Page 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 STATEMENT OF THURMAN ARNOLD, ATTORNEY-Continued Policies of New Deal attacked both by Republicans and conservative Pattern of competition in twentieth century not going to be that of Compares soft drink industry of 50 years ago where thousands of manufacturers, profits small. Today the opportunity for little fellow is gone. Arnold, responding to Mr. Keating, admits there are a few small softdrink companies which are successful. But difficult to compete with Coca and Pepsi Cola because of advertising. Coca-Cola is sugar and water plus flavoring. In soft drink industry great organizations have advantage. Dominance due to national advertising, creates demand, permits mass production, which allows low price. Now difficult for little man to get in. Size does not necessarily make for efficiency. But Coca-Cola is example of organization which can make mass demand contribute to local communities instead of taking money out. Millions must be spent to create a demand. Yet soft drink industry Local Coca-Cola distributor has a monopoly on Coca-Cola, in his own Lowest bidder makes vending machines and bottling machinery for Coca-Cola has the patents on the bottle. Coca-Cola confines itself to single service for which there is a necessity Page 415 416 417 418 -419 420 421 422 423 424 STATEMENT OF THURMAN ARNOLD, Attorney-Continued Coca-Cola never manufactured or sold bottles, supplies, or equipment; no interest in making money out of sidelines. Company is greatest consumer of sugar in the world; has not a dollar invested in any sugar business. Chairman asks regarding power of Coca-Cola if it is already the largest purchaser of sugar. He points out the technique of creating mass demand is a fact in economic society. Problem is to curb power-and to decide organization we want; then To harness that service and to prevent absentee ownership, confine it He agrees that it would be good for distiller not to go into cooperage Coca-Cola started to grow like an integrated cancer; had control over bottlers. Then there was a lawsuit and bottlers were divorced. Later, "cola" held to be a generic term. Now all sorts of colas. Management changed. Now has philosophy of not owning demand; only entitled to have protection against substitution. Bottles are made competitively. Opportunities for control have been passed up. An industrial empire could have been built on this demand, including system of absentee ownership. Competitors free to invade market; other concerns are making great A pattern something like this must be followed in other industries Patent policy-it doesn't collect royalties nor restrict the use of its Ford adopted same policy on patents. Similar problem with growth of labor unions. Labor union must be Time when big labor can be broken into little labor unions is gone. Can have collusion between labor and management. Laws would be constitutional if reasonable justification. In antitrust Government has not followed consistent antitrust policy. If Du Pont had voluntarily sought to divest itself of stock, would have huge tax liability. Page 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 STATEMENT OF THURMAN ARNOLD, Attorney-Continued Cites examples of no settled monopoly policy. Also tax liability. Cites Standard Oil case before the Truman committee. Cites Western Would not give the agency power to make any changes or administrative rulings, but would give them duty to go to courts, executive agencies, and Congress. Would suggest a joint legislative committee. Constant supervision of a congressional committee is needed because dealing with national policy. Would not have committee give advice to those who come before it, but act only through legislation or resolutions of Congress. Discussion of problem of whether joint committee could handle anything but general legislation. All congressional committee could do would be to get facts so that they can change the law. Need body which is investigating the facts about entire concentration of wealth, industry by industry. After investigation either would or would not recommend legislation. TNEC was not a continuous body. Arnold offers to draw up recommendations on legislation as result of his experience with TNEC. Most important one is creation of continuous joint committee and duty imposed upon Department of Justice to investigate all pertinent facts. Stopped investigating labor abuses after Court declared that such restrictions were exempt. STATEMENT OF H. A. TOULMIN, JR., ATTORNEY "Our antitrust laws are the most dangerous to our democracy that any nation has ever enacted in all history.' It is possible thereunder for five men appointed for life to the Supreme Court to change entire aspect of society. Trust laws so general that change can be done legally. Can regiment business, industry, etc., into any economic pattern that five men wish. One man can decide a case; this is dangerous to business. In last 12 years, Court in 30 cases has overruled earlier cases, most of which had been decided within the previous 20 years. In last 3 years, 86 5-to-4 decisions. In business regulation cases in 1948-49, only 4 out of 11 were unanimous, 3 were 5 to 4. Basic problem of business is certainty. Congress alone has power to Courts have been defeating patents on ground that owner of the patent Owner can sell patent and then challenge validity in an antitrust case. Page 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 STATEMENT OF H. A. TOULMIN, JR., ATTORNEY-Continued Field of patents is in chaos. Only remedy is statutory definition of relation between patents and monopoly. Court has also reversed position and held that gasoline dealer contract is illegal because dealer required to use oil of seller. Congress should determine if this is in the public interest. The executive branch has program which will completely change American business and foundation of property rights. Quotes from Justice Douglas that change should be controlled by legislature rather than courts. Quotes Justice Douglas dissenting in Standard Oil Co. case, that A few men in the Department of Justice have had their will impressed Case in point is Congress putting moratorium on applying trust laws to Again quotes from Wilson. Representatives and Senators and Presi- Judge should take into office no personal ideas, politics, and ideas of Department of Justice has been negligent in pressing cases against Trust laws have left United States business in a state of complete un- Supreme Court regards itself as superlegislative agency. Decisions characterized by effort to maintain decisions in harmony with one He quotes Justice Jackson, commenting on tendency to disregard con- "When business is compelled to stick to its knitting and stay in its own Page 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 STATEMENT OF H. A. TOULMIN, JR., ATTORNEY-Continued He makes following recommendations. Congress should enact specific Congress reserve right to settle conflict between laws such as patent General Electric case rule in patents has been whittled down. Tremendous mass of laws and various interpretations. General Electric case modified by Gypsum and Line Material cases; Patent laws of equal constitutional basis as trust laws. Patents are Antitrust laws not concerned with creating prorerty rights, but with controlling rights already acquired. Not difficult problem if you stay within trust laws as originally enacted. No essential conflict between two types of law. The difficulty between the patent laws and the antitrust laws arises not from statutes, but from judicial legislation without any authority of the statutes. Out of one case arose series of decisions defeating large number of If that is the law, Congress should enact a statute to that effect. Does present a problem for lawyers to have dissents, and judicial "From time to time we have to see whether Congress should act to clear TNEC hearings resulted in no legislation from Congress; but Court has Problem with patent laws and trust laws is that Congress has apparently "We will never have a real industrial peace and great prosperity in the When Government dissolved Standard Oil, brought greatest prosperity Cites indirect freight rebate case; where railroad had to buy paint of |