Friday. Feb. 17. 1961
University Daily Kansan
Page 7
GE Punishes Execs, Slams Ganey Charge
By Jack V. Fox United Press International
In his chambers at the federal courthouse, six blocks from Independence Hall in Philadelphia, U. S. District Judge James Cullen Ganey shook his head and said:
GANEY HAS received between 600 and 700 letters since last week when he sent executives of the nation's electrical industry to jail, gave suspended prison sentences to others and levied fines of $1,924,500 in the government's anti-trust prosecution of the top manufacturers of heavy electrical equipment.
"I'll bet I got more mail today than Zsa Zsa Gabor."
The individuals pleaded guilty or no defense to charges of fixing prices, rigging bids and slicing up the $2-billion annual business.
Ganey, 21 years on the federal bench, emphasized in private his concern at the implications of ethics and morality in American industry. In a pre-sentence statement, he
"This is a shocking indictment of a vast section of our economy, for what is really at stake here is the survival of the kind of economy under which America has grown to greatness, the free enterprise system."
Ganey says the mail has run 100-1
aplauding his severe punishment.
GANEY REMARKED that the defendants had mocked the image of the system offered as an alternative to state control and dictatorship.
Debates Fatal Says GOP
WASHINGTON — (UPI)— Republican convention delegates believe one big "mistake" the Kennedy-Nixon debates—and dozens of small errors cost the GOP the close presidential election, a newspaper poll said today.
The poll was taken by Lou Hiner Jr., Washington correspondent of the Indianapolis News. Replies were received from 780, or 58.6 per cent, of the 1,331 convention delegates.
Other results, published yesterday, showed 436 delegates favored Nixon for the 1964 nomination, 218 backed Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, 85 favored New York Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller and 41 wanted other candidates or had no opinion.
They said the broadcasts gave Kennedy a nationwide audience ne might not have reached otherwise. Some of the delegates said Nixon should have been more hard-hitting and aggressive in the debates.
MOST OF THE DELEGATES who responded said Nixon should have avoided the four radio-TV "great debates."
Among the other GOP campaign mistakes cited by delegates were poor planning of Nixon's tours; failure to get out the Republican vote; party feuds; lack of a strong organization, especially in big cities, and failure to watch for alleged vote frauds.
Several delegates complained that Nixon got only "feeble" support from then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower, vice president candidate Henry Cabot Lodge and Rockefeller.
World Day of Prayer Service to Be Held
The traditional "World Day of Prayer" service will be held at 4:00 p.m. this Sunday at the Westminster Foundation for all Protestant students at KU.
Nobu Nakama, Tokyo, Japan graduate student will be the speaker for the service. The meeting is open to all KU students.
Dolly Madison was the belle of the first inaugural ball held in Washington. So many people attended the brilliant affair in Long's Hotel on March 4, 1809, that windows were smashed to give ventilation.
"... One would be most naive indeed to believe that these violations of the law, so long persisted in, affecting so large a segment of the industry and, finally, involving so many millions upon millions of dollars, were facts unknown to those responsible for the conduct of the corporation."
General Electric, which received the heaviest fines, has taken sharp and complete exception to Ganey's statement.
Its position is that not only did its top officers and board of directors have no knowledge of the antitrust practices, but that they were in specific violation of a company directive going back to 1946 ordering compliance with such laws.
GE HAS DEMOTED, cut salaries and transferred the men involved as having violated a trust kept by its other 275,000 employees.
Another defendant, Westinghouse, while it has so far punished none of its employees involved, has taken action to insure there will be no
President Mark W. Cresap, Jr. announced establishment of a new ant-trust division.
repetition of price-fixing or antitrust actions.
"Under no circumstances should any Westinghouse man engage in any act that deviates from our policy—even though he may think that by doing so he is assisting the company in one way or another." Cresap said.
"Such a thought is nothing but a delusion . . . any such action is—and will be considered to be—a deliberate act of disloyalty to Westinghouse, and it will be dealt with in the future by appropriate disciplinary action."
Judge Ganey says he hopes the case will be a lesson and deterrent in all American industry.
He sticks to his opinion that the individuals were "organization men" who thought they could advance their careers and insure security in the corporation by illicit practices that brought their companies undue profits if not directly to themselves.
of the anti-trust suits is whether the individuals punished took the brunt for their companies.
Edwin Rome, attorney for several of the GE defendants, said his clients were "bitter" about being castigated by their bosses.
THE QUESTION left in the wake
But GE has taken an unbending stand on the subject. It denies its guilty employees were "conformists," as Ganey labelled them.
"Although we accept in a constructive spirit justifiable criticism in this anti-trust situation," GE said, "the assertions that it has been either business policy or alleged conformity to a supposed corporate way of life . . . is not based on fact.
"To draw inaccurate generalizations based on understandable sympathy for the mistakes of a few is unfair and insupportable, as it reflects on the thousands of responsible, conscientious employees of the company."
General Electric and Westinghouse were the most active stocks traded on the New York exchange last week.
Business School Sets Trade Talks
The School of Business will sponsor a conference on "Opportunities in World Trade" Feb. 25 at the Kansas Union. The session is set up for firms now engaged in world trade and those interested in it.
Registration for the program begins at 9 a.m.
Featured in the program will be discussions by leading businessmen of the country and panel discussions on such topics as "Opportunities in International Trade." "Exportunities for New World Traders," and "Current Developments in World Trade."
Dean James R. Surface of the School of Business will preside at the general session. Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe will welcome the group.
Cooperating with the School of Business in sponsoring the conference are the Kansas Industrial Development Commission, the Kansas City Regional Export Expansion Committee, the Kansas State Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Bureau of Foreign Commerce.
"I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY END TO THE OPPORTUNITY IN THIS BUSINESS"
When Gene Segin got his B.S. in Business Administration at the University of Illinois, he was in touch with 8 prospective employers.
Gene joined Illinois Bell Telephone Company because: "The people I talked to here made it very clear that I would not be shuffled into some narrow specialized job. I thought this job offered the greatest opportunity for broad experience."
On his first assignment Gene was sent to Springfield where he conducted courses in human relations for management people.
His next move was to a traffic operations job in Rock Island. On this assignment he was in charge of all personnel who are directly responsible for handling telephone calls in this heavily populated area. Here Gene earned a reputation for sound judgment and skill in working with people. He was promoted to Traffic Supervisor.
"Our number one aim is to have in all management jobs the most vital, intelligent, positive and imaginative men we can possibly find."
How does Gene feel about his job? "It's a real challenge. I'm in some of the most vital and interesting work in the country." And about the future—"Well there aren't any pushover jobs around here. It's tough. But if a man has what it takes, I don't think there's any end to the opportunity in this business."
If you're looking for a job with no ceiling on it—a job where you're limited only by how much responsibility you can take and how well you can handle it—then you'll want to visit your Placement Office for literature and additional information on the Bell Companies.
Today, Gene's chief responsibilities are in management training and development, and companyunion relations. The latter includes contract bargaining and helping settle labor disputes.
Frederick R. Kappel, President American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
BELL TELEPHONE COMPANIES