Page 46 - Past Chair Book-Pre 2020

50 The National Supply and Machinery Dealers’ Association

M r. M a r s h a l l : Was not it your understanding in Cin­
cinnati that that was to be a twelve and a half per cent discount?

Mr. P r e n t i s s : No; twelve and a half per cent above cost.
We tried to get it, but they would not assent to it. We tried
hard for what we wanted, and worked all day on it.
M r. M a r s h a l l : 1 believe that as that Committee had
agreed in Cincinnati to twelve and a half per cent margin, or
whichever way it is, we ought to back up that Committee, and
I would like to make what Mr. Drury said an amendment to the
motion already before the house.
P r e sid e n t S trong : The motion before the house has no
second.
M r. M a r s h a l l : Mr. Drury’s suggestion was that we put
it in a diplomatic way before the Committee that they had given
us advice as to the first and second clauses, and we would like to
have advice on the third.
M r. C olco rd: That was twelve and a half per cent added
to the cost, because we could not get more. The Committee first
held out for fifteen per cent discount, and then they came down
to twelve and a half. None of them were satisfied, and when it
was shown to Mr. Marshall, or to Mr. Reed, that it was seventy-
five per cent in the net profits, they accepted it.

M r. P r e n t i s s : I saw Mr. Geier in New York last week—
many of you who have known him know that he is a level
headed fellow, and a pretty determined man, and that when he
sets out to do a thing he is very apt to do it. He said “I am not
satisfied with the way this has been handled by the National
Machine Tool Builders’ Association, and I will have it brought
up in a satisfactory way. I feel when they understand it they will
accept it, and I, for one, shall use all the effort I possess to have
it come before them in the proper way as soon as possible.”

M r. B rion : We do not seem to be making much headway
on this subject, and I would like to see this matter referred to a
Committee so we could go ahead with other business. I think
a Committee of five, including the Machinery Committee, could
do more with it than we as a body. They could have this even­