world's fair: see exposition.

fair-trade laws, in the United States, a former group of statutes that permitted manufacturers to specify the minimum retail price of a commodity. The first fair-trade law was adopted (1931) by California. Intended to protect independent retailers from the price-cutting competition of large chain stores, such statutes were originally nullified by the courts, which found most fair-trade rules in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. As a result, Congress passed (1937) the Miller-Tydings Act in order to exempt fair trade from antitrust legislation. In the late 1950s, however, many manufacturers began to abandon the practice of setting minimum retail prices, largely because of the difficulties involved in enforcing such agreements. With the post-World War II rise of bargain outlets for a wide range of consumer products, fair-trade laws became increasingly unpopular and were repealed in many jurisdictions. In 1975, federal legislation eliminated the remaining fair-trade laws.

fair, market exhibition at which producers, traders, and consumers meet either to barter or to buy and sell goods and services. Before the development of transportation and marketing, fairs furnished the primary opportunity for the exchange of merchandise, and served as centers of community social life. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans the days of the public market were also used to announce new public laws. In early Christian times special occasions for marketing were frequently attached to religious gatherings, notably those of pilgrims coming to a town to celebrate a special feast. In the Middle Ages fairs were the major means of exchanging commodities not produced for subsistence. Fairs were incorporated by royal charter and had their own officials, laws, and courts. Major trade routes affected the growth of individual fairs; among the most prominent were those of Geneva, Antwerp, Leipzig, Madrid, Burgundy, Lyons, Bordeaux, Novgorod, and Sturbridge and Bartholomew Fair in England. Of the variety of goods traded at such fairs, cloth was probably the most important. The volume of trade was so great that by the 15th cent. some fair towns became banking centers and were subjected to special regulations. With the breaking of the manorial system, commerce became an expanding and regular part of economic life. Trade fairs declined and to a large extent were replaced by outdoor and indoor general markets. In the 17th cent. pleasure fairs, dominated by entertainments such as plays, became popular. The exposition, combining entertainment and commerce, flourishes today. A variety of advanced industrial wares (such as computers) are exhibited, and important technological innovations are displayed. International trade fairs, devoted solely to commercial display and directed toward businessmen, have also become popular since World War II. Agricultural fairs—held to improve farming methods, stocks, and crops—have been particularly important in the history of the United States. Many states and counties still maintain annual fairs, though some have been discontinued. In recent years, specialized fairs, such as the Frankfurt Book Fair, have taken on international significance.

Philip the Fair: see Philip IV, king of France.

Frederick the Fair, c.1286-1330, German antiking (1314-26), duke of Austria, son of Albert I, German king. On the death of Henry VII, Holy Roman emperor and German king, the split between the supporters of the houses of Hapsburg and Luxemburg resulted in the dual election (1314) of Frederick and Louis of Bavaria (Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV). War ensued and Frederick and his supporters were defeated (1322) by Louis at Mühldorf. However, the pope refused to confirm Louis as Holy Roman emperor, and Frederick remained a possible rival until his death.

Fair, James Graham, 1831-94, American financier, b. near Belfast, Ireland. He emigrated to America as a child, grew up on an Illinois farm, and went west in 1851 in search of gold. In partnership with J. W. Mackay, J. C. Flood, and William S. O'Brien, he made a large fortune from the silver of the Comstock Lode. He was U.S. senator from Nevada from 1881 to 1887.

Fair Oaks, uninc. residential town (1990 pop. 26,867), Sacramento co., N central Calif., on the American River, in a growing citrus fruit and farm area.

Fair Oaks: see Peninsular campaign.

Fair Lawn, borough (1990 pop. 30,548), Bergen co., NE N.J., across the Passaic River from Paterson; inc. 1924. It is residential with light industries.

Fair Labor Standards Act or Wages and Hours Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1938 to establish minimum living standards for workers engaged directly or indirectly in interstate commerce, including those involved in production of goods bound for such commerce. A major provision of the act was establishment of a minimum wage, initially $0.25 an hour, along with a maximum workweek of 44 hours; these were to become to become $0.40 an hour and 40 hours after seven years. Other provisions set standards for overtime compensation and banned products of child labor from interstate commerce. A Wage and Hour Division was created in the Dept. of Labor, headed by an administrator empowered to accelerate the raising of standards within an industry if a committee representing the public as well as employers and labor recommended change. Classes of workers initially exempt from the act included agricultural and seasonal laborers, handlers of perishable foods, and workers in certain industries covered by collective bargaining. The Fair Labor Standards Act has been amended repeatedly in subsequent decades, with changes expanding the classes of workers covered; raising the minimum wage; redefining regular-time work and raising overtime payments so as to encourage the hiring of new workers, as opposed to the loading of extra work on the lowest-paid; and equalizing pay scales for men and women.

Fair Isle, island, c.3 sq mi (7.8 sq km), off N Scotland, southernmost of the Shetland Islands. It is known for its knitted hosiery of bright, many-colored design and for its bird sanctuary.

Fair Havens, Crete: see Lasea.

Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC), established (1941) within the Office of Production Management by executive order of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was created to promote the fullest employment of all available persons and to eliminate discriminatory employment practices. President Truman advocated a permanent peacetime FEPC, but the Senate terminated the program in 1946. In 1964 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created to fight discrimination in employment.

or trade fair

Temporary market organized to promote trade, where buyers and sellers gather to transact business. Trade fairs are organized at regular intervals, generally at the same location and time of year. They are especially common in Europe and Asia, where nearly every country has at least one major annual international exposition. They range in scope from those dealing with one industry or branch of industrial production to general exhibits of goods and merchandise. Trade shows and conventions confined to a single industry or even to a specialized segment of an industry have become increasingly common.

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In the U.S., any law allowing manufacturers of brand-name or trademarked goods to fix the actual or minimum resale prices of these goods. (Elsewhere the practice is called price maintenance.) Fair trade laws were passed by many states during the Great Depression in an effort to protect independent retailers from price-cutting by large chain stores and consequent loss of employment in distributive trades, but most were later repealed at the state level. Critics argued that such laws restricted competition; the complexity of post-World War II marketing channels also made enforcement impracticable. In 1975 the few that remained in existence were repealed by an act of Congress.

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Temporary market where buyers and sellers gather to transact business. Fairs are held at regular intervals, generally at the same location and time of year. An important form of commerce before the Industrial Revolution, fairs solved the problem of distribution and made possible the demonstration of arts and crafts and the sale and barter of goods. They were a fixture of the Roman Empire and medieval Europe, where they were held at major caravan crossroads and near religious festivals. The rules of the fairs eventually became the basis of European business law. Fairs began to die out as cities grew larger and transportation networks became more extensive, though some continued to exist as religious festivals or recreational events. County, agricultural, and livestock fairs are still held in many countries. The trade fair or trade show, often an international event in which exhibitors from one industry display their goods, gained popularity in the 20th century.

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Spanish Felipe

(born April 8, 1605, Valladolid, Spain—died Sept. 17, 1665, Madrid) King of Spain (1621–65) and of Portugal (as Philip III, 1621–40). He succeeded his father, Philip III, and left the administration of his rule to his chief ministers, the duke de Olivares (1621–43) and the duke's nephew Luis Méndez de Haro (1643–61). Spain's industry and commerce declined, and wars against Holland, France, and Germany further drained Spain's economy. Portugal regained its independence (1640), and Holland was lost by the Peace of Westphalia (1648). A poet and patron of the arts, Philip was the friend and frequent subject of Diego Velázquez.

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