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or against has always been allowed to
speak, but I am in the unknown category
of the delegate who wishes to pass, and
wants to explain his vote.
I realize, Mr. President, that the legis-
lature is going into this field, that the legis-
lature has all inherent powers to pass such
legislation and protect the consumer, and
I am all for that. But on that basis, Mr.
President, I would be opposed to putting
this into the constitution.
On the other hand, Mr. President, in the
last few months you and I have both been
forced to consume an awful lot of natural
gas, and possibly I feel now that I should
be constitutionally protected.
I am hoping, Mr. President, that we soon
get a vote, and when I pass, the rest of the
delegates will tell me how I should have
voted.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are you ready for
the question?
Delegate Finch, do you desire to be
heard?
DELEGATE FINCH: I would like to
speak on behalf.
THE CHAIRMAN: You may proceed.
DELEGATE FINCH: This recommenda-
tion basically states that the protection
and education of the people of the State is
essential against unfair trade and financial
practices, and that these shall continue to
be the concern of the State.
In the past few decades, retail selling of
consumer goods has undergone a type of
revolution. Whereas, formerly, one would
go to the neighborhood store and buy prod-
ucts directly from the clerk; today, one
goes to the supermarket and shops alone
along double aisles crowded with, often-
times, up to 8,000 items. The knowledgeable
clerk is no longer there to explain and advo-
cate the better buys, and the shopper must
rely, more than ever before, on the label or
package of the products.
Deception in labelling and packaging
makes the task of the consumer-shopper
very arduous today. What the consumer
needs and wants is a reasonable degree of
comparability between competing goods so
that he can make informed choices between
various products.
This recommendation seeks to insure that
the legislature will provide consumers the
opportunity to fairly and reasonably com-
pare the various products, that the legisla-
ture will take concrete steps to actively im-
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plement the principle that the consumer is
entitled to a full, reasonable and clear
picture of the product he is purchasing as
such picture is presented by the label or
package of the product itself.
Now, it is becoming increasingly evident
that sharp business practices, prevalent
today in many forms, will not abate in an
atmosphere of virtually unrestrained, un-
governed package advertising. Rather, the
problem is increasingly poignant as the
practiced ingenuity of retail packagers
creates more elaborate, more catchy, more
deceptive devices to lure the public to its
product.
President Johnson, in renewing his re-
quest for legislative action in the packaging
and labelling field, remarked, in 1966, that
"It is not enough to hope that such prac-
tices will disappear by themselves. The gov-
ernment must do its share to insure the
shopper against deception, to remedy con-
fusion and to eliminate questionable prac-
tices."
A new constitution for the State of Mary-
land affords an excellent opportunity to in-
sure that the state government will act to
protect the consumer, and this very pro-
posal might well represent a much needed
"Consumers' Bill of Rights."
Just what sharp practices must be com-
bated on behalf of the consumer? Initially,
it should be observed that packages in the
more than 30,000 supermarkets throughout
the country, and, more particularly the
hundreds of supermarkets in Maryland do
not, on the whole, reflect simple, direct,
accurate and visible information as to the
nature and quantity of the package's con-
tents, including the various ingredients
therein. For instance, one finds such vital
information as weight and contents tucked
away everywhere on the package except
one agreed upon place where a person
might find it automatically. Or one finds
the use of size designations that have no
actual relation to quantity in order to gain
competitive advantage.
Thus, one manufacturer's king size is
another manufacturer's large size; a simple
quart is labeled "extra large quart"; or a
pint is labeled "giant half-quart." In tooth-
paste packages, the smallest size is often
marked "large."
Another problem which plagues the con-
sumer is the pervasive presence, on super-
market shelves, of deceptively shaped
boxes, misleading pictures, and promotional
gimmicks that promise nonexistent sav-
ings. The former part of the problem, de-
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