Evening star., 1948-12-09
u. ). Chamber Hears
Lawyers Debate Ban
On Basing Point Price
By the Associoted Press

BY the Assoeioied Press
A Chicago lawyer charged today
the Supreme Courts basing point
pricing decision is a step toward
complete bureaucratic control" over
American business.
He said the effect has been to
"emasculate" number of trade
laws and to overturn many earlier
high court decisions by means of
administrative interpretations" of
what the laws we're intended to
cover.
But a Government attorney in
sisted the tribunals ruling last April
was nothing more than the "ap-
plication or extension of old law to
q new set of facts"
These contradictory claims were
laid before the United States Cham
ber of Commences Second 1948
Economic Institute" by E. A. Zim-
norman of Chicago and Walter B.
Wooden, associate general counsel
of the Federal Trade Commission.
Historic System Abandoned.
It was an ETC action against the
cement industry which led to the
high courts decision and q storm
of industrial protest.
The court upheld the agency's
contention that cement makers had
conspired to fix prices by means Of
agreements to use the So-called
basing point system of averaging
out freight costs and quoting uni
form prices, regardless of how far
the cement had to be shipped.
AS a result of the decision, the
steel industry abandoned its historic
price system in favor of a uniform
mill price, on top of which each
customer pays the actual freight.
Complaints that this unfairly dis
eliminates against areas far re-
moved from producing centers
prompted the Senate Trade Prac-
tices Committee to conduct lengthy
hearings.
Steel Firms Ask Legislation.
4IltOc WcIC ICSCcSCu yCotC4o 4ody
until next year, after Chairman
Capehart made public letters from
three major steel companies-United
States, Bethlehem and Republic
urging Congress to end the confu-
sion by passing a law specifically
legalizing freight absorption costs.
United States Steel said in that
event it would return Immediately"
to its former pricing system. The
other two companies said they
would do so If they found it profit
able. but that in any event they
should be given the undisputed
right.
Mr.. Zimmerman, in his address
prepared for the chambers forum
discussion today, declared the FTC
went beyond its legal power in
bringing the case against the
cement industry. He declared:
Nothing in the Clayton (Anti-
Trust) Act or the Trade Commis-
sion Act gave the commission any
authority to bring such a charge"
Attorney Defends Statutes.
But Mr.. Wooden in his prepared
defense of the price action insisted
that:
Our statutes, administrative poll
cies and judicial precedents are all
designed to promote the funda-
mental public policy associated with
the system of free competitive en-
terprise."
= Taking note Of widespread charges
that the cement and other similar
devisions have cast a cloud upon
the legality of pricing methods and
price structures that are widely
prevalent in our industrial system,
Mr.. Wooden added:
"If so it is not because of the de-
cisions themselves unless one Is
willing to assume that industry gen
orally is functioning on non
competitive basis
ITO whatever extent industry may
be operating on competitive basis
it has nothing to fear"
Patman Denies Attack.
Representative Patman. Democrat
of Texas said in a statement that
it was not true, as charged by Sena-
tor Capehart, that he had attacked
Senator Capehart's committee.
Instead, Mr.. Patman said Senator
Capehart was "beclouding the issue"
by turning the big steel and cement
trust dogs loose on me-" He said
despite this ha would continue to
expose what appears to me q con-
spiracy to mislead and deceive the
people against their interest in the
basing point question"
Senator Capehart commented:
1--WE said publicly at least q doz-
en- times that I am opposed to the
bssing point system as used in the
cement and steel industry and will
not sponsor legislation to legalize it.
His Patman's) statement Of No
vember 26 was clearly an attack on
our entire committee and he well
knows It,"
At the turn of the Goth Century,