Investigation of concentration of economic power. Hearings before the Temporary National Economic Committee, Congress of the United States, Seventy-fifth Congress, third Session [-Seventy-sixth Congress, third Session] pursuant to Public Resolution no. 113 (Seventy-fifth Congress) authorizing... Part 5 online

X INDEX

Page
Seaboard Insurance Co 1568

Securities and Exchange Commission, report by, on voting practices of

mutual life-insurance companies 1400-1407

Securities Trust Co 1431

Shelby Mutual Co' .._ 1478

Silbiger, Bruno, agen-t. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co 1322-1328

Sibley, Harper 1431

Singleton, J. F., Co 1167

Smith, Alfred E., correspondence of 1436-1437

Smith, Herbert S., member of legal department. The Mutual Life Insurance

Co. of New York . 1387-1396

Spectator Publishing Co 1166

Spectator Year Book 1167-1168, 1172, 1174, 1180, 1191, 1198, 1227

Standard Oil Co. of New York 1437

Star Insurance Co. of America 1568

State Assurance Co., Ltd 1568

Statistical abstract, Bureau of Census 1170, 1172, 1174, 1182

Steele, Earl, agent. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co 1332-1337

Stetson, Jennings & Russell 1539

Stone, Edward, correspondence of 1475-1476, 1580

Stuy vesant Insurance Co 1527

Sun Life Assurance Co 1527

Sun Insurance Office, Ltd 1568

Taschereau, L. A 1268, 1279

Corresp'ondence of 1 540

Taylor, Myron C 1462

Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association 1568

Temporary National Economic Committee:

Insurance, statement by the vice chairman regarding its study of life

insurance companies and practices 1409-1411

Life insurance, scope of its present inquiry 1161-1164

Thames & Mersey Marine Insurance Co., Ltd • 1568

Traphagan, Mr 1 1462

Travelers Insurance Co., the 1192, 1514, 1520

TuUy, Cletis E., assistant secretary, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. 1294-1313
Turner, George C, treasurer, the Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York,

correspondence of 1573, 1574

Union Central Life Insurance Co...- 1192-1193, 1514

LTnion Mutual Life Insurance Co 1406

United States Guarantee Co 1480-1485, 1582

Prudential Life Insurance Co. of America, business ^ relationship

with 1480-1485

Van Anden, Charles R., correspondence of 1562

Vanderbilt, Cornelius 1462, 1464

Watts, Mr _ - - 1429

Way, Mr 1494-1495

Weiss, Ernest, agent. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co 1352-1354

Westchester Fire Insurance Co 1527

Wisconsin State la w^ regulating election of officers of insurance companies. 1589

Wrenn, Mr J . '-... I486

Wright, Elizur 1406

Wyatt, C. E 1318

X



TEMPORARY NATIONAL ECONOMIC COMMITTEE

(Created pursuant to Public Res. 113, 75th Cong.)

JOSEPH C. O'MAHONEY, Senator from Wyoming, Chairman

HATTON W. SUMNERS, Representative from Texas, Vice Chairman

WILLIAM H. KING, Senator from Utah

WILLIAM E. BORAH, Senator from Idaho

B. CARROLL REECE, Representative from Tennessee

CLYDE WILLIAMS, Representative from Missouri

THURMAN W. ARNOLD, Assistant Attorney General

•WENDELL BERGE, Special Assistant to the Attorney General

Representing the Department of Justice

WILLIAM O. DOUGLAS, Chairman

•JEROME N. FRANK, Commissioner

Representing the Securities and Exchange Commission

GARLAND S. FERGU>^ON, Commissioner

•EWIN L. DAVIS, Commissioner

Representing the Federal Trade Commission

ISADOR LUBIN, Commissioner of Labor Statistics

•A. FORD HINRICHS, Chief Economist, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Representing the Department of Labor

JOSEPH J. O'CONNELL, Jr., Special Assistant to the General Counsel

•CHRISTIAN JOY PEOPLES, Director of Procurement

Representing the Department of the Treasury

RICHARD C. PATTERSON, Jr., Assistant Secretary

Representing the Department of Commerce

LEON HENDERSON, Executive Secretary

'Alternates.

u



INVESTIGATION OF CONCENTRATION
OF ECONOMIC POWER



HEARINGS

BEFORE THE

TEMPORARY NATIONAL ECONOMIC COMMITTEE
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES

SEVENTY-SIXTH CONGKESS

FIRST SESSION
PURSUANT TO

Public Resolution No. 113
(Seventy-fifth Congress)

AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING A SELECT COMMITTEE),
MAJvE A FULL AND COMPLETE STUDY AND INVESTIGA-
TION WITH RESPECT TO THE CONCENTRATION OF
ECONOMIC POWER IN, AND FINANCIAL CONTROL
OVER, PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
OF GOODS AND SERVICES



PART 5



MONOPOLISTIC PRACTICES IN INDUSTRIES



DEVELOPMENT OF THE BERYLLIUM INDUSTRY



FEBRUARY 28, MARCH 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, AND 14, MAY 8 AND 9, 1939



Printed for the use of the Temporary National Economic Committee




UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
124491 WASHINGTON : 1939



CONTENTS



Testimony of — Page

Burr, Eugene W., attorney, Federal Trade Commission, Washington,

D. C 1860-1903, 1947-1950

Chantland, William T., attorney. Federal Trade Commission, Wash-
ington, D. C 1828-1847, 1852-1859, 1983-1984

Coe, John A. Jr., general sales manager, The American Brass Com-
pany, Waterbury, Connecticut 2091-2101,

2103-2110, 2114-2126, 2128, 2130, 2132-2135

Dawkins, Robert B., member of chief examiner's staff. Federal Trade

Commission, Washington, D. C 1820-1821

England, William H., assistant chief economist. Federal Trade Com-
mission, Washington, D. C 1816-1825, 1827-1828

Fetter, Frank A., retired professor of economics, Princeton, New Jer-
sey 1657-1680, 1903-1946, 1951-1982

Flynn, John T., economist, New York City 1680-1713

Gahagan, Andrew J., president. The Beryllium Corporation, New York

City 2012-2025, 2037-2059, 2147-2163

Hensel, Frank Robert, chief metallurgist, P. R. Mallory Company,

Indianapolis, Indiana 2059-2067

Hirschland, F. H., president. Metal & Thermit Corporation, New York

City 2026-2037

Judd, Clark S., vice president in charge of manufacturing, The. Amer-
ican Brass Company, Waterbury, Connecticut 2093-2094,

2102, 2117-2124, 2126-2132, 2135

Kelley, William T., chief counsel. Federal Trade Commission, Wash-
ington, D. C 1770-1788, 1793, 1807-1815

Kertess, Ferdinand A., correspondent, Deutsche Gold-und-Silber

Scheideanstalt, New York City 2068-2077

Lundvall, Arthur E., economist and accountant, Federal Trade Com-
mission, Baltimore, Maryland 1999-2000

Montague, H. T., purchasing agent. The American Brass Company,

Waterbury, Connecticut __ . 2092-2093,

2101-2105, 2110-2113, 2121-2124, 2127

Montgomery, R. H., professor of economics. University of Texas,

Austin, Texas 1984-1998, 2000-2009

Morehouse, Pgad B., director of Radio and Periodical Division, Fed-
eral Trade Commission, Washington, D. C... 1770-1788, 1793, 1807-1815

Randall, H. L., president. The Riverside Metal Company, Riverside,

New Jersey 2084-2091, 2098-2101, 2104-2106, 2114

Sawyer, Charles Baldwin, president. The Brush Beryllium Company,

Cleveland, Ohio 207&-2083, 2135-2147

Sheehy, Joseph, assistant chief examiner, Federal Trade Commission,

Washington, D. C . 1795-1796

Walker, Francis, chief economist. Federal Trade Commission, Wash-
ington, D. C 1797-1804

Statement of —

Ballinger, Willis J., director of studies and economic advisor to the

Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D. C 1650-1656, 1857

Davis, Ewin L., member of the Committee, and Commissioner, Federal

Trade Commission, Washington, D. C 1647-1649

Monopolistic practices in industries:

Presentation of Federal Trade Commission Study 1650

History of monopoly 1657

Meaning and applications of competition 1660

Tendency toward monopolistic control of industry 1667

Relation between monopoly and depression 1671

Simplification of corporation set-up proposed 1677



IV CONTENTS

Monopolistic practices in industries — Continued. I*age

Adequacy of anti-trust laws as legal implements 1678

Need for improvement in function of economic system 1681

Mechanism of the capitalist economy 1682

Money on deposit not invested 1688

Causes of failure of present economic system 1698

Proposed economic reforms 1 709

Organization and functions of Federal Trade Commission 1716

Representative cases of monopolistic and restraint of trade prac-
tices 1725, 1738, 1745

Respondent's right of appeal under Wheeler-Lea A6t 1733

Spction 7 of the Clayton Act 1771

Section 6 of the Federal Trade Commission Act 1796

Chain store study 1 797

Section 8 of the Clayton Act 1813

Result of Federal Trade Commission's report on agricultural income. _ 1816

Principal farm products covered 1816

Tobacco group's concentration of control 1817

Conditions in terminal grain markets and recommendations of the

Commission 1818

Tobacco marketing 1819

Potato marketing 1821

Fresh fruits and vegetables and the Commission's conclusions and

recommendations 1822

Utility propaganda 1833

Pinancial structure, practice, rates and returns of public utilities 1836

Financial accounting practices of utility companies _ 1838

Federal incorporation or licensing of corporations 1845

The basing-point system as practiced in steel industry 1861

Identical delivered price systems in industries other than steel ' 1894

Effect of identical delivered price systems upon the public interest- _ 1899

History of the basing-point practice in industry 1906

Economic consequences of basing-point system 1947

Economic problems confronting the Committee 1951

Importance of sulfur and sulfuric acid 1986

Sources, production and methods of producing sulfur 1987

Sulfur prices and profits 1991

Profits of sulfur companies 2001

Cost of producing sulfur 2007

Sulfur in fertilizers. .- 2009

Development of the beryllium industry:

Importance of beryllium _. 2011

History and description of beryllium 2012

Occurrence in abundance of the ore 2013

Process used in converting ore into workable metal 2014

Production and physical qualities of beryllium alloys 20 16

The "master alloy" 2019

Uses of the alloys 2020

Production and use abroad 2022

Siemens & Halske in the beryllium field ^. 2024

Corporate structure of the Metal & Thermit Corporation 2026

Assignment of patents by Siemens & Halske 2028

Patent negotiations between Metal & Thermit Corporation and

Siemens & Halske 2031

Reason for patent arrangements between Metal & Thermit Corpora-
tion and Siemens & Halske 2032

Patent negotiations between Beryllium Corporation and Siemens &

Halske 2038

Negotiations result in cross-licensing agreements 204 1

Interest in beryllium manifested in England 2042

Royalty payments between Beryllium Corporation and Siemens &

Halske 2044

Patent control in the industry 2048

Vickers Co., in England, undisclosed principal in stock purchase 2057

Patent control over beryllium processing machines .. 2058

Development for electrodes principal interest of Mallory Company in

beryllium... 2060



CONTENTS V

Development of the beryllium industry — Continued. P&gt
Arrangement with Beryllium Corporation necessary to complete

negotiations abroad 2062

Degussa's acquisition of beryllium interests 2069

Combination of companies proposed 2080

Reduction in price of beryllium sought to increase sales volume 2082

Effect of patent situation on purchase of beryllium alloys 2085

"Follow the leader" policy of pricing 2085

Increase in sales volume predicted with reduction in price 2092

Question of price leadership 2094

Beryllium prices determined by "custom" _• 2098

Cooperation between firms in price fixing of beryllium products 2099

Factors in formulation of price policy 2118

Improvement in pricing systems in American industries sought 2133

Patent situation in the industry 2136

Uncertainty as to amount of beryllium ore existing 2145

Development of beryllium alloys 2149

Patent licensing on royalty basis 2153

Use of beryllium in aviation 2156

Policy of exclusion from beryllium field 2158

Schedule of exhibits — vii

Tuesday, February 28, 1939 1647

Wednesdav, March 1, 1939 1715

Thursday, March 2, 1939 1745

Friday, March 3, 1939 - - - 1795

Monday, March 6, 1939 - 1857

Tuesday, March 7, 1939 - 1603

Wednesday, March 8, 1939 - - 1961

Tuesday, March 14, 1939 1983

Monday, May 8, 1939 i - 2011

Tuesday, May 9, 1939 - 2079

Appendix 21 65

Supplemental data 2298

Index I



SCHEDULE OF EXHIBITS



Number and summary of exhibits



Intro-
duced
at page



Appears

on

pai;e



294. Chart: Production of money income, consumptive indus-

tries

295. Chart: Production of income, consumptive and invest-

ment industries

296. Chart: Total deposits, demand and time, all banks

297. Chart: Time deposits, all banks

298. Chart: Total deposits and total loans, all banks

299. Chart: Security issues, 1923-1938

300. Chart: Federal, state and private security financing,

1934-1938

301. Chart: Building construction cbntracts awarded, 1925-

1938 -â– 

302. Appears in Hearings, Part II, appendix, p. 802

303. Appears in Hearings, Part II, appendix, p. 804

304. Appears in Hearings, Part IV, appendix, p. 1645

305. Digest of Federal Trade Commission findings and

order in 59 cases of unlawful monopolistic practices
and restraints of rade

306. Statement regarding resale price maintenance made in

Federal Trade Commission report to Congress, January
30, 1939

307. Federal Trade Commission report on the American

Flange & Manufacturing Co., Inc

308. Federal Trade Commission report on monopolistic prac-

tices in industries -

309. The President's Message to Congress, January 20, 1914.

310. List of Federal Trade Commission reports on chain store

study transmitted to the Senate, 72d-74th Congresses _

311. Federal Trade Commission report on its chain store in-

^uiry. Vol. I: Character and Extent of Chain and
looperative Store Business

312. Federal Trade Commission report on its chain store in-

quiry. Vol. II: Operating Methods

313. Federal Trade Commission report on its chain store in-

quiry. Vol. Ill: Merchandising and Saies Policies of
Chain Stores -

314. Federal Trade Commission report on its chain store in-

quiry, Vol. IV: Prices, Margins and Special Discounts
and Allowances of Chain and Independent Distributors

315. Federal Trade Commission report on its chain store in-

quiry, Vol. V: Financial and Operating Results of
Chain Stores

316. Federal. Trade Commission report on its agricultural

income inquiry, Part I: Principal Farm Products

317. Federal Trade Commission report on its agricultural

income inquiry, Part II: Fruits, Vegetables and
Grapes ^ -

318. Federal Trade Commission report on its agricultural in-

come inquiry, Part III: Supplementary Report _-.

319. Federal Trade Commission summary report on utility

corporations, Senate Document .92, No. 71 A: Efforts
by Associations and Agencies of Electric and Gas
Utilities to Influence Public Opinion

• On file with the committee.
' Printed as Hearings, Part 5-A.



1682

1683
1688
1689
1689
1692

1695

1697
1713
1713
1713



1726

1761

1768

1769
1792

1798



2165

2165
2166
2166
2167
2168

2168

2169



(0

2170
2172

0)
2174

2177



1804




1804




1804




1804




1804




1828




1828




1828





1833



(')



VIII



CONTENTS
SCHEDULE OF EXHIBITS— Continued



Number and sununary of exhibits



Intro-
duced
at page



Appears



page



320. Federal Trade Commission report on utilitj' corporations,

Senate Document 92, No. 81 A: Publicity and Propa-
ganda Activities by Utilities Groups and Companies
(indexed)

321. Federal Trade Commission summary report on utility

corporations. Senate Document 92, No. 73A: Holding
and Operating Companies of Electric and Gas Utilities. _

322. Federal Trade Commission report, Senate Document 92,

No. 69A: Compilation of Proposals and Views for and
Against Federal Incorporation or Licensing of Cor-
porations and Compilation of State Constitutional,
Statutory, and Case Law Concerning Corporations,
With Particular Attention to Public Utility Holding
and Operating Companies

323. Federal Trade Commission report on utility corporations.

Senate Document 92, No. 72A: Economic, Financial,
and Corporate Phases of Holding and Operating Com-
panies of Electric and Gas Utilities

324. Table showing sample of pyramiding in Associated Gas &

Electric System, March 31, 1932

325. Chart: Corporate ownership of Associated Gas & Electric

System, as of March 31, 1932

326. Chart: Insull System showing inter-corporate holdings

of stock by principal companies in the system, as of
December 31, 1930

327. Corporate chart of Middle West Utilities Co., a subsidiary

corporation of the Insull system, showing per cent of
voting control in 262 companies, as of December 31,
1930

328. Federal Trade Commission final report on utility cor-

porations, Senate Document-92, No. 84A: Economic,
Corporate, Operating, and Financial Phases of the
Natural-Gas-Producing, Pipe-Line and Utility Indus-
tries, With Conclusions and Recommendations

329. Table of Federal Trade Commission antitrust cases by

type of commodity as classified by the 1935 biennial
census of manufacturers

330. Table of Federal Trade Commission antitrust cases from

1932 to date by type of commodity as classified by the
1935 biennial census of manufacturers

331. Table of Federal Trade Commission antitrust cases from

1932 to date by type of commodity as classified by the
1935 census of business, retail and wholesale distri-
bution

332. Table of unfair trade practices involved in Federal Trade

Commission antitrust cases from 1932 to date by type
of commodity as classified by the 1935 biennial census
of manufacturers

333. Table of unfair trade practices in Federal Trade Com-

mission antitrust cases from 1932 to date by type of
commodity as classified by the 1935 census of business,
retail and wholesale distribution

334. List of types of unfair methods of competition condemned

by the Federal Trade Commission, taken from annual
reports of the Commission ;

335. Chart: Federal Trade Commission cases as distributed

among the 50 largest industries, showing value of prod-
ucts; taken from the biennial census of manufacturers,

1939

• On file with the committee.



1833
1836

1836



0)
0)

(0



1837


0)


1840


2178


1840


0)


1840


0)


1840


(0


1843


0)


1859


2179


1859


2180



1859

1859

1859
1859

1859



2180

2181

2181
2182



Facing
2184



CONTENTS

SCHEDULE OF EXHIBITS— Continued



IX



Number and summary of exhibits



Intro-
duced
at page



Appears

on

page



336. Temporary National Economic Committee program of

studies by the Federal Trade Commission

337. Estimated scope of studies presented in Temporary Na-

tional Economic Committee hearings under auspices of
Federal Trade Commission

338. Report to the Senate from the Chairman of the Federal

Trade Commission on the steel industry and the "Code
of Fair Competition" relating to that industry, Senate
Document No. 159

339. Report of the Federal Trade Commission to The President

with respect to the basing-point system in the iron and
steel industry, November 1934

340. Report of the Federal Trade Commission to The President

on steel sheet piling, June 10, 1936

341. N. R. A. Code of Fair Competition for the iron and steel

industry, as approved on August 19, 1933, by President
Roosevelt

342. N. R. A. Amendment to Code of Fair Competition for the

iron and steel industry, as approved May 30, 1934, by
President Roosevelt '

343. Federal Trade Commission findings as to the facts and

conclusion and the order to cease and desist in the
Pittsburgh Plus case

344. Hearings before the Committee on Interstate Commerce,

U. S. Senate, 74th Congress, 2d Sess. on S. 4055: To

Prevent Uniform Delivered Prices

34p, Federal Trade Commission report on its price bases
inquiry, the basing-point formula and cement prices,
March, 1932

346. Federal Trade Commission report to the Senate relative to

competitive conditions in the cement industry, Senate
Document No. 71, 73d Congress, 1st Sess - .

347. Federal Trade Commission report to Congress on its

price bases inquiry, the zone price formula in the range

boiler industry, March 30, 1936

348- Manuscript: Federal Trade Commission Docket No. 3167,
complaint against and answer of the Cement Institute as
to violations of the Robinson-Patman Act and the
Federal Trade Commission Act

349. Manuscript: Federal Trade Commission Docket No. 3305,

report on the findings as to facts and canclusions in the
United Fence Manufacturers Association zone price
case -

350. Appendices to report of the Federal Trade Commission to

The President with respect to allegedly collusive bids
on steel sheet piling, June, 1936

351. Chart: Intermarket competition with uniform market

prices

352. Chart: Market areas determined by competitive price

differentials

353. Chart: Normal" iiarket areas for multiple competing

markets

354. Chart: (Supplemental) Intermarket competition with

uniform market prices

355. Chart: Monopolistic versus competitive producers, results

of discriminatory prices

356. Chart: Identical (matched) delivered prices between two

basing-points -

357. Chart: Cross hauling in steel

' On file with the committee.



1859
1860

1864



1896



1896



2185
2185



1864


(')


1864


C)


1864


0)


1864


(0


1864


(0


1864


(')


1895


C)


1895


(0


1895


(')



{')



(0



1903


(0


1911


2186


1915


2187


1915


2188


1916


2189


1918


2189


1925
1940


2190
2191



CONTENTS
SCHEDULE OF EXHIBITS— Continued



Number and summary of exhibits



Intro-
duced
at page



Appears

on

page



358. Monopoly and Competition in Steel, an exposition of the
basing-point system and its economic consequences on
the capitalist system

359-370. Appear in Hearings, Part VII

371. Table: Sulphuric acid consumed in the United States,

1933-1937, by industries

372. Table: Quantities and percentages of sulphuric acid pro-

duced in the United States from various raw materials
for the years 1925, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933 and 1934

373. Table: Sulphur consumed in the United States, 1927-

1937, by uses •

374. Table: Sulphur produced, shipped, imported, exported

and prices at the mine, 1903-1937

375. Table: Pyrite prices, 1922-1929

376. Table: Cost of production of sulphur, 1906-1937

377. Officers and directors of the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company,

1938 -

378. Texas Gulf Sulphvir Company interlocking directorships,

1937 -

379. Officers and directors of the Freeport Sulphur Company,

1938

380. Freeport Sulphur Company interlocking directorships,

1937

381. Agreement, 1934, between Sulphur Export Corporation

and Ufficio per la Vendita Dello Zolfo Italiano

381-A. Agreement, 1923, between Sulphur Export Corporation and
Consorzio Obbligatorio per I'lndustria Solfifera Siciliana.
381-B. Letter, dated April 15, 1939, from Federal Trade Com-
mission to Union Sulphur Co. requesting a copy of a
1907 agreement between Union Sulphur and the
Sicilian Co.

Letter, dated Ttpril 20, 1989, from Union Sulphur Co. to
Federal Trade Commission concciiiiiig the 1907 agree-
ment.

Letter, dated May 1, 1939, from Federal Trade Commis-
sion to Union Sulphur Co. requesting that search be
made for copies of 1907 agreement with the Hamburg
Co. and its agreement with the Sicilian Co.

Letter, dated May 3, 1939, from Union Sulphur Co. to
Federal Trade Commission agreeing to search for
copies of the 1907 agreement.

Letter, dated May 11, 1939, from Union Sulphur Co. to
Federal Trade Commission enclosing photostatic
copies of translations of 1907 and 1908 agreements and
cablegrams cancelling the agreements.

Copies of translations of the agreements and cablegrams..

382. Copy of certificate of incorporation of Sulphur Export

Corporation -

383. Copy of agreement between Freeport Sulphur Co. and

Texas Gulf Sulphur Co., dated OctobeV 26, 1928, to
continue operation of Sulphur Export Corporation

384. Copy of letter, dated October 9, 1934, from Sulphur

Export Corp. to Duval Texas Sulphur Co. allocating
orders for shipments of sulphur.

Copy of letter, dated October 9, 1934, from Sulphur
Export Corp. to Orkla Grube re preserving Scandi-
navian and Finnish markets for brimstone

Copy of letter, dated August 24, 1934, from Sulphur
Export Corp. to Duval Texas Sulphur Co. allocating
orders for shipments of sulphur to Scandinavian
countries.




2192



1986



2200



1986


2201


1986


2202


1986
1986
1986


2203
2203
2204


1986


2204


1986


2204


1986


2206


1986


2206


1991


2208


1991


2214



1989
1992

1992



1994



2217
2226

2235



2236



CONTENTS
SCHEDULE OF EXHIBITS— Continued



XI



Number and summary of exhibits



Intro-
duced
at page



Appears

on

page



385.



386.



387.



388.



Letter, dated June 8, 1934, from Sulphur Export Corp.
to Jefferson Lake Oil Co. agreeing on mutual coopera-
tion in sulphur orders and shipments