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Show RESILE PRICES STRDNGLYURGED Trade Commission Would Allow Manufacturers to Maintain Scale. WASHINGTON. .Tuly J Knewol rcconini'-nihitifjn that nianuf acturers bo jw;rmittO'l by law to fix and maintain ri'sale nriff'S, subject to n-vbw y a niin t Vested agency, was m;tlc y the lV'lt'rfli t rab' rum mission lo'Iny in a si!'-;ial report to uonress. Exijiting lawa, whi'-li have been interpreted by thfj s nj ire mo court in the ease against CJol'Htfj & Co., ami in the other test as''s to provrnt fixing of resale priecs should be nmvii'leil, the commissiou be-lie be-lie vps, with a vinw to 'removing tlie Iresent ernnplexity in the business worbl to promoting the efficiency of maniifa'-turtnc; maniifa'-turtnc; and commercial institutions, and to serving the interests of tho consum inc public. f'ndcr tho commission's recommendation, recommenda-tion, first advanced in a report to congress con-gress hist December, manufacturers de airing to fix and maintain resale prices would file with an agency to be designated desig-nated by congress descriptions of their articles, contracts of sale and the price schedules to be maintained. The disinterested dis-interested agency would be charged with the duty "upon complaint of any dealer or consumer or other party at interest, ' ' to review the terms of con-tiacts con-tiacts and prices. The com mission 's rocommeudat ions, the report said, wore based on tho f ol-luwing ol-luwing conclusions: That producers of identified goods identified by trade mark or trade practice prac-tice should be protected in their intangible intan-gible property right or good will, created through years of fair dealing and of sustained quality of merchandise. merchan-dise. That the unlimited power both to fix and to enforce and maintain resale prices-may not be made lawful with safety ; a nd That unrestrained price cutting is not in the public interest, and temis eventually even-tually to impair, if not to destroy, tho production and distribution ot articles desirable to the public. "There must, be a common ground." the commission 's report said, wherein tue rights of producer, purveyor and consumer may each .be fully secured and canity done to The supreme court has made it clear that, in the present state of the law, the maintenance mainte-nance of a resale price by the producer is n restraint of trade and is unlawful. "Such being the judgment of the suprerno court, the federal trade commission com-mission has enf orcctl the law, even though it may have appeared to operate inequitably fn some cases. In its enforcement en-forcement of this rule the commission has been mindful that the cutting of a recogni.ed resale price on well-established and identified articles has been,! at times, indulged in for unfair trade purposes. When so unfairly used, such price cutting is attempted to be cloaked as lawful competition and justified by the supreme court decisions. "Thus both price maintenance and price cutting under certain conditions are found to be unfair, and business men urv perplexed." |