00:00:06.840 - 00:00:38.950

Scene one, take 1 18 15 Matters Next text. How do you do, ladies and gentlemen, Indeed I'm very proud to have is my guest this time. A longtime friend of mine ran Dixon, who happens to be the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. I'd like to ask you some very embarrassing questions, Mr Chairman.

00:00:39.640 - 00:01:12.360

First, with respect to your job, what are you people going to do about advertising for cigarettes? Well, in January of 1964 the surgeon general, Dr Luther Terry, released a report of an advisory committee to him that had been agreed upon. It's pretty well indicted smoking of cigarettes for various causes and favors ailments such as cancer.

00:01:13.610 - 00:01:37.060

Now, as you know, the Congress enacted the law creating the Federal Trade Commission and one of the chores assigned to us as to do something about deceptive advertising. We've long established the principle that you can deceive by an affirmative misrepresentation, and you can also deceived by a failure to reveal or something.

00:01:38.140 - 00:02:01.760

Now there is no warning, as everyone knows, on a package of cigarettes or in their adverts. We announced a rulemaking proceeding and held a public hearing, after which we promulgated a rule and stated the basis in purpose for the rule, which would have required an adequate warning on the labelling and advertising of cigarettes.

00:02:02.640 - 00:02:28.340

Of course, this this caused considerable interest in the Congress and at present at the request of the Commerce Committee, the House. We delayed the effective date of our rule until July 1 of 1965 this year. So that means that as of July 1, there will be an ad warning on each package labels there will be, unless Congress, the rules.

00:02:28.340 - 00:02:46.860

Otherwise, you don't think Congress is going to rule otherwise. Well, I've been before both committees and they There's some pretty strong feeling as to whether it's necessary to go all the way to advertising or the exact language and who should enforce it. And I I prove this procedure.

00:02:46.860 - 00:03:05.210

I think it's fine because this is a real serious problems. You know, this is about a $9 billion industry, right? They're about $3 billion of excise tax well, so we can take your word for it. Unless the Congress acts, there will be a warning on cigarette label packages starting July 1st.

00:03:05.220 - 00:03:23.520

Well, our rule would require uh, senator, But, you know, due process is a very valuable thing. And I told the Senate and the House both when I was testifying that I would predict it would take at least four years for us to get our procedure. The requirement through the courts.

00:03:23.530 - 00:03:42.300

Yeah, let me. I'm the chairman of the Committee on Aging, and there's a lot of we have a lot of complaints made about the fact that people are deluding and deceiving elderly people by selling them things which they don't need and which actually are misrepresentations. Uhh! You're familiar with that, are you not?

00:03:42.300 - 00:04:03.820

And what can we do about that? Well, the hearings that your committee health has been very valuable in this respect. And, of course, we have responsibility in this field, as does the Post Office Department, the Food and Drug Administration. There are various other agencies that have some responsibility here at the commissioner's such I.

00:04:03.820 - 00:04:24.160

I've got a program growing right now of, uh, of active review. I'm intending, and then later in the Sun would have set up a special division down here where we'll get a better relationship with the states and working more with the state. And with these other agencies, I think we can do a considerable, better job than we've been doing.

00:04:24.940 - 00:04:41.560

All right, let me ask you this last question. We have a bill up here and we've added up here for a number of years called truth in labeling. It has to do on packages and everything else. Do you favor that sort of thing? Or is that a infringement of the man's right and free enterprise system?

00:04:42.630 - 00:04:59.610

Last year I have testified in support of that bill, either the year before and tomorrow I'm going to go testify on that bill. And again, I'll support the bill now. I think this is a fair way to process problem. Senator, we have a law against deception now at the commissioner's.

00:04:59.610 - 00:05:16.650

I've explained to you, but there are probably 10 items in a grocery store. And using that squirrel gun approach, I won't live long enough to get through. And I think if you hold public hearings and lay down the rules, I think you get better and fairer enforced.

00:05:17.340 - 00:05:43.550

Thank you very much. Chairman Ran Dixon of the Federal Trade Commission. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, for looking and listening, and I hope you'll do the same next week at this time. Mr. Chairman, do you agree that premarket tests for health devices and other products would help protect our senior citizens with respect to hell?

00:05:43.550 - 00:06:11.450

Certainly I would, Senator, because it doesn't do very much good to allow someone to advertise and sell products to a senior citizen who who may need actual medical attention by something that you call quackery. You know, in your hearing some kind of device to which they will say that this will cure cancer or some kind of debilitating disease when it wants that product or does beyond the market.

00:06:12.140 - 00:06:32.950

Right? All right. Now, another area of recent debate is the establishment of federal standards for automobile tires. As I understand the trade commission, your commission has already held hearings on this. Can you give us some idea is, uh can you give us some idea as to what you think about this?

00:06:33.440 - 00:06:55.550

We're still reviewing the record of these hearings, and it's true that doing these hearings, Senator Nelson came down and testified before our hearing and talked about a bill which he introduced, as you know, here in the Senate, and we are aware of various states that have had studies in this in this respect, and there is a very serious problem here.

00:06:56.140 - 00:07:35.460

But, uh, I don't know is whether the commission can solve this problem completely, because it it's always desirable in America for an industry itself to voluntarily, you might say, adopt to stand that they all live up to and that those standards be adequate. Now, I know this industry is thinking about this, but it may take legislation before you can have adequate stand, as I understand the basic piece of legislation with which you're involved as the Sherman Act and the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, Sherman Act and the Clayton Act.

00:07:36.100 - 00:08:01.570

And they were passed how long ago? Well, it's German. Back in 18 90. This is the first time this great country expressed the philosophy of free enterprise and then Federal Trade Commission and the Clayton Act. In 1914, they were one month of park. And as you remember, the the Federal Trade Commission was created to try to do something about practices that lead towards monopoly, Right, you say incipient.

00:08:01.570 - 00:08:20.150

See, it was the basic legislation set unfair methods of competition are unlawful. And then to that has been added the words unfair or deceptive practices. Right now, let me ask you this question. I know from time to time reading the papers that you all issue injunctions and cease and desist orders with respect.

00:08:20.160 - 00:08:44.690

To say that to cement companies that are trying to get together because they think they can operate more economically and you stop shoe company mergers and candy mergers, et cetera. Now what I'm concerned about is, have you ever or do you ever take into consideration? Or do you have the authority to think about the merger of the ownership of newspapers or radio and television stations?

00:08:44.690 - 00:09:09.850

Because it seems to me when you put that under one specific head in one direction, which actually influences people's thinking that it's highly important, certainly, and could be, under some circumstances, highly dangerous. Do you have any authority in that field? We'll have authority in the newspaper field, in the in the communications field, as sorts.

00:09:09.850 - 00:09:42.760

This is exclusively assigned to the Federal Communications Commission, because in that area there is the license, the grant of monopoly and regulations. But in the newspaper field. There is no regulation now. We have investigated many of these mergers in most of them, Senator. Actually, we have found that if there are two newspapers say there's a morning and an afternoon newspaper in a time, our city, both of them have a printing plant.

00:09:43.840 - 00:10:03.150

One or the other probably is losing money. Or maybe both. So the usual thing has been that they would set up a third venture over here and have a 50 50 ownership in the printing plant. They utilize the same printing plant, having separate editorial and but a common commercial department.

00:10:03.540 - 00:10:20.450

But you people do watch that, and you are concerned about it. All right, Well, thank you very much. Our time is up. I do so much. Ladies and gentlemen appreciate these expressions from the Chairman. The Federal Trade Commission. I thank you for listening in. I hope you're listening again at the same time next week.

00:13:00.940 - 00:13:31.960

15 14. Slider. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to have as my interviewer today a very highly respected member of the press. Mr Lee Winfrey, who represents the night newspapers here in Washington D. C. So, Lee, you shoot at me with your first question, Senator, you recently changed one of your committee assignments.

00:13:32.440 - 00:13:49.860

Move from the Foreign Relations Committee over to the Judiciary Committee. Why did you do this? Well, I must say that everybody's asked me that question. Actually, it seems a little silly, the minds of a lot of people, because the Foreign Relations Committee is probably the most prestigious committee in the Senate.

00:13:50.440 - 00:14:12.860

However, they don't really have much legislation out of that committee. We discuss foreign affairs all the time. It's a good debating committee, but a matter of fact, I by virtue of getting to go to the White House once a week and being briefed on the latest events in South Vietnam and international relation matters, I get all this information anyway.

00:14:13.340 - 00:14:41.550

On the other hand, the Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over many important matters that I'm interested in, such as the reform of the Electoral College, the qualifications of Supreme Court judges, the whole reform of the judiciary, immigration and naturalization problems and things of that character. So I felt I could be more useful to the state and the nation and even to myself, and learn more by being on the Judiciary Committee so I moved for that reason.

00:14:42.920 - 00:15:04.060

This year, you and Senator Holland carried on a fairly long campaign to win extensions for several 1000 offshore farm workers in Florida. What are the prospects for getting some more offshore workers from the Bahamas and the British West Indies this coming season? Lee. I think we can get that which we really need.

00:15:04.440 - 00:15:27.900

We must remember that Secretary work, who is the secretary of labor, has a very difficult task of trying to reduce the number of unemployed in the United States. And so if it's at all possible to get these domestics from Tennessee and Arkansas and North Carolina and other people who in Georgia or anywhere, for that matter who might be able to do this work, then it's his duty to do that.

00:15:27.900 - 00:15:53.460

He's the secretary of labor, and he's supposed to get him off the unemployed rolls and put him to work. So our problem has been that bringing these people down, we've discovered that in many instances they don't work and that the Bahamian labor works better. As you know, he finally gave us a sizable number of the ham in labour's, which I think are sufficiently adequate to meet our needs next year, we'll probably have to go through the same long ordeal again.

00:15:53.840 - 00:16:14.310

I hope it won't be quite as tough as it was this past year. Senator, you were in the Mayo Clinic earlier this year, and since then you missed speech you to What is the status of your health? Well, Lee, of course, your health. It's I just really say that has not been good.

00:16:14.440 - 00:16:30.450

And I hope it gets a lot better. And it's a kind of a situation where I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best. Well, I'll believe that between you and your doctor, um, you were a good friend of John Kennedy and you're very close to Lyndon Johnson.

00:16:31.140 - 00:16:56.470

Could you explain a little bit? Quiet. Johnson is more successful with the Congress. Li Yes, actually, of course, there were two different types of men. Uh huh. First Lyndon Johnson knows as much about Congress is anybody who ever lived. He was over here for some 30 years and he was in the house and the Senate majority leader first to whip and so on.

00:16:57.040 - 00:17:13.790

He likes this sort of thing. It appeals to him and he knows that every man has sort of interest in a weakness. We might state it, although it's not that exactly. But he has some interest, and Johnson knows how to get a consensus how to appeal or how to tell the man.

00:17:13.800 - 00:17:29.640

If you help me with this particular piece of legislation is possible that we might be able to help you with something that you're interested in. And Johnson is a past master that he's a past master of timing. He, as you know, was not particularly interested in foreign affairs.

00:17:29.650 - 00:17:54.960

On the other hand, Jack Kennedy was. Most of his thought was given to foreign affairs. He was not what you'd call a real effective senator, although he was a very outstanding Senate. So therefore, his preoccupation was with foreign affairs, where Johnson's with primarily wants to be with domestic effect, with the result that Johnson gets through most everything that he wants.

00:17:56.140 - 00:18:18.720

Lee, I see that our time is up. Thank you very much for being on the program. Thank you very much, Ladies and gentlemen, for looking in. I hope you'll look in and listening again at the same time next week. Senator, you said earlier this year that you plan to support voting legislation.

00:18:18.810 - 00:18:50.610

You seem to be a little cooler lately towards the bell. Do you still plan to support it? Lee. What I said earlier was that I expected you're right. I expected to support a voting rights bill. I had hoped that the bill, which finally came out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, would be a much better bill than it is in other words, a bill that is calculated to eliminate discrimination in voting wherever it occurs and certainly if it occurs on the basis of race color creed.

00:18:51.340 - 00:19:16.460

Now, the bill that had that actually came out of the Senate Finance Committee, I think I had a lot of, I mean, the Senate Judiciary Committee. Yes, I think, has a lot of bad features in it. I think on the face of it, it's unconstitutional because it lets the Congress, by statute, eliminate, for example, the poll tax in states and set up voter qualifications.

00:19:17.140 - 00:19:38.960

We do that here in the Congress for the States. Now the Constitution very specifically emphasize that each state has the right to set its own qualifications and whether or not the state does have a qualification has nothing to do with the question of discrimination. Question discrimination results.

00:19:38.970 - 00:20:04.290

When you have qualifications, do you make those qualifications different from one group of citizens and you do another? Or do you discriminate on the basis of those qualifications? So the way the bill is now, I think it's unconstitutional, and as a lawyer or a man who I haven't practiced law but legally trained, it's very difficult for me to knowingly vote for a bill that on the face of it, is unconstitutional.

00:20:04.360 - 00:20:28.160

I'm hoping it'll be improved before we have to vote on it. What do you think the chances are for getting out these provisions that you think are unconstitutional? Li I 50? Yeah, I think they're pretty good. I believe that there's going to be a greater realization that it's important not just to pass a bill that's going to have to be declared unconstitutional, where we come back in and do the same thing.

00:20:28.740 - 00:20:41.700

Try to do the same thing in two or three years from now. I think that we order Senator Dirksen particularly is trying to get these provisions clean up, even though at one time he was the author of him, but he's now been convinced that they are unconstitutional.

00:20:41.700 - 00:21:02.460

Matter of fact, the attorney general of the United States and the program will meet the press. He stated categorically. That's for the Congress to try to set state qualifications was unconstitutional, and that's what this present voting rights bill seeks to do. I think the chances are pretty good for getting them out to get into foreign policy a little bit.

00:21:03.040 - 00:21:34.160

Are you entirely satisfied with the administration strategy in Vietnam? Lee. That's a hard question. In this sense, we're not satisfied. My answer is that under the conditions which exist there, I think the administration is doing the only thing it can do. I don't believe that it's realistic to believe that the Communists are going to negotiate with us on any kind of a meaningful faces as long as they think they're winning.

00:21:34.340 - 00:21:51.360

And as long as they think they can win a military victory when we have made them see clearly that first we're not going to back out, and secondly, that it is going to be very expensive for them in terms of their own manpower in terms of their own roads, and bridges, et cetera.

00:21:51.810 - 00:22:22.560

And with the threat that we might at any moment bomb even north of the 17th parallel, and when they understand our our determination to stay there and inflict this punishment, then I think they will be willing to negotiate. I frequently said that you can't for the man who lives when he's in a little wrestling match, and if you've got me down on my back on the floor and I say to you, leave now, just talk this over You're not much inclined to talk it over when you've already practically won the match.

00:22:23.140 - 00:22:55.770

So I think that the first time that you or anybody else, or I or even in this instance the China and Chinese and the North Vietnamese would be interested in talking would be when they figured that they had something to benefit from those talks. And I think that's what we're trying to do is to put them in a situation where it's expensive and painful to them, and when it is painful to them and when they realize they're not going to win an easy victory, it's probably not going to win any kind of a victory.

00:22:56.140 - 00:23:12.060

Then I think we will see some meaningful and negotiations result. I see that our time is up. Thank you very much. Lee Winfrey, The night newspapers for asking the question and thank you very much, Ladies and gentlemen, for listening. And I hope you're listening again at this same time next week.