 in June, however, are for the
most part regular employees who would
have to step out in order that the tenn
porary forces on the utilities and chain
stores inquiries could continue with
their work.
Unless there is new deal, Chairman
Humphrey asserted, 'lt means that IN
stead Of Congress giving an appropr1a-
ton to carry on work that it has ordered,
we will have to discharge regular en-
ployes to care for it."
He summed up the situation by de-
claring it would disrupt and d1sorgan-
lie the whole work of the commission" !"
Failed to Provide Money.
Chairman Humphrey blames the
present development on what he eX-
plains has been the practice Of the Sen
ate to order an investigation, without
providing money to do the work. The
commission has been going ahead with
the inquiries, taking care of them out
of available funds, and then balancing
accounts by later authorization or de-
fciency appropriations.
At present there are six such inquiries
on the docket, two of which, covering
the cottonseed and peanut industries,
virtually are wound up. In only one
case, he says, was an appropriation
made at the time investigation was
6aiy
the chain stores survey.
The commission policy OF shifting
about appropriations to meet demands
upon it, first ran into a snag in con-
nection with the cement and building
materials investigations.
The first-named was sponsored In q
resolution by Senator Norris, Republi-
can, of Nebraska; the second, by Sena-
tor Shipstead, Farmer-Labor, Of Mime
sofa. The cement investigation was to
take in not only domestic production,
but foreign importations. The second
inquiry was intended to establish II
there had been any collusion in fur
nishing materials for the Nationwide
Government building program.
Both were ordered after the Trade
Commission had submitted its esti-
mated expenditures for the fiscal year
1882, but they were begun with other
1unCS, the commission uGill1i11S dDOue
$4,000 in this work.
Appropriation Refused.
When a deficiency appropriation was
sought the Budget Bureau turned down
the request, on the ground, according
to the commission, that the principle
involved was wrong, that work should
not be begun until 1t had been pro-
vided for.
This attitude was adopted, it was said
by Chairman Humphrey, despite the
fact the commission had simply fol-
lowed a precedent Of years standing.
When the commission submitted its
estimates to the Budget Bureau, 1t was
said, $500, 900 was Topped off that would
have taken care of Investigations in the
next fiscal year, and the House Appro-
priations Committee backed up this cut
and also rejected the request OF the
commission for an additional $4,000
to care for the item previously turned
down by the Budget Bureau.
Holding the commission appropria-
ton then to $l,236,500, the committee
specified that 100000, or so much
thereof as may be necessary, shall be
for the power and gas utilities and
chain store investigations" This created
the existing state Of affairs.
The utilities inquiry, which began in
1928, was sponsored by Senator Walsh,
Democrat, of Montana, and came TO the
commission after being started in the
Senate Already having cost 81 100000
the inquiry has been hailed as PERHAPS
the most important ever undertaken by
the commission. 1t still needs more
than year for completion.
The commission started probing the
operation Of chain stores in 1929, under
q resolution by Senator Brookhart, Re
publican, Of Iowa, and is due to COM
plete this about the end of December.
The work has cost 100000
II it becomes necessary to cut the
force to take care of the studies, the
reduction will approximate 40 per cent
of the staff of the commission.
Among those activities of the COM
mission facing halt are the trade prac-
tice conferences, which provoked sharp
attacks during the hearing on the ap-
preparation bill. Representative Fulmer
Democrat, Of South Carolina, and Rep
reSentative Patman, Democrat. Of Texas
appeared before the subcommittee in
charge. TO argue against any funds be-
ing allowed for them on the ground
they tended to destroy competition and
were detrimental to the public
1t is certain friends Of the COM
mission will be urged to carry the
fight for additional funds to the floor
of the House and if this move fails, an
effort will be made to enlist aid in the
Senate.