Editorial. 
(Am.  Tour.  Prnrm. 
1     March,  1918. 
consumer  if,  by  these  tricks  of  advertising,  he  is  induced  to  pay 
twenty-five  per  cent,  more  for  several  articles  because  he  has  been 
offered  one  at  half  price  ? 
The  lawmakers  of  the  nation  and  of  a  number  of  the  states 
have  been  concerned  with  the  framing-  and  enactment  of  laws  that 
would  prevent  combinations  of  capital  in  restraint  of  trade.  The 
Sherman  Act  and  the  Clayton  Act  are  the  Federal  Laws  presumed 
to  protect  consumers  from  such  combinations.  We,  likewise,  have 
laws  against  unfair  methods  in  business  and  the  courts  have  fre- 
quently been  called  upon  to  determine  and  restrain  unfair  practices. 
There  is  a  growing  sentiment  throughout  the  country  that  unre- 
stricted price-cutting  should  also  be  classified  as  an  unfair  method 
of  business. 
•  In  the  case  of  the  Great  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Tea  Company  vs. 
Cream  of  Wheat  Company,  the  presiding  judge,  Hough,  went  some- 
what further  and  expressed  his  opinion  that  price-cutting  really 
restrains  trade  and  lessens  competition  and  that  the  maintenance  of 
fair  retail  prices  is  in  the  interest  of  the  buying  public.  Once  this 
principle  becomes  established  in  our  law,  then  we  will  have  a  basis 
on  which  we  can  found  legal  enactments  that  will  control  the  evils 
resulting  from  unrestricted  price-cutting. 
In  recent  years,  the  authority  of  the  federal  government  has 
been  exercised  in  many  ways  to  correct  trade  evils.  The  Food  and 
Drugs  Act.  aimed  to  punish  adulteration  and  misbranding  in  the 
trade  of  these  essentials,  was  quickly  followed  by  a  pure  paint  act 
and  a  disinfectant  act  and  other  laws  to  compel  truthful  statements 
on  labels  and  honest  dealings.  The  demand  for  laws  against 
fraudulent  methods  of  advertising  is  another  step  toward  upright- 
ness in  merchandising  and  the  campaign  of  education  for  honest 
dealing  and  fair  trade  need  not  be  very  greatly  extended  to  cover 
the  evil  of  unscrupulous  price-cutting.  The  problem  now  seems  to 
center  around  the  difficulty  of  so  wording  an  act  that  a  proper  con- 
trol of  price  can  be  maintained  by  a  manufacturer  without  opening 
the  door  to  combinations  of  capital  in  restraint  of  trade  as  forbidden 
by  existing  laws.  This  cannot  be  considered  as  an  insurmountable 
harrier  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  with  further  study  one  or  more 
of  the  acts  aiming  at  the  price-cutting  evil  that  have  been  submitted 
to  Congress  may  be  so  amended  as  to  permit  of  proper  price  main- 
tenance without  injury  to  the  consumers  and  with  needed  relief  to 
the  merchants  who  are  advocating  fair  and  honest  dealing  in  all 
trade  methods. 
