PRICES Recently there has been introduced in Congress a bill known as the Stevens Standard Price Bill, the purpose of which is to effect the maintenance of the resale price of branded or trade-marked articles. Justice Holmes of the United States Supreme Court is credited with the following statement: "I cannot believe that in the long run the public will profit by this court permitting knaves to cut reasonable prices for some ulterior purpose of their own and thus to impair, if not to destroy, the production and sale of articles which it is assumed to be desirable that the public should be able to get.' This question, which is a complex one, has been given serious consideration by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, which institution orders to referendum, among its many constituent organizations throughout the country, all questions of importance that come before Congress and which affect the social or economic welfare of the country. The majority report of the special committee appointed to prepare a referendum on the maintenance of resale prices made the following recommendation: "Your committee is convinced that legislation permitting the maintenance of resale prices under proper restriction on identified merchandise, for voluntary purchase, made and sold under competitive conditions, would be to the best interest of the producer, the distributer, and of the purchasing public, or consumer." The term "identified merchandise" is interpreted as covering any merchandise, trade-marked, branded, or by some other means having its origin or the sponsor for it made clear to the consumer. Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes the commission to ascertain cases of "unfair methods 404 An of competition" and to issue a restraining order. appeal may be made to the Federal courts for enforcement of said order if it is not complied with. The uncertainty as to the scope of Section 5, above, is whether price cutting on identified articles is now included in the jurisdiction of the commission as an "unfair method of competition." In the supplementary report of the special committee of the National Chamber of Commerce a proposal is made to add to the Trade Commission Act by inserting in Section 5 in statutory language provisions covering the following: In regard to products that are identified in their sale to the public by name, brand, or trade-mark-and that are made and sold under competitive conditions: I. No merchant, firm, or corporation shall offer (a) Making it unprofitable for other retailers to (b) Promoting the sale of a substitute or imitation. (c) Attracting trade away from competitors, where the result is to injure the reputation of said articles or the good will of their producers or materially to impair the general distribution of said articles. Though the above refers specifically to identified merchandise, the principle involved in this recommendation is capable of extension to a much wider field. The predatory cutting of prices on merchandise in general has been and is a favorite method of oppression on the part of unfair business to destroy small competitors and local producers (Dunshee vs. Standard Oil Co., 152 Iowa, 618), and legislation might very properly define such practices as an unfair method of competition. Acceptance of a bill, i, 140 Accounting, relation to credit Actionable expressions, iii, 240 Administration expenses, ii, 383 Agents and campaigns, ii, In agricultural periodicals, In catalogues, etc., ii, 168-174 In co-operative newspapers, In country newspapers, ii, 161 Magazine, ii, 159-161 Retail, ii, 152-155; 188-190 220 Advertising Manager, duties Agency, real estate, iii, 186-194 407 Aliens in partnership, i, 48 Areas allowed for buildings, Articles of copartnership, i, 50- 52 Definition of, i, 310-311 Assignment of Mortgage, iii, Auditor, the professional, iii, Audits, internal, i, 330-338 Balance-sheet, the, i, 311-314; Arrangement of, iii, 308-317 Bank credit, i, 103, 128; iii, | Capital, i, 113-164 33-35 Bank discount, iii, 118-119 Bank notes, i, 143 Banking, i, 103-113 Bank accommodations, i, 128 Banking law of 1913, i, 106- Reserve cities, i, 112 Practise of, in computing Bonding and trust companies, Bonds, discount on, iii, 120 Books, copyright of, iii, 229- Borrowed funds, i, 127-132; Bound Books vs. loose leaves, Building and loan associa- Business expositions, i, 249-250 Buying and selling real estate, Buying, methods of, ii, 53-69 Calculating machines, i, 253-260 How obtained, i, 117 Capital Stock, i, 113 Card index system, ii, 62-63 Carriage and Shipping, ii, 292- Cash accounts, i, 239-240 Certificate of building and loan Certificates of deposit, iii, 199 Changing from single-entry to Charter, filing a, i, 73 Points covered by a, i, 71 Cheats and false symbols, iii, Check-signing machine, i, 271- Chief stores clerk, duties of, Claims and allowances, iii, 65-70 Climate, suitability of, i, 26 |