Executive Order 3374—Confirming Powers of Federal Trade Commission Over Coal Cost Information

The White House, December 22, 1920.

By virtue of the power and authority vested in me by an Act of Congress entitled, "An Act authorizing the President to co-ordinate or consolidate executive bureaus, agencies and offices, and for other purposes, in the interest of economy and the more efficient concentration of the Government," approved May 20, 1918, there was issued on July 3, 1918, a certain executive order, paragraph 5 whereof reads as follows:

"That the said United States Fuel Administration is hereby authorized to procure information in reference to the business of coal and coke producers and distributors in the manner provided for in Sections 6 and 9 of the Act of Congress approved September 26, 1914, entitled 'An Act to create a Federal Trade Commission, to define its powers and duties, and for other purposes/ and said United States Fuel Administration, acting through the United States Fuel Administrator, or his duly authorized agents, examiners, employees, assistants and subordinates, is hereby authorized and empowered to exercise all the powers granted to the Federal Trade Commission by said Act approved September 26, 1914, for the carrying out of the purposes of this order." And pursuant to the same authority, there was subsequently issued on February 27, 1919, a further executive order amending the order of July 3» 1918, by adding at the end thereof the following clause, to-wit:

"Such records, files, reports, copies of contracts, correspondence, and proceedings transferred under this order, and such personnel detailed or assigned thereunder, as are stated in a written notice to the Secretary of the Federal Trade Commission, signed by the United States Fuel Administrator or the assistant United States Fuel Administrator to be no longer required by the United States Fuel Administration, shall be and they hereby are transferred and reassigned to said Commission as of the dates or date fixed in said written notice."

And, whereas the activities and functioning of the United States Fuel Administration, and the United States Fuel Administrator, were suspended on or before January 1st, 1920, its personnel dispersed, and its records filed with the Department of the Interior, and there has not been since the first day of January, 1920, any use by the United States Fuel Administration or the United States Fuel Administrator of the powers granted to the Federal Trade Commission, and authorized to be used by the United States Fuel Administrator under paragraph 5 of the executive order of July 3, 1918,

Now, therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Chief Executive, and by virtue of the powers conferred on me by the aforementioned Act of Congress, do declare that the authorization granted to the United States Fuel Administration and the United States Fuel Administrator by paragraph 5 of the executive order of July 3, 1918, was and is terminated as of January 1st, 1920, and the said powers were and are fully restored to the Federal Trade Commission as of January 1st, 1920, as fully and completely as though paragraph 5 of the executive order of July 3, 1918, had been rescinded on or before January 1st, 1920.

WOODROW WILSON.