CARTELS UNDER FIRE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25801, 23 March 1945, Page 6

CARTELS UNDER FIRE

DANGERS OF BIG COMBINES DISCUSSION IN LORDS (Rec. 7 p.m.) RUGBY, Mar. 21. Monopolies, cartels, trade associations, and restrictive trade practices generally were discussed, in the House of Lords to-day, when Lord Nathan asked what the Government's policy was in relation to those matters. There was public alarm among all parties, he said, because of the new powers- of combines which had been especially accentuated by war. Monopoly could and did keep up prices, cut down total tradp, or adopt a restrictive power on trade and employment. Viscount Samuel pointed out that traders got together after the slumps to prevent more slumps. Lord Geddes. defending the big combines, said he was associated with four copper-producing companies in Rhodesia. As a result of their work he was able to tell Mr Neville Chamberlain in 1939 that our copper requirements would be met if the war came, and that was at a time when the United States was not supplying anything to belligerents. There was nothing in the whole record of the associations of the combinations and cartels with which he was connected that he would be afraid to hear discussed on the iloor of the House of Commons. They had worked for the good of the nation. Replying for the Government, Lord Woolton said that Britain’s most vital social problems were the maintenance of employment on a high, stable level, and that must not be frustrated by restrictive practices. By restrictiye agreements the Government had in mind the trade practices of both workers and employers. He had found complete agreement among all parties on two issues: (1) That the growth of very large firms was continuing; (2) that there was danger of this growth being against the public interest. “I want to check the abuses of monopolies,” he said. Personally he was eager to find a solution to'these problems, but he would not clutter up industry with any more inspectors than were needed. Some trade associations, he felt, were beneficent, but some were doing harm to this country. They must be judged separately. Let them present their position to the Government, and if they and their trade agreements were good, let them stand and have Government approval. If they were not good,' let them be suppressed. Lord Woolton added that as he did not know how long this Parliament would last he could not say when a Bill on the subject would be introduced.