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(Sen. Joseph C. O'Mahoney 1950 - back when Anti-Trust laws meant something)

I've been reading a lot lately about the recent call-for-boycott of The Whole Foods supermarket chain - how disclosures have been coming to light of predatory practices with reference to killing off small business seen as competition in the marketplace.

I came across a broadcast, part of the American Forum series from January 22, 1950, featuring a debate between Senator Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D-Wyoming) and Carl Beyer, a Public Relations Consultant for the A&P Supermarket chain over a series of court cases regarding A&P and their labor and business practices.

In 1950, A&P was probably the largest single supermarket chain in the U.S. But not only that, they were also one of the larger conglomerates in the food industry, owning several related subsidiary companies, pretty much like large corporations are now.

But in 1950 there were a series of strong Anti-Trust laws in place that prevented corporations from gaining a monopoly in the marketplace. And A&P were at the center of such a controversy, one that went all the way to the Supreme Court.

I lieu of our recent "Companies too big to fail" dilemma, one would imagine our anti-trust laws have been gutted and abandoned in recent years, tossed out in favor of predator-monopolies. The whole change in landscape of our media, our entertainment, our banking have come about as a direct result of tossing Anti-trust out the window.

This lively debate certainly nails some fundamental problems we're facing today.

Ones that need to be taken seriously (for a change) again.

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(For the Princely sum of 50k and your choice of shrinks)

In the mid-1950s a movement sprang up around the country - a mass exodus West and a mass exodus from the cities. The lure of sprawl, unobstructed views and tranquility screamed loudly everywhere. This was all part of the evolution of modern day America.

So much so, that it became the subject of books. One such book was The Exurbanites by AC Spectorsky.

The book was wildly popular in the 1950's as were its sentiments. So CBS Radio, as part of their "CBS Radio Workshop" did a quasi documentary/dramatic presentation on the book.

Narrated by Eric Sevareid and broadcast on March 30, 1956, The Exurbanites sought to answer the questions about the great trek west, the great exodus from the cities.

In retrospect, it's interesting listening - a distant point in our culture when things evolved and changed.

And one day we woke up and it was all different.