The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1949-11-03
Big Firms Charged With
Monopolizing Engineering

A'AOAAoFJ
Washington (LPA)-The House
Monopoly Committee is investigat-
ing charges by a spokesman for
small engineering firms that 33
big companies have organized a
monopoly successful enough to OBJ
tain 92 per cent of the engineering
business financed under the Mar
shall Plan.
DIR. Derso Sebeok Shybekay, pre-
sident of the National Council of
Professional and Industrial En-
gineers, told the committee all
Marshall Plan missions to foreign
countries are furnished a list of
the 33 big companies and virtually
all the business goes to them. He
said the business would total $780,
100000.
The 33 big companies, DIR. Shy
bekay said, have formed an Asso-
citation of Consulting Management
Engineers which is a virtual closed
corporation. New members can be
blackballed by the votes of only
two directors and initiation fees
are $1,000. The purpose of the or
ganization is to monopolize gov
ernment and private business, the
witness said.
Chairman Emanuel Celler Cd,
N. W of the investigating COM
mittee, said DR.. Shybekay's charges
were so SERIOUS" that they would
be followed up by the committees
staff. He suggested the case might
be referred to the Justice Dept
for action.
DIR. Shybekay said he was not
seeking business from the Economic
Cooperation Administration for his
own firm, which is located in Min
neapolis, but was testifying in be-
half of 1900 small engineering
firms that belong to the organiza-
tion he heads.
The 33 engineering firms listed
as members of the Association of
Consulting Management Engineers
include most of the big names in
the profession such as Stone and
Webster and Robert Heller, Asso-
ciates. Most of the firms are locat-
ed in New York.
A new legislative device for
curbing monopoly extension of
the Robinson-Patman price law to
government purchases-was pro-
posed to the Celler Committee by
a small businessman who contend
ed he was being forced out of busi-
ness by unfair competition for gov
ernment business.
Peter M. Maitland, representing
the Van Brode Milling Co., of
Clinton, Mass, testified that the
big breakfast cereal manufacturers
were selling to the government at
less than cost in order to drive his
company out of business. He said
the Robinson-Patman act, which
now applies only to private pur-
chasers, would prevent such unfair
competition.
The Robinson Patman law pro-
hibits sellers from giving one pur-
chaser a lower price than another
unless the lower price is justified
by actual economies realized
through volume purchasing. Matt
land said Congress originally in
tended the Robinson-Patman law
to apply to government purchases,
but the Attorney General had ruled
otherwise.
Maitland testified that in order
to drive the Van Brode Milling Co.
out of business the Kellogg Com
pany was selling cereals to the
government for about half the
price it was selling to others.
"Under the Robinson-Patman act
they would have to have one price
for everybody. We undersell them
in the commercial field, but they
can afford to lose on two per cent
of their business to drive US out of
competition"
Chairman Emanuel Celler Cd,
N. w. offered to submit Matt
lands case to the Justice Depart
ment for antitrust prosecution,
but the witness said the facts al
ready were known to the anti
trust division. He limited that ac-
tion was pending.