Evening star., 1961-03-05
New CrockdoWn Set
In Price-Fixine Cases
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG
Star staff Writer


BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG
Star staff Writer
The Justice Department plans
Ia new breakdown against vi
olators Of court orders banning
price-fixing in major indus
tries.
The enforcement drive, it
was learned, is expected to take
these two forms:
/. Court DEGREES against COM
petition destroying practices
win be reviewed by Justice at
torneys to determine which
industries need further atten-
ton.
; 2. Existing laws will be stud
led to determine what unused
legal tools can be put to work
against violators.
Identical Bids Seen
The new attack comes at a
time when Government con-
tracts are reflecting a mass
Of identical bids from theo-
retically competing firms. Many
Of these firms, it was reported,
are already under court orders
to stop price-fixing.
The existence Of identical
bids, it was emphasized, does
not necessarily mean that cap
tains Of industry get together
as they did in the heavy elec-
trical industry-to agree on
prices. It could mean only that
they followed the leader in hik-
ing prices without conSpiring to
do so.
But, antitrust experts said,
there are many signposts that
can be checked to determine
whether identical bids are ac-I
cidental or purpoSeful.
A year ago Government
agencies with large buying pro-
grams began supplying the JUS
tice Department with lists. of
identical bids. About 10 per
cent Of these cases were made
the basis of grand jury investi-
cations
Defense Action
Recently, the Defense De-
partment turned over to the
Senate Antitrust Subcommittee
headed by Senator Kefauver,
Democrat of Tennessee, a book
size compilation Of identical
bids from major American
industries. $3.50.
The compilation was based
on q three-page list Of products,
focusing on such highly con-
centrated industries as steel,
cement, rubber, aluminium,
chemicals and electrical equip
ment.
A subcommittee official. after
studying the Defense Depart
nlent compilation, commented
that most of the industries
covered by the, survey are
already under Federal Trade
Commission cease and-desiSt
orders or court DEGREES to stop
price-fixing. The subcommittee
official made it clear that the
Senator's will want to know
what Justice and FTC have
done to enforce compliance
with these orders.
Enforcement or DEGREES y
determining whether the
banned conduct has really been
stopped-is mostly a civil mat
ter. It is only occasionally that
the continued conduct is such
a gross violation that criminal
action is started.
Court DEGREES Study
The Justice Department has
a pack Of court DEGREES against
price fixing that it plans toI
dust off for a new look. Usually
the civil action, looking to the
future, is the companion OF
the criminal action relating to
past practices.
The size Of the new enforce
ment drive is indicated by the
fact that the antitrust division
during 1860 started 80 cases.
About 80 grand jurieS-Some
from last year, some new ones
are currently examining anti
trust violations, mostly price
fixing.
Justice Department anti
trust experts, like those of the
last administration, are also
keeping Q close watch on mer-
gers, particularly in the big
industries. The largest worry
in the merger Of major firms
is that as the number Of sellers
decreases and an industry be-
comes centralized, prices re-
spond less to supply and de-
mand and more to what a few
industrial giants decree.
In the last two. years Of the
old administration, % actions
were started against mergers
which the Government claimed
would substantially lessen COM
petition or tend to create a
monopoly.
The Eisenhower administra-
tion focused on mergers in oil,
hardware, steel, chemicals. pa