Show GONE MAD A most striking example of a government body gone mad through lust for power is seen in the activities of the federal trade commission the idea which inspired the commissions creaton by congress in 1914 was probably sound that dea was to prevent unfair methods of competition in commerce some of the earlier activities of the commission in pursuance of that idea may have been of benefit to the public but in recent years the power conferred has been grossly abused of late the commission has interested itself in a censorship of advertising and has thereby placed an undue burden upon publishers it seems that according to the commissions view a publisher is under the necessity of establishing that each and every advertisement published by him is absolutely true in every word the most trivial discrepancies in this respect have been seized upon by the commission as a pretext to harass newspapers and their advertisers some of the complaints and orders of the commission have been based upon such grounds that the courts have rejected them as entirely unwarranted an action brought against advertising agencies for example was abandoned by the commission non itself after five years of futile proceedings which cost the taxpayers and the advertising agencies large sums in the light of its activities in this and other respects it appears that the federal trade commission has so far departed from the idea which inspired its creation as to become a rather expensive public nuisance |