ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30 1938 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1938 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C, - - - - - - Price 15 cent. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION GARLAND S. FERGUSON Chairman 1 CHARLES H. MARCH EWIN L. DAVIS WILLIAM A. AYRES ROBERT E. FREER, OTIS B. JOHNSON, Secretary FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSIONERS--1915-41 Name State from which appointed Period of service Joseph E. Davies Wisconsin Mar.16, 1915-Mar. 18, 1918. Edward N. Hurley Illinois Mar.16, 1915-Jan. 31, 1917. William J. Harris Georgia Mar.16, 1915-May 31, 1918. Will H. Parry Washington Mar.16, 1915-A p r. 21, 1917. George Rublee New Hampshire Mar.16, 1915-May 14, 1916. William B. Colver Minnesota Mar.16, 1917-Sept. 25, 1920. John Franklin Fort New Jersey Mar. 16, 1917-Nov. 30,1919. Victor Murdock Kansas Sept. 4, 1917-Jan. 31, 1924. Huston Thompson Colorado Jan. 17, 1919-Sept. 25, 1926. Nelson B. Gaskill New Jersey Feb. l. 1921-Feb. 24, 1925. John Garland Pollard Virginia Mar. 6, 1920-Sept. 25, 1921. John F. Nugent Idaho Jan.15, 1921-Sept. 25, 1927. Vernon W. Van Fleet Indiana June 26, 1922-July 31, 1926. Charles W. Hunt Iowa June 16, 1924-Sept. 25,1932. William E. Humphrey Washington Feb.25, 1925-Oct. 7, 1933. Abram F. Myers Iowa Aug. 2, 1925-Jan. 15, 1929. Edgar A. McCulloch Arkansas Feb.11, 1927-Jan. 23, 1933. Garland S. Ferguson North Carolina Nov.14, 1927, Charles H. March Minnesota Feb. 1, 1929. Ewin L. Davis Tennessee May 26,1933. Raymond B. Stevens New Hampshire June 26, 1933-Sept. 25, 1933, James M. Landis Massachusetts Oct.10, 1933-June 30, 1934. George C. Mathews Wisconsin Oct.27, 1933-June 30,1934. William A. Ayres Kansas Aug. 23,1934. Robert E. Freer Ohio Aug.27, 1935. 1 Chairmanship rotates annually. Commissioner Freer will become chairman in January 1940. EXECUTIVE OFFICES OF THE COMMISSION Constitution Avenue at 6th Street, Washington, D. C. BRANCH OFFICES 45 Broadway, 548 Federal Office Building, New York San Francisco 483 West Van Buren Street, 801 Federal Building, Chicago Seattle 217 Custom House, New Orleans II LETTER OF SUBMITTAL To the Congress of the United States: I have the honor to submit herewith the Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the Federal Trade Commission for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1939. By direction of the Commission. GARLAND S. FERGUSON Chairman III CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Page Powers and duties of the Commission 1 Amendment of Federal Trade Commission Act 3 General legal activities 4 Trade practice conferences 7 Progress under the Robinson-Patman Act 7 Illegal stock acquisitions 10 Periodic industry reports 11 National Economic Committee (monopoly investigation) 12 General investigations 13 Commissioners and their duties 14 How the Commission’s work is handled 15 Publications of the Commission 17 Commission occupies new quarters 18 Recommendations 19 PART I. GENERAL INVESTIGATIONS Agricultural implement and machinery industry 23 Agricultural income 29 Motor vehicles 30 Cost of living 31 Newsprint paper 31 PART II. GENERAL LEGAL WORK Description of procedure 35 Chart Facing page 35 Legal investigation 39 Disposition of cases by stipulation 41 Representative complaints 42 Orders to cease and desist 56 Types of unfair competition 70 Cases in the Federal courts 75 Tabular summary of legal work 92 PART III. TRADE-PRACTICE CONFERENCES Purposes of trade practice conference procedure 107 Trade practice conference activities during the year 108 Types of practices covered in rules 108 Trade practice conference proceedings pending 109 Rules of practice applicable 111 Group I and group rules defined 113 V VI CONTENTS PART IV. SPECIAL PROCEDURE IN CERTAIN TYPES OF ADVERTISING CASES Page Newspaper, magazine, and radio advertising 117 PART V. FOREIGN-TRADE WORK The Export Trade Act (Webb-Pomerene law) 125 Exports show substantial increase 126 Export associations in operation 127 Supplemental report on antidumping legislation 129 Trust laws and unfair competition in foreign countries 129 FISCAL AFFAIRS Appropriation acts providing funds for Commission work 141 Appropriations and expenditures for fiscal year 141 Appropriations and expenditures, 191 5-1938 143 APPENDIXES Federal Trade Commission Act 147 Clayton Act 155 Robinson-Patman Act 160 Export Trade Act 161 Sherman Act 162 Miller-Tydings Act 164 Rules of practice 164 Statement of policy 171 Investigations, 1915-1938 173 Index 195 INTRODUCTION POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION AMENDMENT OF FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT GENERAL LEGAL ACTIVITIES TRADE PRACTICE CONFERENCES PROGRESS UNDER THE ROBINSON-PATMAN ACT ILLEGAL STOCK ACQUISITIONS PERIODIC INDUSTRY REPORTS NATIONAL ECONOMIC COMMITTEE GENERAL INVESTIGATIONS COMMISSIONERS AND THEIR DUTIES HOW COMMISSION WORK IS HANDLED PUBLICATIONS OF THE COMMISSION COMMISSION OCCUPIES NEW QUARTERS RECOMMENDATIONS VII ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1938 INTRODUCTION POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION The Federal Trade Commission herewith submits its report for the fiscal year, July 1, 1937, to June 30, 1938. Organized March 16, 1915, under the Federal Trade Commission Act, approved September 26, 1914, which was amended March 21, 1938, the Commission is an ad-administrative agency. Its functions are chiefly: (1) to prevent unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in interstate and foreign commerce; (2) to make investigations at the direction of Congress, the President, the Attorney General, or upon its own initiative; (3) to report facts in regard to alleged violations of the antitrust laws; (4) to prevent price and other discriminations in violation of Section 2 of the Clayton Act as amended by the Rob- inson-Patman Act; (5) to prevent exclusive dealing Contracts, capital-stock acquisitions and interlocking directorates in violation of Sections 3, 7, and 8, respectively, of the Clayton Act, and (6) to administer the Webb-Pomerene or Export Trade Act, aimed at promotion of foreign trade by permitting the organization of associations to engage exclusively in export trade, and providing that nothing contained in the Sherman Act shall be construed as declaring to be illegal any combinations or “associations” entered into for the sole purpose of engaging in, and actually solely engaged in, export trade. In performing these functions, the Commission’s duties fall into two categories, namely, (1) legal activities in enforcement of the laws it administers, and (2) general investigations of economic conditions in domestic industry and interstate and foreign commerce. Legal activities have to do with (1) prevention and correction of unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices, in accordance with Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission 1 2 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION Act, in which it is declared that unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts and practices in commerce are unlawful; (2) administration of Section 2 of the Clayton Act, as amended by the Robinson-Patman Act, dealing with price discriminations and other discriminations, and Sections 3, 7, and 8 of the Clayton Act dealing with tying and exclusive dealing contracts, acquisitions of capital stock, and interlocking directorates, respectively, and (3) administration of the Webb-Pomerene or Export Trade Act. In connection with its foreign-trade work, the Commission has the power under section 6 (h) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, to investigate, from time to time, trade conditions in and with foreign countries where associations, combinations, or practices of manufacturers, merchants, or traders, or other conditions, may affect the foreign trade of the United States, and to report to Congress thereon, with such recommendations as it deems advisable. The general investigational and economic work of the Commission arises chiefly under section 6 (a), (b), and (d) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, giving the Commission power-- (a) To gather and compile information concerning, and to Investigate, from time to time, the organization, business, conduct, practices, and management of any corporation engaged in commerce, excepting banks and common carriers * * * and its relation to other corporations and to individuals, associations, and partnerships. (b) To require, by general or special orders, corporations engaged in commerce excepting banks, and common carriers subject to the act to regulate commerce * * * to file with the Commission in such form as the Commission may prescribe annual or special, or both annual and special, reports or answers in writing to specific questions, furnishing to the Commission such information as it may require as to the organization, business, conduct, practices, manage- ment, and relation to other corporations, partnerships, and individuals of the respective corporations filing such reports or answers in writing. * * * (d) Upon the direction of the President or either House of Congress to investigate and report the facts relating to any alleged violations of the antitrust acts by any corporation. An investigation under section 6 (d) of the organic act, when re-quested by Congress, is undertaken by the Commission as a result of a concurrent resolution of both Houses. This is in conformity with the United States Code (48 Stat. 291, 15 U. S. C. A., sec. 46a), and the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1934 (Public, No.78, 73d Cong.). AMENDMENT OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT The Federal Trade Commission Act, basis of a major portion of the Commission’s activities, which was passed in 1914 as a part of President Wilson’s legislative program, was amended on March 21, 1938, in the passage of Public, No.447, Seventy- fifth Congress, AMENDMENT OF FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT 3 third session, sometimes known as the Wheeler-Lea Act. This act is purely amendatory, its provisions having been incorporated and integrated entirely in the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Sections 1, 4, and 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 were amended and 7 new sections, 12 to 18, inclusive, added.