Mr. ZAHN. I am sorry, I perhaps do not have that experience to be able to express it other than the way I have.

Mr. BAILEY. I have nothing further.

Senator HART. Mr. Cohen?

Mr. COHEN. Just to clear up one point, Mr. Zahn. You express just a little concern that any regulations promulgated under the deceptive pictorial matter section should be broad. I think Senator Hart has expressed his opinion on many, many occasions regarding what he is talking about in this section on pictorial deception. He is not referring to the cake on the frosting box or the frosting on the cake box. What he did refer to, for instance, is the cherry pie on the front of the package showing the luscious cherries while inside you only have paste; or the chocolate chip cookies that have chocolate chips only on the box and not the cookies.

So I think that certainly Senator Hart's previous pronouncements are in line with your recommendations on this section.

Mr. ZAHN. Incidentally, Mr. Cohen, that brings up a point. Please understand, I understand this, but when you talk to industry, they will say:

"Well, now, how far are they going to go on regulations of this pictorial thing? If we put this cherry pie on a plate, are we going to be criticized that there is no plate in the box?"

Mr. COHEN. Precisely why I have made the statement I just madeto put some of this apprehension to rest. I am sure that the legislative history of this bill will show clearly what the intent of the bill is. Senator HART. Again, thank you, sir.

Before we close the record, let me indicate the witnesses who will be heard tomorrow, and, without objection, insert in the record a statement which has been filed with us.

It was understood that the full Committee of the Judiciary would meet tomorrow morning. A very few minutes ago I learned that this is not correct. We had announced that the hearings would be at 1:30 p.m., tomorrow, and at this late hour I doubt very much if we should risk badly inconveniencing the witnesses by moving the hour up, so, when we adjourn, we will adjourn until 1:30 p.m., tomorrow, to meet in this room, at which time we are scheduled to hear the executive vice president of the National Canners Association, Mr. Milan Smith; the assistant director of Consumers Union, and the editorial director of the publication, Consumers Report, Mildred Brady; and the vice president of the National Confectioners Association, who is also the vice president of Stephen Whitman & Son of Chicago, L. R. Hopkins. The statement which we will place in the record at this point has been filed with the subcommittee reflecting the position of the General Federation of Women's Clubs that S. 387, the truth-in-packaging bill, embodies the principles for the protection of the consumer which the federation has consistently promoted.

(The statement referred to may be found on p. 536.)

Senator HART. Again, we thank all of those who this morning gave the committee the benefit of their experience and will adjourn until 1:30 tomorrow.

(Whereupon, at 12:20 p.m., the committee adjourned, to reconvene at 1:30 p.m., Thursday, March 7, 1963.)

PACKAGING AND LABELING LEGISLATION

THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 1963

U.S. SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ANTITRUST AND MONOPOLY,

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 1:35 p.m., in room 2228, New Senate Office Building, Senator Philip A. Hart presiding. Present: Senator Hart.

Also present: Stanley Mosk, attorney general, State of California; S. Jerry Cohen, assistant counsel; Dorothy D. Goodwin, assistant counsel; George E. Clifford, assistant counsel; Peter N. Chumbris, counsel for the minority; James E. Bailey, counsel for the minority; Ronald D. Raitt, counsel for the minority; Paul S. Green, editorial director; and Gladys E. Montier, clerk.

When we concluded yesterday, I indicated that the first witness today would be Mr. Smith for the National Canners Association. I am advised now-and I would inquire of Mr. Smith whether this would inconvenience him-that the second scheduled witness, Mildred Brady, is under a time limitation in her effort to return to New York and would appreciate our hearing her first. If Mr. Smith says he has problems, too, I don't know how we will resolve it, but let me ask Mr. Smith if this would inconvenience him.

Mr. SMITH. That is all right, Senator.

Senator HART. Thanks very much.

Our testimony, then, this afternoon will begin by hearing from the editorial director of Consumer Reports, a distinguished, as always happens in this field, and not uncontroversial figure in the protection of consumers, Mildred Brady.

Mrs. Brady, the committee welcomes you.

STATEMENT OF MILDRED E. BRADY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, CONSUMERS UNION OF THE U.S., INC., AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, CONSUMER REPORTS, MOUNT VERNON, N.Y.

Mrs. BRADY. Thank you, Senator Hart.

Senator HART. I know you are under pressure of time. I wish you would act like a politician and feel uninhibited in describing all of your background for the record so that we can have that in the record, and then continue with your prepared statement.

Mrs. BRADY. Thank you.

My name is Mildred Edie Brady. I am assistant director of Consumers Union of the U.S., Inc., located at 256 Washington Street, Mount Vernon, N.Y. Consumers Union is a nonprofit membership

organization chartered in 1936 under the laws of the State of New York for the purpose of providing information and counsel to consumers about goods and services and about the management of family expenditures.

Consumers Union publishes a monthly magazine, Consumer Reports, and issues, from time to time, other publications on related subjects. The financial support of the organization comes from its members, subscribers, and newsstand buyers of its publications. Consumers Union accepts no support from any commercial organization. Consumer Reports carries no advertising. All samples used for testing are bought anonymously at retail.

In addition to testing and reporting test results on products, Consumer Reports provides information on other aspects of the consumer's problem in making the best use of family resources. Nearly every issue contains articles on such topics as drugs and health questions, economic matters as they affect the marketplace, and legislative and other governmental developments which consumers ought to know about for their own protection. A full and detailed description of the history and functioning of Consumers Union is submitted here as exhibit A.

(The document referred to may be found in the files of the subcommittee.)

Mrs. BRADY. Consumers Union wishes to congratulate Senator Hart and the Antitrust and Monopoly Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for taking steps through the provisions of S. 387 toward a correction of practices that have degenerated into a commercial plague. The opportunity afforded by this legislation

comes none too soon.

Deceptive practices of one kind or another now dominate in the packaging of a wide range of consumer goods. There are but few cxceptions. The quart of milk is still a quart of milk, although letters from our readers now indicate they find it 1 or 2 ounces short with disturbing frequency.

There are still 12 eggs in a carton labeled with the count of a dozen. Here and there a brander still packs in the standard 1-pound or 1pint size and so labels packages that the consumer can find and can read net weight designations. But honestly packaged products have become enough of an exception to the rule so that we at Consumers Union are now receiving letters from readers asking us to comment on the event when they happen to find an honestly packaged branded product. And we have been glad to do so. For example, in one issue of Consumer Reports, we quoted the following from readers' letters:

I think congratulations are in order to the Best Foods Division of the Corn Products Co. which has come out with a "new improved package" for Best Foods mayonnaise a quart jar that is still 1 quart, although it is less deep and easier to use. It is refreshing to see a new package that does not look larger and holds less than the old one.

I am happy to call your attention to the Hi Ho Crackers package. A 1-pound size, so designated in large type on the front and back, was a welcome relief after looking at the hidden, undersized weights on some packages. I would nominate it for the package of the month.

I would like to point out a price reduction. Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola previously sold size 10-ounce bottles for 39 cents, a per-ounce price of 0.65 cent. A new one-half quart size (16 ounces) sells at six bottles for 49 cents, or 0.51 of a cent per ounce. For a change, the larger bottle is cheaper.

It has always impressed me how the Wheatena cooked cereal boxes are filled so close to the top that they can hardly be opened without running over. What a happy experience to encounter in today's world of commerce. As the Bible says, ** good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over."

The fact that fairplay in packaging attracts special attention is a telling comment on the condition of today's marketplace. But, according to some reports in the trade press, manufacturers of branded goods, especially food manufacturers, have announced that they are going to oppose S. 387 as unnecessary legislation. Food Field Reporter, for example, carried a story from Chicago in a recent issue quoting a National Canners Association description of this new legislation as "an unnecessary and unwarranted interference with development, and an undesirable delegation of legislative power and as contrary to the best interests of consumers."

Senator HART. Mrs. Brady, I wonder if you would permit me to interrupt for a moment.

Mrs. BRADY. Please do.

Senator HART. The committee is honored to have a visit paid to it by one of the leaders in this country in consumer protection, a man you know. I have asked him, though he is not here to testify, to permit me to introduce him for the record and to join us here at the table. I refer to the distinguished attorney general of the State of California, Attorney General Stanley Mosk, whom we welcome. We salute you

Mr. Mosк. Thank you.

Senator HART (continuing). On your continued and very effective efforts in this field.

Mr. Mosk. Thank you very much, Senator.

Mrs. BRADY. Thank you, Senator.

This statement of the canners is a remarkable statement. They are surely aware that consumers have been finding it more and more difficult to choose rationally between brands of food and other household items. We at Consumers Union have received thousands of letters from readers detailing their unhappy experiences with deceptive packaging.

Since Consumers Union is the largest organization in the United States devoted specifically to providing information for consumers, we also function as a center for consumer complaints as a byproduct of our activities. Letters from our readers constitute one of the broadest feedbacks of retail market experience that is available today. In a good many cases the communications sent to us about deceptive packaging have included copies of complaints also sent to the packagers of the goods, and, quite frequently, we also receive copies of the packagers' answers to the complaining consumers.

These letters from manufacturers to the complaining consumers contain evidence that awareness of the problem is not limited to consumers. For example, when a reader of Consumer Reports complained that the quantity in a giant-sized bottle of Lestoil had been reduced from 32 ounces (a standard quart size) to 28 ounces here is what the Lestoil Products, Inc., had to say about it:

You are absolutely right. We have changed the contents of our bottles and have maintained the same size. This size is the same as competitive products, and we went to a package of similar size in order to be competitive with the giant soap companies.