The Federal Trade Commission and Its Relation To the Courts

• Author: Cornelius Lynde
• Published date: 01 January 1916
• Date: 01 January 1916
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/000271621606300102
• Subject Matter: Articles

24

THE

FEDERAL

TRADE

COMMISSION

AND

ITS

RELA-

TION

TO

THE

COURTS

BY

CORNELIUS

LYNDE,

Attorney

at

Law,

Chicago,

Ill.

The

Trade

Commission

has

proceeded

very

slowly

and

cau-

tiously

in

feeling

its

way.

Its

actions

have been

in

addition

ham-

pered

by

the

failure

of

Congress

to

appropriate

much

money

for

its

needs.

It

is

probably

true,

also,

that

the

business

depression

prevailing

at

the

time

the

commission

was

organized

and

the

un-

certainty

of

business

conditions

have

had

their

influence

with

the

commission

in

inducing

it

to

proceed

slowly.

That

this

is

the

course

of

wisdom

is

apparent.

There

have

been,

however,

no

decisions

in

the

courts

construing

these

new

laws

with

perhaps

one

minor

exception.

It

must

be

remembered,

therefore,

that

this

discussion

is

necessarily

an

attempt

to

prophesy

based

upon

analysis.

It

is

hoped

that

this

discussion

may

suggest

some of

the

questions

which

the

courts

will

be

called

upon

to

determine

in

construing

the

powers

and

duties

of

the

Trade

Commission.

The

opportunity

for

the

courts

to

affect

the

functions

of

the

Trade

Commission

must

arise

in

one

of

three

ways:

by

reason

of

an

appeal

from

a

proceeding

before

the

commission

and

the

review

by

the

courts

of

the

acts

of

the

commission

in

such

proceeding;

or

secondly,

the

interpretation

by

the

courts

of

the

language

of

the

statute

creating

the

powers

and

duties

of

the

commission,

whether

.

such

question

of

interpretation

arises

on

appeals

from

the

commis-

sion

or

in

other

proceedings;

or

thirdly,

the

use

of

the

power

of

the

courts to

compel

officers

of

the

government

to

exercise

the

func-

tions,

duties

and

authority

vested

in

them

by

law.

Assuming

that

the

Trade

Commission

acts

within

the

powers

given

to

it

by

the

statute,

when

the

Trade

Commission

compels

the

filing

of

reports

or

performs

its

investigatory

functions

in

the

future,

the

courts

will

not

be

much

concerned.

Of

course

if

the

commission

seeks

to

exer-

cise

arbitrary

power,

that

is,

power

not

granted

to

it

by

the

law

or

an

unwarranted

or

excessive

extension

of

powers

granted,

the

courts

will

always

be

open

to

prevent

such

abuse.

But

with

the