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Show . LV - . - - t. .mi,,.,, I America enters the second half of the 20th Century. A new Congress Con-gress will convene. Both events reflect important milestones for American Independent Business. In the first half of this century great monopolies made their longest strides. It was also the period when legal safeguards for small business such as the Clayton Act and the Robinson-Patman Robinson-Patman Act became law. Independent business needs little, if any, additional legislation legisla-tion to prevent liquidation by monopoly. The problem is adequate enforcement en-forcement of existing laws. For example, there are adequate laws against larceny. Yet it is easy to imagine the growth of larceny that would ensue if peace officers failed to make arrests, ar-rests, or if there were no funds for peace officers. The long established Federal Trade Commission is supposed to take action when Federal business busi-ness laws are violated. But the Federal Trade Commission Com-mission has been almost strangled stran-gled to death by lack of funds. This fact came out the other day at a joint conference between the anti-monopoly Advisory Committee Commit-tee of the House Small Business Committee and the FTC with Chairman James Mead and Commissioners Com-missioners Ayers, Carson, Mason and Springbarn present as well M leaders of organized small business. Members of the FTC state they would like to do more, but lack the funds. An attempt will be made to gat funds. !fttlMtl r4ritloa of Indtptudml BujIqmi Little David slew huge Goliath, but David did have a slingshot. And a Congress which can vote money to be used by the Marshall Mar-shall Flan to publish and disseminate dis-seminate a booklet advising tourists tour-ists who they should tip and how much, when traveling abroad, as reported by a recent ECA bulletin, bul-letin, can vote a small amount for enforcement of national laws. The FTC does have to tangle with the Goliaths. The current spark plug case is an example. Manufacture of automotive spark plugs is a virtual monopoly monop-oly of three corporations. The FTC now has evidence showing that in 1947 when the lowest price independent wholesalers could buy spark plugs was 26c, one of the "Big Three" motor companies paid 6c for plugs used in original equipment, 22c for plugs it sold wholesale to its dealers. Yet, as soon as the FTC started action, monopoly propaganda propa-ganda became so extensive and misleading that even independent independ-ent wholesalers and dealers, damaged by this practice, became be-came confused over the issues involved. in-volved. More news on this later. A prediction for 1951. Communist sympathizers in Washington will step up their drive to force J. Edgar Hoover out as head of the FBI. A "Smear Hoover" campaign is well under way, spearheaded by a book written by one Max Lowenthan, of dubious background and unknown un-known financing. This drive will continue despite belief of people J. Edgar Hoover is as important to National Defense as the Atom Bomb. |