THE GOVERNMENT

Last week the U. S. Government did the following for and to U. S. Business:

P: Began an investigation of public stockyards. On its own initiative the Interstate Commerce Commission set out to determine whether the services of stockyards in loading and unloading livestock carried by railroads in interstate commerce made the stockyards subject to ICC rulings.

P: Suspended a WPA survey of marketing laws. Actively launched two months ago (TIME, July 11), this estimated $2,000,000 job was conceived before the Monopoly Investigation was started. Pending action of the Monopoly Investigation, which is now considering a survey of marketing laws, WPAdministrator Harry Hopkins announced that WPA would hold up its survey.

P: Issued complaints, decisions or cease & desist orders involving no less than 55 companies and individuals. This weekly quota of Federal Trade Commission police work, as usual, ranged from such important decisions as that genuine offers of "free goods" in advertising were not unfair competition to such minor splutters as that Walter Elly of Manhattan must stop advertising a pamphlet on How to Win a Husband with copy like "How much would you pay for the love of the man you want?"* Meanwhile, reappointed by Franklin Roosevelt for a seven-year term on FTC was diligent Robert E. Freer, Republican from Ohio.

* Snapped FTC: "Representations by the respondent allegedly have a tendency to deceive certain purchasers into believing that use of the booklets will enable readers to solve accurately their most intimate personal problems and take the guesswork out of life."

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