Evening star., 1940-02-12
Liquor Dealers Cited
In Boycott Threats
To Keep Prices Up
Agreement Methods
Must Be Stopped,
F. 7. e. Orders

Six Washington wholesale liquor
dealers, wholesale and a retail
trade association. along with the
secretary Of the association, were
ordered today by the Federal Trade
Commission to stop the practice Of
maintaining resale liquor prices
through the methods Of agreement
and threats Of boycott.
Among the respondents, Milton S.
Kronheim & Son, Inc; the Marvin
& Snead Sales Corp, the Interna-
tional Distributing Corp. the Globe
Distributing Co., Inc; Philip Hur-
witz and Leon Samet. trading as
Roma Wine & Liquor Co.; Wash
ington Wholesale Liquor Corp, and
the Wholesale Liquor Dealers of
Washington were ordered to stop
entering into or enforcing the pro-
visions Of any contract or under
standing with any retail dealer, job
Der, wholesaler, distiller or other dis
tributor of alcoholic beverages, the
purpose and effect of which is to
maintain a specified standard or
uniform minimum sale price, dis
count or 'markup' at which whiskys,
wines or other alcoholic beverages
are to be Sold"
Milton S. Kronheim, commenting
on the commissions order today,
said:
THE acts complained of in the
commissions order represented, so
far as am concerned, sincere ef-
fort to remedy very serious condi-
ton which confronted the beverage
industry. Having been put on notice
with the filing of the original COM
plant. the practices were imme-
diately abandoned. Consequently, in
my opinion, the condition which we
sought to remedy then has grown
progressively worse, both from the
standpoint of the trade and the
standpoint of the public"
Methods Detailed.
The order detailed various meth
DDS by which they must not attempt
to enforce the maintenance of
standard or uniform minimum re-
sale prices, discounts or 'markups.'
Under the order they cannot COL
1ectively refuse to sell or threaten
to refuse to sell to price-cutting re-
tail dealers.
The commission ordered the other
respondent, the District of Columbia
Exclusive Retail Liquor Dealers AS
sociation, and Manual j. Davis, Sec
retary and attorney for the associa-
ton, to cease and desist from the
following:
Entering into or enforcing any
contract or agreement with any re-
tail dealer, jobber, distiller, whole
saler or other distributor of alco-
holic beverages in the District of
Columbia, the purpose and effect of
which is to maintain a specified
standard or uniform minimum re-
sale price, discount or 'markup' at
which the beverages are to be re-
sold"
They are forbidden to enforce or
attempt to enforce "the mainte-
nance Of standard or uniform mini
mum resale prices, discounts or
'markups' by any Of a number Of
enumerated methods.
Has lis Members.
"The District of Columbia Exclu-
eive Retail Liquor Dealers Associa-
tion," found the commission, "is an
incorporated trade association of re-
tail liquor dealers with approxi-
mately ITS members, operating Ii
censed retail liquor stores selling
liquor in packages"
''The retail association" the COM
mission said, employed private de-
tectives to check on shipments by
wholesalers to retail price cutters
wholesale Liquor Dealers of
Washington is voluntary mutual
association which had, when the
complaint was issued, membership
of IA wholesale liquor dealers, in
cluding the respondent wholesalers.
Each organization is found to have
been engaged in attempting to pro-
cure national legislation and other
regulations deemed to be beneficial
to its members and in enforcing OBJ
servance by its members and others
OF price maintenance policies with
respect to the sale OF alcoholic bev-
erages."