Evening star., 1949-12-07
Statement by Sawyer
Seen as Attempt 10
PenaIize Leadership
Results Of Competition
Called Concentration
And Presumably Wicked
Bv David Laurence


contest, there's a winner, second
place, a third, and a fourth. And
they've discovered that the other
contestants string along behind,
some at considerable distance and
others close to the first four.
The fact that this happens in
the field of competition in busi-
ness has been known a long time
to alert observers of the system
of free enterprise. But somehow
to the Truman administration, it
is something novel. Evidently the
results of competition now are
called concentration" and pre-
sumabty are wicked.
The Secretary of Commerce,
Charles Sawyer, who heads up
the very department in Govern
ment that is supposed to under
stand the processes of business and
do all it can to stimulate growth,
has just issued voluminous docu-
ment which shows the so-called
concentration" in American in
dustry.
Sort of American Fascism.
BY inference, this document can
be used to support the contention
of radicals hereabouts who believe
that Government must step in
with a sort Of American fascism
and stop concentration" by any
four companies or eight compan-
les or even twenty companies in
given industry. What is meant
apparently, is that, by action Of
the master minds in Government,
all contestants must be lined up
evenly at the start and when
they come in at the finish they
must all cross the tape together.
The speed at which they go must
be regulated. The muscles of
one must be equal to the other.
or some system of handicapping
used to assure that there will not
be any first, second. third or
fourth.
This Is the basic idea Of a regu-
lated economy-to see to it that
the natural superiority Of one unit
over another Is restrained and
that the smaller units are subsi-
died or assisted whenever they
lack the skill or the know how"
or any other quality necessary for
f1rst-rate competition.
Secretary Sawyer's press re-
lease speaks of a request from
President Truman that program
be designed Ito preserve and
strengthen free enterprise" It Is
added that this is "the first time
this matter has been approached
from a positive standpoint"
It Is not clear what Is meant
by positive standpoint" For
the rest Of the release gives no
intimation that this is really al
program in prospect to preserve
the competitive system. Rather
it gives the opposite Impression
namely, that those companies
which have achieved leadership
have probably done so by violat-
ing the law. There is no defense
of legitimate growth or Of the
existence Of fair competition.
Nature of Statement.
The Sawyer statement speaks
Of ain inter-agency committee to
be appointed. comprising the JUS
tice Department. the Federal
Trade Commission and the Coun-
Gil Of Economic Advisers. One
newspaper headlined the matter
as a plan to lease" the antitrust
program. There is no foundation
for such wishful thinking.
The nature of the Sawyer state
ment dispels any such interpreta-
tion. For it is devoted in major
part to a series of figures which
show that in each of 46 out of
452 industries there are four COM
panies which, together. produce
rs per cent or more of the out
put. Then there are four COM
panies in each Of 104 industries
which produce from so to Is per
cent. There are 164 industries
where four companies together
produce from Is to SO per cent.
There are four companies in each
Of 1873 industries which produce
less than Is per cent of the vol
ume Of business done.
Along with these figures, the
department gives the details Of
each industry and finds a number
Of cases where the first four COM
panies have as high as 80 per cent
or more, as in the cigarette busi-
ness.
Presumably there is something
wrong with this picture. When
American businesses. by virtue of
competition, reach their goal,
they are supposed to stop growth,
stop all incentives within their
company, and stand still.
The implication that it is q
violation Of present laws on mo-
nopoly for a company, using fair
means Of competition, to win the
race Is strongly conveyed by the
very manner In which the statis-
tics are presented. Only a desire
to penalize success and leadership
and unwittingly perhaps break
down the whole spirit Of free
enterprise-could possibly have
prompted the use Of these statis-
tics along with innuendoes Of
wrongdoing and law violation.
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