The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-06-01
Monopoly Price
Bill AssaiIed
By Senate Group

Washington (LPA) - When the
Senate votes about June or 6 on
the "basing point pricing bill, the
lineup will again represent re-
alignment Of Administration sup
porters. The younger Democratic
liberals, led by Senators Paul
Douglas (Ill.), Russell Long (La.), /,
Estes Kefauver (Tenn.), and HUI
bert Humphrey (Minn.) charge
that the basing point proposal is
an encouragement TO monopoly
prices, that the measure is support
ed primarily by the highly concen-
trated industries like steel and oil,
and that it would seriously harm
small business.
Against them are ranged such
old-time foes Of monopoly as Sen.
Joseph c. O'Mahoney Cd, Wyo.)
who wrote the original basing
point bill, out Of which has come
a long-drawnout debate. The mea-
sure now before the Senate is an
effort of a Senate House confer
ence to compromise differences in
an earlier bill. 1t has been okayed
by the House and only Senate dis
or a possible Presidential
veto can stop its becoming law.
Opponents of the basing point
bill charge that it will allow COM
binations Of big companies to use
their power to set prices, without
being subject to prosecution under
the federal antitrust laws.
The bill, Sen. Humphrey told the
Senate, "will legalize some aspects
Of price discrimination, which isl
one Of the foremost of the arsenal
of weapons employed by big bus
mess to suppress competition and
to drive small business out of ex-
Humphrey, in a long speech de-
livered to a nearly-empty Senate
recalled the history Of
corporate monopoly in the United
States, how so years ago the great
trusts arose in industry after in
dustry, then how in the 1920's
caused a second wave of
monopoly. Fright at this moment"
he warned, 1--WE are in the midst of
a third merger movement"
AS evidence, he pointed to al
Trade Commission report
hat the 113 largest manufacturing
corporations, each with total assets
Of over $100,000,000 in 1947, owned
l6 percent of all manufacturing
capital assets. In 13 industries, the
ETC found extreme" concentra-
ton. This report, widely publicized
IN the labor press, was buried back
on the want-ad pages or ignored all
together by the daily press, Hump-I
nrey observed. He charged that the
newspapers of America fostered
Sen. Long brought out the fact
that a major effect of the bill
would be on independent oil and
gas dealers. Attorneys for Stand
ard Oil Co. of Indiana, in their oral
of an antitrust case be-
fore the Supreme Court, had pre-
licted that their allegedly mono
Dolistic practices would be legal if
he basing point bill should becomel
aw.
"The Justice Dept" Long told
he Senate, admits that this bill,
f enacted, would decide the Stand
ard Oil Co. of Indiana case in favor
If the company and against the
of independent retail mer-
.hants who are in the gasoline bus
ness in Detroit, for example. The
Justice Dept clearly states-at
east, it was clearly stated by Mr..
3ergson (chief of the antitrust
livision)-that it believes that
rood faith should be a complete de-
ense."
Sen. O'Mahoney, who along with
sen. O'Conor Cd, Md is leading
he floor fight for the basing point
ill, had admitted in earlier debatel
hat this was so, but when Longl
made the charge he insisted that
10 retail dealers, whether they arel
ealers in oil or dealers in drugs
eed have any fear about section g