4 HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE COMMERCE UNITED STATES SENATE " SIXTY-THIRD CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON BILLS RELATING TO TRUST LEGISLATION (IN TWO VOLUMES) VOLUME II WITH INDEX Printed for the use of the Committee on Interstate Commerce WASHINGTON 1914 546 مد a.7.5 INTERSTATE TRADE. SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 1914. COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE COMMERCE, p. m. The committee met at 2 o'clock Present: Senators Newlands (chairman), Pomerene, Saulsbury, Cummins, Brandegee, Oliver, and Lippitt. Also present: R. G. Rhett, chairman of the committee on antitrust legislation of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, accompanied by George Rublee, a member of the committee; Elliot H. Goodwin, secretary, Chamber of Commerce of the United States; D. A. Skinner, assistant secretary, and John M. Redpath, secretary to the committee on trust legislation of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. The CHAIRMAN. These gentlemen appear before the committee for the purpose of giving the result of their referendum vote concerning the trade-commission bill and other trust measures. Mr. Rhett represents the committee. We will be glad to hear from you. STATEMENT OF MR. R. G. RHETT. Mr. RHETT. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I would like to explain that this chamber is composed of 574 commercial organizations of the United States, located in 47 of the States, and the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands; also the American chambers located in Paris, France; Berlin, Germany; and the Levant; and representing 250,000 individual members. I would also like to explain that the methods of the chamber are, first, to receive the application of some constituent member for the consideration of a question national in character, principally those questions which come up before Congress. When the board has decided it is a national question it is referred to a special committee for the purpose of preparing a referendum to these various organizations. The committee on trust legislation, you will remember, Senators, appeared here some weeks ago. It is the duty of this committee to endeavor to get the principles involved in the legislation proposed and how it will affect the different interests of the country, and to present these questions to the commercial organizations of the country together with the arguments which they have been able to gather in favor of and against these propositions. 661 |