Coming & Going

The right wheels of the U. S. Government may know what its left wheels are doing, but sometimes they may prefer to roll in the opposite direction. Last year the Federal Trade Commission cracked down on Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. because of a contract whereby the big mail-order house got fat discounts on its huge tire orders from Goodyear. Dubbing this price discrimination which would tend to undercut other tire dealers and drive them out of business, the FTC ordered cancelation of the contract, which was done upon passage of the Robinson-Pattman anti-price discrimination act.

Last week the Treasury Department sourly announced that 14 tire and rubber concerns had twice in recent months submitted practically identical bids for the Government's tire and tube order ($2,800,000 last year). Angered by its failure to obtain any price reduction in the Government's favor, the Treasury asked the FTC and the Department of Justice for investigation and action on the ground of possible collusion, meantime gave a $1,000,000 tire contract to Sears, Roebuck, which had not bid, but whose prices were substantially under the others.

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