Swift & Anderson, Inc.

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IN THE :J\fatter OF S'VIFT & ANDERSON , INC., ET AL.

CONSENT ORDER, ETC., IN HEGAHD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COl\fl\HSSION ACT Docket 6818. Complaint, June 11" 195" Decis-ion, Sept. 17, 1957 Consent order requiring a firm in Boston, Mass., importing lenses from Japan and movements for weather instruments from England and Germany which they fitted into frames and cases, respectively, for sale to the purchasing public, to cease failing to properly label such products to show the place of origin of the component parts, falsely representing them to be of domestic manufactu re, and misrepresenting all air-to-glass lens surfaces of their binoculars as "coated"

lift. Floyd O. Oollin.s for the Commission. llfr. J o8epl~ F. f(nowles of Goodwin, Procter Ii oat of Boston ~Mass., for respondents.

INITIAL DECISION BY t OHN B. POINDEXTEH, I-IEARING EXAMINER The complaint in this proceeding charges that Swift & Anderson Inc. , a corporation, Robert 'V. Swift, Jr. , I-I umphrey H. Swift Clifi' ord O'Brien, and Charles H. Kent, individually and as officers of said corporation, hereinafter c.aUed respondents, violated the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act while engaged in their business of importing, assembling, oflering for sale, selling and distributing magl1ifiers, reading glasses, binoculars and weather instruments.

After issuance and service of the complaint, counsel supporting the complaint and respondents, ,,-ith their c.ounsel, entered into an agreement for a consent order. The agreement has been approved by the Director and Assistant Director of the Bureau of Litigation. The order disposes of the matters eomplainecl about. The material provisions of said agreement are as follows: Respondents admit all jurisdictional facts; the complaint may be used in c.onstruing the terms of the order; the order shan have the same force and effect as if entered after a full hearing and the said agreement shall not become a part of the official record of the proceeding unless and until it becomes a part of the dec.ision of the Commission; respondents waive the requirement that the decision must contain a statement of findings of fact and conclusion of law; respondents waive further procedural steps before the hearing examiner and the Commission, and the order may be altered, modified, or set aside in the manner provided by statute for other orders; respondents SWIFT & ANDERSON, INC., ET AL. 343 342 Order waive any right to challenge or contest the validity of the order entered in accordance with the agreement; and the signing of said agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by respondents that they have violated the law as alleged in the complaint.

The undersigned hearing examiner having considered the agreement and proposed order and being of the opinion that the acceptance thereof will be in the public interest, hereby accepts such agreement makes the following jurisdictional findings, and issues the following order:

JURISDICTION AL FINDINGS 1. The respondent Swift & Anderson, Inc., is a corporation organized and doing business under the laws of the State of :Massachusetts with its office and principal place of business located at 952 Dorchester Avenue, Boston, j\Iassachusetts. The respondent Robert W. Swift, Jr., is president and secretary of said corporation; the respondent I-Iumphrey H. Swift is a vice president of said corporation; Clifford O'Brien is a vice president of said corporation; and the respondent Charles II. Kent is chairman of the board of directors and treasurer of said corporation. The office and principal place of business of each individual respondent is the same as that of the corporation.

2. The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction of the sllbject matter of this proceeding and of the respondents, and the proceeding is in the public interest.

ORDER It is onlered That the respondents Swift & Anderson, Inc., a corporation, and its officers and Robert "V. Swift, Jr., Humphrey 1-1. Swift, Clifford O'Brien and Charles H. Kent, individually and as oHicers of said corporation, and respondents' agents, representatives and employees, directly or through any corporate or other device, in connection with the offering for sale, sale and distribution of binoeulars, reading glasses, magnifiers and weather instruments in commerce, as "commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act, do forthwith cease and desist from: 1. Oflering for sale or selling reading glasses or magnifiers containing imported lenses without affirmatively disclosing thereon or in immediate connection therewith such foreign origin. 2. He-presenting in any manner that their reading glasses or magniiiers containing lenses imported from foreign countries are of domestic manufacture.

Decision 54 F. T. C. 3. Offering for sale or selling weather instruments containing movements imported from foreign countries without affirmatively disclosing thereon or in immediate connection therewith such foreign orlgll1.

4. Representing in any manner that their weather instruments containing movements imported from foreigl1 countries are domestic made.

5. R.representing directly or by implication that all the air-to-glass surfaces of the lenses of their binoculars are coated, unless such is a fact.

DECISION OF THE COl\Il\fISSION AND OHDEH TO FILE REPORT OF OOl\IPLIANCE Pursuant to Section 3.21 of the Commission s Rules of Practice the initial decision of the hearing examiner shall: on the 17th day of September 1957 become the decision of the Commission; and accordingly:

1 t iff orde?' That the respondents herein shall within sixty (60) days after service upon them of this order, file with the Commission a report in writing setting forth in detail the manner and form in which they have complied with the order to cease and desist.. j NEW HAVEN QUILT & PAD CO. , INC., ET AL. 345 Decision