Salt Lake Tribune | 1912-08-31 | Page 3 | Code of Ethics is Subject of Inquiry

CODE OF ETHICS IS SUBJECT OF INQUIRY SEATTLE, Wash., Aug. .?0 The lum-hrrmen'8 lum-hrrmen'8 code of ethics as expressed In the reciprocity agreement hetwecn tne retailers and the manufacturers was the subject of Inquiry In toduy's hearing of the gn ernment's anti-trUBt suit against the Northwestern Lumbermen s association, associa-tion, victor li Beckman, formerlj sec-return- of the ,. , ific ("'oast hiimbermen . association, testified thai his association had signer! the agreement when It wai adopted h. the trade, hut that it was never observed by the manufacturers. Correspondence between Mr. Beckman and the secretaries of the retull association, associa-tion, introduced In evidence, showed tha' the manufacturers complained that the agreement was a one-stdod affair arid worked to the benefit, of the retailers without being of any service to tln-manufaeturer! tln-manufaeturer! Among the new provisions of the reciprocity reci-procity agreement was one which said; "Manufacturers should not sell to parties wh. ndvrtl.e to furnish lumber to consume, v- large or who solicit mall orde: husiiress " Other seotlontjsadealt with similar regulations, regu-lations, the closing paragraph rending "It Is considered cont rar' to tho ethics of the trade to sell to a firm or corpora- E tlon whose members or Stockholders are I an aggregation of consumers whose ef- I forts are to produce lumber for con- I Burners at wholesale.-' Mr Beckman had not decided as to the right of consumers to buy wherever they could, but said that If he was a manufacturer manu-facturer he would sell to dealers only n a matter of good huslness policy. He took exception to the reciprocity agreement agree-ment provision regarding CO-opcratlve association., and declared that. In his opinion a farmers' association was en-titled en-titled to be considered as a relail organization. or-ganization. Mr. P.eckmnn was the only wltne.6 examined today.