That Federal Trade Case

[Hoffman vs Milo and Atlas]

The Federal Trade Commission Case about which previous mention was made in this magazine is over. The articles, Federal Trade versus Bar Bells, The Man Behind the Federal Trade Commission Case, and the World's Greatest Fakir, which appeared in past issues carried considerable information about this now famous litigation. There was much in the newspapers about it, considerable over the the radio. The Associated Press carried regular reports about proceedings in the case. As it turned out no one really won, nobody lost entirely. We gained considerably, for a great deal of advertising was put back of the York Bar Bell Company, which while semi humorous at times, with the talk about muscles as big as watermelons, muscle control like Fatima the Muscle Dancer, etc., still made many persons learn of Strength and Health and bar bells who had never heard of them before.

During the progress of this investigation, the newspapers reported the many hearings in Washington, Philadelphia, New York, and York, Pa Our business here continued to grow rapidly and Bob Hoffman became by a wide margin the world's leading Physical Director from the standpoint of student enrollments and number of men following his physical training courses.

The Federal Trade Commission was created by an act of Congress on September 26th, 1914. Its purpose is the protect one competitor against another. We incurred their attention through the complaint of two of our competitors. Our business was growing rapidly, our system of telling the truth about exercise and physical training, of offering the best training system the world had ever seen, one that we follow ourselves exactly as offered to every pupil, was causing our business to grow and our competitors to suffer. They wanted to do something about it, so the complaints were made.

Of necessity they were of a trivial nature for this business is fairly and carefully conducted. This is the fifty-seventh issue of Strength and Health, we are liable for every statement made in the magazine. If the Liquor Interests, the Tobacco Trust, or any competitor felt that we had done something which gave them basis for legal action, they could bring suit against us for damages. There have been no suits, for everything which appears in our magazine is true and we can prove it.

The complaining competitors were Milo Bar Bell Co., Inc., operated at that time by D. G. Redmond and Charles Atlas, doing business as Chas. Atlas Limited, a corporation whose place of business is in New York City. In one of our articles a reference was mad to Dynamic Hooey, and Atlas felt that the "shoe fitted."

Federal Trade started their investigation August 31st, 1935, and it continued until recently. The Milo Bar Bell Company sought to prove that men such as Roger Eells had received benefit from reading their magazine and books published by them. But Roger himself testified that all his benefit was received through York Bar Bell methods and exercises which he added to the York courses. Milo tried to prove that Joe Miller was their pupil, but Joe testified that he had purchased and followed the Breitbart, Titus, Liederman, Strongfort, and Mcfadden courses before he came to York and was a York bar bell man. We proved easily that he advanced under our instruction from a two hands snatch in his first contest of 159 to 231 in later competition. That he won the junior national championship as a member of our team. That he made unusual physical gains as a member of our team.

The complaints were unjust in most cases and without a word of truth to back them up. For instance, the complaint which appeared in newspapers throughout the country several times started off as follows: That "Bob Hoffman caused two portraits of himself to appear in advertisements, one of which was taken just after a serious illness which had reduced his weight by about forty pounds, and the other a photograph taken some twenty weeks later, together with a statement that he had increased his weight from 210 to 250 pounds by the use of York Bar Bell exercises."

If you gentlemen who have the back issues of S & H will examine the advertisement on the back of the April 1934 issue , you will see the advertisement in question. You will see a picture of Bob Hoffman taken in December, 1932, at 34 years of age, and beside it a much improved photograph taken just a year later at the completion of his twenty weeks special training. In this advertisement or any other advertisement, nothing is said of his weight at the start of this special training period. Attention is called to the fact that he had some surplus flesh at the waist, knees and ankles which was trained off. The starting weight was actually about 230, he trained down to 220 and then built himself to 243 1/2 pounds.

Bob proved at great length through friends, his family and team members, that he had never been sick to their knowledge, in fact he hasn't been sick since he had typhoid fever at three years of age and hasn't even had a headache for about thirty years. He was in fine shape in the first picture, as the night before it was taken, he had played nine games of handball against the Harrisburg Y. M. C. A., then went out to his gym with a lot of the fellows and cleaned and jerked 250 for the first time in training, clean and jerked the bit 217 1/2 pound stage bell for the first time. But twenty weeks of very intensive York Bar bell training brought him sensational gains, gains that were hard to believe by people who knew nothing of physical training such as the Federal Trade lawyers and judges.

Bob proved that he lifted in the contest against German American of New York two months after his auto accident. In this contest York beat the then national team champions for the first time and since that occasion in March, 1932, have been undefeated. He lifted in the national championships staged that year in York, lifted at the Olympic tryouts and made the highest total among the heavyweights in this district. His side and shoulder were hurt but he could still lift.

But the Federal Trade Commission, in their ostrich like manner, ignore the tremendous amount of testimony Bob brought, although they didn't produce one word to prove that any reference was ever made to 210 or 250. Still publishing the original and erroneous statement, Bob weighs 250 and more now, but he never claimed to weight 210 in recent years. Did you fellows who read this ever see such a reference ?

The Federal Trade Commission try to make a case out of everything brought to their attention. Once started they'll spend a million dollars if necessary to save their face. This decision is a disgrace to that organization and to the United States Government which they represent. Such a false statement is only a sample of their method of handling the case throughout.

After all their hearings, the case finally simmered down to five points. Five unimportant, ambiguous points, which have little or no bearing on the case. But they wouldn't admit they were wrong and dismiss the case. Their points follow and the explanation of each one.

(a) "that the physical improvement of any person or pupil was due to the respondent's course of training, when such improvement is due partly to other causes."

In our barbell catalogue we showed a photograph of Joe Miller. The first picture shows him a boy of fourteen and the next a very powerful, virile man of 22. Under the photographs appears this caption: "The story of this pupil is an every day occurrence among York Bar Bell Students." Federal Trade's contention was that natural growth was responsible for the difference between the two pictures. We tried to bring out the point that non one in the hearing room, none of their attorneys or judges or any other man ever grew that way. It takes the hardest kind of properly directed training. When we write a story about a man of today who has made sensational gains, we always tell just what he has done in the line of training, what gains he made before following York methods and what gains he made afterwards. Certainly there is no just cause for complaint about this sort of caption.

(b) "that the individuals whose pictures are reproduced are the individuals described or referred to in the accompanying text when such is not a fact."

This is in reference to an advertisement which appeared in Physical Culture magazine. It shows a picture of Bob Hoffman, with a small super imposed picture of Wally Zagurski, Tony Terlazzo and Bob Mitchell training on the lawn. In the haste of making up the advertisement, Bob Hoffman's name was not placed under his photograph. But certainly he should be well enough known that no one had just reason to think that he was Rog Eells or Denzel Muggy who were referred to in this ad. It as a stock cut used many times. It was an ad asking readers to write for our bar bell catalogue and it told the results that three York bar bell men had obtained. Eells or Muggy has a physique as good or better than any of the fellows who were shown, Bob Hoffman, Bob Mitchell, Wally, or Tony. Certainly, this point is trivial and unimportant.

(c) "that respondent's athletic enterprises occupy an entire building when in fact such building is partly occupied by an enterprise other than the athletic business."

In an early issue of our catalogue we showed a picture of this building at 51 N. Broad St. with the York Bar Bell sign across the top of the building and the caption under the photographs, "The Home of The York Bar Bell Company." We own the building, but originally it was the factory and office of the York Oil Burner Company. When we started manufacturing and selling bar bells and publishing this magazine, it was the intention to move the offices of the York Oil Burner Co. to the newer and much larger factory as has been done. But there was a depression on. Perhaps these Federal Trade Commission men, with their generous salaries from the government, their tax exempt salaries, may not have been aware of that fact. But there was a depression just the same. We lost ten thousand dollars publishing this magazine the first year, the oil burner business was not profitable and it took two years longer than we expected to build the beautiful new office building occupied by the York Oil Burner Co. We now use nearly seven-eights of this building. One of our subsidiaries in the oil burner business occupies a part of half of the downstairs. The Federal Trade Commission can not stop us from having the name York Bar Bell on our building nor can they stop us from showing a picture of it. Yet it is one of the five points they found against us.

(d) "that respondent has been awarded military decorations unless such decorations have actually been awarded to him."

This was the real sore spot as far as Bob Hoffman was concerned. The Federal Trade Commission in their earlier reports said that, in lieu of the fact that Bob Hoffman had such an outstanding war record, having received a number of decorations, and that whether or not he had the Distinguished Service Cross had no bearing on competition, moved that this point be dropped. But the findings of the Commission were as scarce as the proverbial frog's hair so here we find this glaring complaint, this complaint made by our brave competitors who weren't even in service, let alone at the front or awarded decorations for being there.

Bob Hoffman Served as a member of Co. A, 111th Infantry, 28th Division. Being in the infantry his principal work at the front was observation, sniping, scouting and patrolling. This took in leading patrols on many dangerous missions, leading the advance guard day after day in the Argonne Forest, wiping out machine gun nests, capturing prisoners for information and about every dangerous job that could be found. Bob advanced from private to lieutenant. Couldn't advance faster of farther because he was only nineteen in 1918 and there is a rule that a man must be twenty-one to hold a commission in the U.S. Army. But an exception was made and he received his commission at the age of twenty.

Bob was wounded and gassed. He was awarded a number of decorations. On his honorable discharge appears the record that he was awarded the Belgian Order of Leopold, the highest Belgian decoration, making him a Chevalier of the Order of Leoold, Croix De Guerre with two palms, and the American Distinguished Service Cross. In addition there is a silver star citation, the silver star to be worn on the ribbon of the Distinguished Service Cross. This citation is signed by General Pershing and the Secretary of War. It was awarded for "Extreme gallantry in action and for brilliant leadership." The records of the 28th division carry an account of the awarding of the D. S. C. to Hoffman, but the records at Washington divulged the fact that he was recommended for the medal but it was never awarded. Bob Hoffman's war record at Washington indicates that in addition he was awarded the Italian War Cross, which he never heard of. The Orde of the Purple Heart which he never heard of. A service medal which he never heard of or received and the Victory medal.

Bob was in the American Army. Not the Italian, French, or Belgian Army. If his deeds brought him the highest foreign decorations he should feel that the United States government isn't very grateful for work well done to be persecuting him through a mix up in their records. His commander during the war was Col. Joseph Shannon, who resides in Columbia, twelve miles from York. He was Lieutenant Governor the last administration and is Major General in command of all the National Guard of Pennsylvania now. If Bob can ever find time to see him, this mix up will be straightened out. In the meantime shouldn't the members of the Federal Trade Commission, who overstep the functions of their bureau, which is designed only to protect one competitor against another, (and certainly no competitor is affected whether Hoffman has seven decorations for heroism in action or only six), feel proud of this decision ? And shouldn't the brave competitors who made the complaint feel pretty small when they think of how they stayed at home during the war, to be complaining about a man's war record who performed as outstanding deeds as did Bob Hoffman.

(e) "unfairly disparaging competitors by telling facts of their personal achivements and that their training system is ineffectual." is the last complaint.

Federal Trade admits that it is the privilege of a magazine editor to write of another's training system, to make comparisons, to tell any true facts about him. And anything we wrote about Chas. Atlas was true and was proved at great length. Atlas admitted that his measurements at present could not match those he advertised. When asked about the carrying of a half a ton on his back he replied that this was only newspaper talk and you couldn't control what was in the newspapers. We told him that he didn't need to advertise such a mistake for ten years and make people think he could do it. He admitted that he could not do the other feats without special training, that he wouldn't lift weights because he was against them but would lift a man, as a weight. Dr. Tilney who was his associate in business for the first few years and wrote the course, testified that Atlas and he trained with weights three times a week for three years. It was shown that Atlas won a contest, The World's Most Handsome Man, which was decided by photographs. It was shown too that he had a nice enough physique to pose for exercises in Physical Culture magazine in 1916, that he won the contest in 1922, that he didn't advertise Dynamic Tension until 1929. Thirteen years after he had a really outstanding physique which his own story of his life told was built with weight lifting, wrestling, cables. He was one of the star Liederman cable pupils and his picture appeared in early Liederman catalogues. The investigation went on and on. We proved every one of our points. The store, the "Old Athlete Tells a Secret," started off with the story of sailors on leave taking their friends for a row boat ride in Bronx Park, told of a meeting of strong men in Atlantic City. George Jowett, Bob Hoffman and Earle Liderman were there and Atlas was included in the conversation. No Names were mentioned, the article was really a physical training article supplying exercises for dumbbell training. Although the circumstances of the rowing in Bronx Park and the strong man convention were fictitious, every fact mentioned in that article was true and we proved it.

Members of the Federal Trade Commission didn't know what it was all about. I am sure that none of the men on this case ever exercised in their lives. But the final report is certainly unimportant, and trivial. With all the false claims made for many paten medicines, liquor, tobacco and cigarettes, and so many other harmful products, it would seem that the Federal Trade Commission could spend their time to better advantage than they did in this case.