Geneva Cross, as well as the prohibition mentioned in subparagraph (b) of the use of the arms of the Swiss Confederation or signs constituting an imitation thereof, shall take effect from the time set in each act of legislation and at the latest 5 years after this convention goes into effect. After such going into effect it shall be unlawful to take out a trade-mark or commercial label contrary to such prohibitions." Other nations recognizing their treaty commitments have enacted laws to prevent the use of the name and emblem for commercial purposes. I am told that the extent to which the name and emblem is presently being used in the sale of varied products has grown out of all proportion to its commercial use in the period prior to the passage of the original act. The resulting confusion is today a source of increasing embarrassment and danger to the Medical Corps of our armed forces, in our relations with foreign countries, and to the far-flung activities of the American Red Cross. I attach for your consideration a draft bill designed to amend the existing law in a manner which would enable us to discharge our conventional obligations and at the same time protect our medical and sanitary services and the American Red Cross. The bill was prepared in the Department of Justice and has the approval of the Attorney General and the chairman of the American National Red Cross. I also understand that it has the approval of the Surgeons General of the Army and the Navy. Respectfully submitted. (Enclosure Draft bill.) SUMNER WELLES, Acting Secretary of State. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, April 1, 1942. A BILL To implement article 28 of the Convention signed at Geneva on July 27, 1929, and proclaimed by the President on August 4, 1932 (47 Stat. 2074, 2092), by making it a criminal offense for any person to use the emblem and name of the Red Cross for commercial or other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 4 of the Act entitled "An Act to incorporate the American National Red Cross," approved January 5, 1905 (33 Stat. 600), as amended (Act of June 23, 1910, 36 Stat. 604, U. S. Code, title 36, sec. 4), be, and it hereby is, further amended to read as follows: "SEC. 4. That from and after the passage of this Act it shall be unlawful for any person within the jurisdiction of the United States to falsely or fraudulently hold himself out as, or represent or pretend himself to be, a member of or an agent for the American National Red Cross for the purpose of soliciting, collecting, or receiving money or material; or for any person to wear or display the sign of the Red Cross or any insignia colored, in imitation thereof for the fraudulent purpose of inducing the belief that he is a member of or an agent for the American National Red Cross. It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, or association other than the American National Red Cross and its duly authorized employees and agents and the army and navy sanitary and hospital authorities of the United States for the purpose of trade or as an advertisement to induce the sale of any article whatsoever or for any business or charitable purpose to use within the territory of the United States of America and its exterior possessions the emblem of the Greek Red Cross on a white ground, or any sign or insignia made or colored in imitation thereof, or of the words 'Red Cross' or 'Geneva Cross' or any combination of these words: Provided, however, That any person, corporation, or association that actually used or whose assignor actually used the said emblem, sign, insignia, or words for any lawful purpose prior to January fifth, nineteen hundred and five, may continue the use thereof for the same purpose and for the same class of goods for a period not exceeding one year after the date of the enactment of this Act. If any person, corporation, or association, or any member, director, officer, agent, representative, or employee thereof violates the provision of this section he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction in any federal court shall be liable to a fine of not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both, for each and every offense." The CHAIRMAN. The first witness this morning that wishes to appear before the committee is Senator Smathers, of New Jersey, who has a statement he wishes to make. Senator, the committee would be very glad to hear you now. STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM H. SMATHERS, A UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY Senator SMATHERS. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, my name is William H. Smathers. I am the senior Senator from the State of New Jersey. I am very much opposed to the passage of this bill. I am authorized by the senior Senator from Georgia, Senator George, to state that he is also opposed to the passage of this bill. I understand that the bill has for its purpose the taking away from industry of the right to use the Red Cross emblem as a trademark. In my State of New Jersey one of the outstanding industries of the State, one of the most patriotic industries of the State, uses the Red Cross symbol as a trade-mark. They copyrighted this symbol more than 60 years ago and for the past 60 years they have put into this trade-mark symbol their integrity and their ingenuity, and to me to pass this law to take away from them the right to use this trade-mark symbol would be a great injustice and outrage. The CHAIRMAN. Senator, would you mind mentioning the name for the record? Senator SMATHERS. The industry in New Jersey that uses the Red Cross symbol as a trade-mark is Johnson & Johnson, an industry at New Brunswick, probably the largest pharmaceutical makers in America today. The CHAIRMAN. Any questions, gentlemen? (No response.) We all thank very much, Senator, for appearing before the committee. Senator SMATHERS. Thank you, sir. The CHAIRMAN. The committee appreciates it very much. STATEMENT OF H. J. HUGHES, REPRESENTING THE AMERICAN RED Mr. HUGHES. My name is H. J. Hughes. Mr. Chairman, I have a letter. Mr. Norman Davis, our chairman, planned to be present this morning to state the position of the Red Cross, but at the last moment was called to the State Department, and, unfortunately, has not been able to attend. I have a letter which he prepared and asked me to present to you. The CHAIRMAN. Do you wish to read it? Mr. HUGHES. It is at some length. Perhaps it will give The CHAIRMAN (interposing). Do you wish to make a statement and then put the letter in the record? Mr. HUGHES. I would rather read the letter as it gives in a great deal more detail and concrete form-I will make it as rapid as I possibly can. The CHAIRMAN. I would not make it rapid, Mr. Hughes. This is very important legislation and I think the committee would like to hear it in detail in view of the fact that the Red Cross is more interested in this than anyone else. We want to get all of the testimony that we possibly can. Just take your time. Mr. HUGHES. I will read the letter as a statement from the Red Cross. Mr. JOHNSON. The letter is from Mr. Davis? Mr. HUGHES. Yes; it is from Mr. Davis and I will read it with the permission of the chairman [reading]: Bill H. R. 6911, introduced by you to implement article 28 of the convention signed at Geneva on July 27, 1929, was introduced upon the recommendation of the President based upon a letter from the Acting Secretary of State dated April 1, 1942. The purpose of the bill is to protect the name and emblem of the Red Cross against commercial abuse and to carry out the specific provisions of the Treaty of Geneva to which the United States is a party, and which is quoted at length in the Acting Secretary of State's communication. The Red Cross name and emblem, under the provisions of the treaty, are to be used exclusively by the medical, nursing, and sanitary corps of the Government, and by societies formed by the Government, such as the American National Red Cross. For the reasons stated in the letter of the Acting Secretary of State the bill, of tremendous importance to the medical, nursing, and sanitary corps of the Government in peacetime, is of much greater importance in time of war. While the enactment of the proposed legislation is of importance, as stated, to the Army and Navy, the desired protection is presented as an amendment to the congressional charter creating the American National Red Cross because that charter is the only statute now in effect which restricts or imposes any penalty for the commercial use of the name and emblem of the Red Cross. 1. The American National Red Cross is one of 63 national societies organized in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Geneva Treaty. In a great majority of these countries, including Australia, Great Britain, France, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Canada, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Argentine, Brazil, and Chile, there are provisions against the commercial use of the emblem, with penalties for the violation of the laws. It is difficult for these countries in peacetime to understand how the United States, with the largest Red Cross society, should permit the exploitation of the Red Cross name and emblem for advertising and commercial purposes, and this amazement is, of course, increased when the United States through its medical and sanitary corps and the Red Cross in time of war seeks, under the provisions of the treaty, immunity and special protection for those entitled under the treaty to display the emblem. 2. A possible explanation of the absence of necessary measures implementing the provisions of the treaty against commercial use of the name and emblem may be found in the following: At the date of incorporation in 1881 of the predecessor organization of the present American Red Cross there were, as far as the records of the United States Patent Office disclose, but seven concerns who claimed the right to use either the words "Red Cross" or the Greek or Maltese cross in red as a trade-mark. Between 1881 and 1905 the date of the incorporation of the present American Red Cross by the Congress of the United States, the records of the United States Patent Office disclose the registration of either the Red Cross or Maltese cross as trade-marks in some 61 cases The CHAIRMAN (interposing). Pardon an interruption there. The CHAIRMAN. Did you say you were incorporated in 1905? Mr. HUGHES. There have been three incorporations of the American Red Cross. The first was in 1881, the second was 1900 and the present congressional charter of the organization was given to us in 1905, which latter corporation was given the right to inherit, you might call it, all the rights and privileges of its predecessor corporation. The CHAIRMAN. And that was the last one? Mr. HUGHES. 1905. Mr. JOHNSON. The name has always been the Red Cross. Mr. HUGHES. Yes; the American Red Cross. Mr. ARNOLD. I wonder, Mr. Chairman, if we could have the names of those firms, the seven in 1881. Mr. HUGHES. We would have to get a list, and, so far as I know, there is only one using it and that is a firm known as Charles B. Silvers Co., I think of Aberdeen, Md., which uses it on canned goods or canned vegetables. The CHAIRMAN. When was that? Mr. HUGHES. They incorporated or claimed in their registration in the Patent Office to have used the mark prior to 1881. So far as we know there were seven of those and of the seven, so far as I know, only one today is making use of the Red Cross name as a trade-mark. The CHAIRMAN. When was Johnson & Johnson's use authorized, in 1882? Mr. HUGHES. I don's know. Their various registrations are listed in the Patent Office. The CHAIRMAN. Will you furnish that to the committee? Mr. HUGHES. I can. We have a large tabulation of the ones. I could pick it out for you. It would take some time. The CHAIRMAN. You might continue reading your letter. Mr. HUGHES (reading): Johnson & Johnson, 1899, 1899, 1906, 1906, 1906, 1906, 1907, 1909, and 1918. That seems to be the group that appears on my list, although it may be that some of those were reregistrations of earlier registrations The CHAIRMAN. All right. Proceed, please, Mr. Hughes. Mr. HUGHES (reading): Covering a wide variety of products, including cattle medicine, stoves, cough sirups, vinegar, sausage coloring, malt liquors, rubber goods, thermometers, peanuts, pile remedies, macaroni, disinfectants, windmills, insect powder, and dynamite. Of the seven trade-marks registered prior to 1881 only one, as far as we are advised, is in current use. When the present American Red Cross was created, the act contained what was believed to be reasonably appropriate and effective prohibition against the use of the name and emblem of the red cross for commercial purposes. However, at that time it was represented to Congress that there were a few firms or individuals that had been using the red cross in connection with certain limited products, and Congress was prevailed upon to provide that no person, corporation, or association that had used the emblem for any lawful purpose prior to the incorporation of the American Red Cross should be deemed to be forbidden by the act to continue the use thereof. The Congress was careful, however, to provide that such use should be limited to the same purpose and for the same class of goods as had theretofore been used. Mr. JOHNSON. What act? Mr. HUGHES. January 5, 1905. This is the January 5, 1905 act [reading]: Instead of there being just a few firms or individuals using the emblem there are now more than 200 corporations or individuals who claim to have used the name or emblem for commercial purposes prior to 1905, for almost every kind of merchandise. It is significant, however, that this use commenced after the date of the execution of the Geneva Treaty, and in substantially all of the cases since 1882 when the United States became a formal party of the treaty. As an example of the volume of this work it should be noted that more than thirty-five hundred separate abuse-of-emblem cases are in our files. In this aggregation of cases is found a use of the name of emblem on every conceivable type of merchandise including doll hospitals, questionable medical clinics, and varied medicinals of doubtful efficacy, including pile cures and manhood tablets. The field in which an attempted extension of a claimed right to use the emblem or name is made has been, of all, the most difficult to deal with. A concern having a registration of the trade-mark on mattresses advertises "Red Cross Bedding." A concern having likewise the claimed right to the use of the name on mattresses advertises "Red Cross Studio Couches." A concern having a claimed right to use the name on liniment and liver medicine seals aspirin under the Red Cross emblem. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Hughes, is that not against the present law? The way I understand the present law, if a person has the right to use the red cross on a mattress, that is only for the mattress. Mr. HUGHES. I will be glad to explain that. There is a firm in Atlanta and counsel for that firm declined to give any written assurance that such widespread advertisement would be discontinued or ceased; the name of the firm is the Southern Bed Spring Co., of Atlanta, Ga. We tried in an amicable and friendly way to reach an agreement that such obvious violation would be discontinued. Mr. JOHNSON. Is that recently? Mr. HUGHES. No, sir; that is 5 or 6 years ago. The CHAIRMAN. You just stated it is a violation of the present law. Now, if it were a violation of the present law, have you not recourse to have them discontinue it? Mr. HUGHES. The contention has been made that the language, and I quote it, the restrictive language, "For the same class of goods and for the same purpose" authorizes such use. The CHAIRMAN. That is the language of the law Mr. HUGHES. Registration of a trade-mark in the United States. Patent Office falls into one of a number of general classifications such as "furniture" of which there are some 30 in all, broad enough to include every known article of manufacture. The contention has been made that a registrant of the Red Cross mark on mattresses included in the General Patent Office classification of "furniture" thus acquires the right to legally extend the use of the Red Cross mark to every other article included in the broad class of furniture. It is the very words of the statute "same class of goods which is relied upon to give legal sanction to serious transgressions which we believe the Congress intended to prohibit. But let me cite other cases of similar type. The CHAIRMAN. Please do. Mr. HUGHES. I mentioned the aspirin case because, as far as we are advised, the concern that made use of it also have a great many products including Red Cross manhood tablets that that concern has registered in the Patent Office, which gives it the right to use it. I would like, later on, informally, to discuss the difficulties which. we have in an attempt to control even in cases where you would think-and all of us would think we had a perfectly good legal remedy and could control it; a situation of some 3,500 different cases we have had to deal with, is an indication of the enormous misuse of the emblem that is going on, and it is one of the things against which we desire more concrete protection. |