NAB reports (Jan-Dec 1937)

The refusal of a station owner to permit the use of his facilities for the expression of views inimical to his own may have serious results. In a large part of the country only a very few stations can be heard consistently. When a minority group is refused ex¬ pression of its views over a single broadcast station, it means that those views can not be heard in a section of the country where that station is the only one received. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACTION Complaints The Federal Trade Commission has alleged unfair competition in complaints against the following firms. The respondents will be given an opportunity to show cause why cease and desist orders should not be issued against them. No. 3078. University Forum, Inc., and Delta Theta Chi Sorority, of 1811 Prairie Ave., Chicago, and 3S4 O’Farrell St., San Francisco, respectively, are charged with unfair competition in the sale of books, in a complaint. Selling and distributing a series of books entitled “University Forum” and “Effective Speech,” the respondent corporations are alleged to have represented to prospective customers in different cities that alleged chapters of Delta Theta Chi were being estab¬ lished in such cities as a sorority for professional or business women. It was represented, according to the complaint, that while the prime purpose of the sorority was social, it had certain cultural aspects. Prospective members agree to pay $45 initiation or membership fee, and other annual dues, it is charged. Prospective members are alleged to have been informed that to further the cultural aspect of the sorority an alleged local chapter would be given two sets each of the “University Forum” and “Ef¬ fective Speech” series, one set to remain at the local chapter rooms for use of members, the other to be placed in possession of the edu¬ cational director of the chapter. Prospective members are also al¬ leged to have been told that they would receive instruction under supervision of a college or university professor. The complaint charges that the representation that Delta Theta Chi Sorority is a professional or business women’s sorority is not true, and that the sorority is only an outlet for the publications offered for sale. Delta Theta Chi Sorority is not a sorority in any sense of the word, according to the complaint, and representa¬ tions to the effect that members would receive supervised instruc¬ tion under a university professor are not true, it is alleged. No. 3079. Phoebe Phelps Caramel Co., 74 Fulton St., Bos¬ ton, is charged in a complaint with unfair competition in the sale of candies to wholesalers, jobbers and retailers. Assortments of candy were so packed and assembled by the re¬ spondent company as to involve use of a lottery scheme when resold to consumers, according to the complaint. No. 3080. A complaint has been issued charging Louis Kipilman, trading as Majestic Laboratories, 128-04 111th Ave., Richmond Hill, Long Island, N. ¥., with unfair competition in the interstate sale of “Kipzeme Ointment.” This product, according to the complaint, was advertised in a manner having a tendency to mislead buyers into believing that Kipzeme heals all leg sores, and is an adequate remedy in the treat¬ ment of old, aggravated leg sores, skin eruptions, eczema, and kindred ailments. The fact is, according to the complaint, that the respondent’s representations are false and misleading and the preparation will not accomplish in all cases the results claimed for it. Nos. 3081 and 3083. Sale of merchandise by means of plans involving lottery schemes, in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, is alleged in two complaints. Albert J. Tarrson, 230 East Ohio St., Chicago, is respondent in one complaint. Trading as National Advertisers Co., A. J. Sales & Manufacturing Co., The Tarrson Co., and Pla-Pal Radio & Television Co., Tarrson is engaged in the sale of cameras, pen and pencil sets, radios, safety razors, clocks, and other mer¬ chandise. In the second complaint, the respondents are Mitchell Bazelon and Charles Harris, 946 Diversey Parkway, Chicago, who trade as Park-Lane Candy Co., and Charris Specialty Co., and sell candy, cocktail shakers, watches, pipes, cigarette cases and lighters, and other novelty products. The respondents in both cases allegedly employ push-card or punch-board lottery methods in selling their merchandise. They are said to distribute the merchandise, together with push cards or punch boards, to retailers direct, or through wholesalers, thus placing in the hands of others the means of conducting lotteries in the sale of such merchandise to ultimate purchasers. No. 3083. A complaint has been issued charging The Solvotone Co., 4303 Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago, and Jessie Rogers, individually and as president of the corporation, with unfair com¬ petition in the interstate sale of “Solvotone,” a medicinal prepara¬ tion. This product, according to the complaint, was advertised in a manner tending to mislead buyers into believing that it is a cure for serious and dangerous conditions of the body, such as gall¬ stones, appendicitis, and ulcer of the stomach, and that its use prevents the necessity of surgical operations to relieve such con¬ ditions. No. 3084. A complaint alleging false and misleading representa¬ tions in connection with the sale of medicinal preparations, desig¬ nated as “Dr. Warner’s Remedies,” has been issued against War¬ ner’s Renowned Remedies Co., 13 East 25th St., Minneapolis. The complaint charges that use of the preparations in the treat¬ ment of certain ailments does not have the beneficial therapeutic value claimed, and that the products are not, as implied in adver¬ tising matter, manufactured under the supervision or formula of a member of the medical profession, nor are they generally pre¬ scribed by Dr. H. H. Warner. The preparations which the respondent company is alleged to have falsely advertised in booklets, circulars and show-window displays are known as “Warner’s Renowned Vaginal Creme,” “Warner’s Renowned Frem Pills” and “Warner’s Renowned Vigo Tablets.” Stipulations and Orders The Commission has issued the following cease and desist orders and stipulations: No. 01546. David H. Fulton, trading as Tire Vendol Co., 1 West Biddle St., Baltimore, will stop representing that either Vendol or Vendol Laxative Tablets is a herb, a root or vegetable compound; that Vendol will correct any physical ailment, and that it is an effective remedy for certain disorders of the stomach, liver and kidneys, unless confined to the relief of such ailments and when they may be due to conditions that can be benefited by use of Vendol. Fulton agrees to cease publishing any statement purporting to be the formula for any of his preparations, unless it contains all of the ingredients of the preparation, and will stop using the symbol “Rx” to indicate that Vendol was prescribed by a physician. No. 01547. Gordon E. and Maynard E. Jenks, trading as Jenks Brothers, 144 Bank St., Elkhart, Ind., stipulate that they will desist from representing in advertising matter that the Rectal Ointment they sell is a competent remedy in the treatment of hemorrhoids or piles, and that Lax-A-Ton Herb Tea is a com¬ petent remedy in the treatment of constipation or any more effec¬ tive than ordinary laxatives in relieving temporary constipation. Assertions that Lax-A-Ton Herb Tea is a tonic or recommended by herbial authorities or botanists, will be discontinued. No. 01548. Konjola, Inc., 18 North Water St., East Port Chester, Conn., agreed that in the sale of Konjola it will cease representing, among other things, that the product is a competent treatment for rheumatism, neuritis, or disorders of the digestive tract, unless limited to palliative relief; that it banishes stomach, digestive or skin disorders; helps rid the system of poisons and relieves nervousness or pains caused by intestinal trouble, and that it is a new discovery and nature’s remedy for stomach distress. No. 01549. Omega Chemical Co., 33 34th St., Brooklyn, signed a stipulation to cease advertising that Omega Oil, a prepara¬ tion for external application, relieves deep-seated or stubborn pain, unless such representations are so qualified as to exclude those pains which cannot be benefited by the product’s therapeutic action, and are so worded as not to imply that the product will have thera¬ peutic effect upon the underlying causes of pain in every instance. Other representations to be discontinued are that the medical pro¬ fession is agreed that the formula for Omega Oil makes it out¬ standing; that the preparation will afford complete relief within any definite period of time, and that it is a more competent treat¬ ment than other preparations of similarly effective ingrediency in the treatment of colds, or quicker or safer in affording palliative relief from the ordinary pain and discomfort of colds. 2004