Occupancy of the building marks the first time since its organization in 1915 that the Commission and its staff have been housed in a permanent home. Its last preceding headquarters were a rented building at 815 Connecticut Avenue, and annex buildings at 1624 Eye St. and 718 Eighteenth St., while prior to that it had been assigned other rented quarters and several temporary structures built for emergency purposes during the World War, one of which was destroyed by fire during the Commission's occupancy.

Branch office in New Orleans opened.-On April 1, 1938, the Commission reopened on a permanent basis a formerly temporary branch office in New Orleans to expedite the handling of its cases in the South and Southwest. Other branch offices are maintained in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.

RECOMMENDATIONS

AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 7 OF THE CLAYTON ACT. In previous annual reports and in reports on particular investigations, the Commission has called attention to the fact that this section now declares unlawful the acquisition by one corporation of the capital stock of a competing corporation and, in the case of holding companies, of the capital stock of two or more corporations competing with one another, where substantial lessening of competition in interstate commerce may result; but does not prevent the acquisition of physical assets with similar results. This latter method of eliminating competition to the public injury has been increasingly employed by corporations engaged in interstate commerce.

As a result of its investigation, pursuant to Joint Resolution No. 277, 74th Congress, 2d Session (for the investigation of the agricultural implement and machinery industry) the Commission became convinced that this Section 7 should be amended so as to make it unlawful for any corporation, directly or indirectly, through a holding company, subsidiary, or otherwise, to acquire any of the stock or assets of a competing corporation, when either is engaged in interstate commerce; but that this prohibition should not apply where the corporations involved control, in the aggregate, less than 10 percent of the total output of any industry or branch thereof in the United States, or of the sale of a commodity as to which the corporations are in competition, unless the effect of such acquisition may be to restrain competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce; and so recommended to the Congress in its report on this investigation, and now renews that recommendation. This amendment would have the advantage of creating a positive legislative standard, defining the limit at which corporate accretions in size and power through such acquisitions shall be halted in order to prevent monopoly.

PART I. GENERAL INVESTIGATIONS

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS

AGRICULTURAL INCOME

MOTOR VEHICLES

COST OF LIVING

NEWSPRINT PAPER

PART I. GENERAL INVESTIGATIONS

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT AND MACHINERY INDUSTRY

COMPLETED REPORT ON INQUIRY SUBMITTED TO CONGRESS

The inquiry into the agricultural implement and machinery industry was made pursuant to a joint Congressional resolution (Public Res. No. 130), otherwise known as Senate Joint Resolution No. 277, Seventy-fourth Congress, second session, approved by the President June 24, 1936. Adoption of the resolution was the result of widespread complaints in 1936 and prior years on the part of organized farmers throughout the country. These complaints had to do largely with the disparity between prices of farm products, which, in 1932, reached record lows, and the prices of many farm implements and machines and their repair parts, which were maintained at a high level.

The resolution, comprehensive in scope, directed the Federal Trade Commission to make a complete investigation of these conditions and other related factors and to report thereon. Such report, including the Commission's recommendations, was submitted to the Congress as of June 6, 1938, and was ordered to be printed as House Document No. 702, Seventy-fifth Congress, third session. The report is entitled Agricultural Implement and Machinery Industry.

Scope of the report. The report deals with farm income and other economic factors upon which the production and distribution of farm implements and machines are based, and the history of developments by which the bulk of production and wholesale distribution, both in domestic and foreign trade, has become concentrated in the hands of a few large manufacturing companies. Other subjects discussed are the nature of distribution organizations and agencies, the factory equipment and operating programs of typical manufacturing plants, and business methods and practices pursued by both manufacturers and dealers. The report also deals with investments and profits of farm implement and machinery manufacturers, their varying costs of production for a number of typical implements and machines, the prices received by manufacturers and dealers, the prices at which machines are sold in foreign markets, a comparison of the movement of the prices of farm machinery with the movement of prices of other comparable commodities, and investments and profits of retailers of farm implements and machines.