Evening star., 1942-06-22
Mr.. Henderson's Problem

Federal Price Administrator if Con-
greSs insists upon such action as
condition precedent to the granting
of money for subsidies to maintain
existing price ceilings would be a
very poor solution of the problem
which confronts the Office of Price
Administration.
Aside from its purely economic
aspects, that problem is one of po-
litical and public relations. And it
is these latter phases which seem to
present the greatest threat to the
entire effort to hold down living
costs.
In this political battle with some
members of Congress it is Mr.. Hen
derson who is right and his critics
who are wrong. Certainly OPA ap-
pointmentS should not be made sub
ject to the narrow and selfish de-
mands OF patronage. And it seems
equally clear that Mr.. Henderson is
right in his insiStence that OPA
must be given funds and personnel
commensurate with the magnitude
of the job that lies before it. There
may be room for difference of opinion
as to the correctness of Mr.. Hender-
sons estimate of the size of the
appropriation and the number of
employees needed by OPA, although
it should be recognized that he is in
the best position to know the facts,
but there can be no doubt whatsoever
that the most grievouS mistake which
could be made would be to tackle the
job of price control and rationing
with inadequate tools.
Mr.. Henderson says that his Office
will need an appropriation of Sl61,-
900 900 and paid staff of $4,000 per-
sons. At first glance both figures
seem high, but it must be remem-
bered that the work of OPA extends
into every community in the United
States and affects virtually every
household. 1t should also be remem-
bered that the cost of doing the job
right, whatever the figure. will be far
less expensive than the price Of
failure.
In other aspects of the problem,
however, it is not so clear that Mr..
Henderson's position is the right one.
One of these concerns the need for
subsidies to permit the maintenance
of price ceilings which, for various
reasons. were fixed at too low level
to permit a reasonable profit. Mr..
Henderson believes it is better to hold
prices at existing levels, making up
the difference in necessary cases with
cash subsidies, than to run the risk
of breaking down the whole Struc-
ture by permitting readjustments in
specific cases. The correctness of
this view, of course, is a matter Of
opinion, but it is hardly surprising
that some members Of Congress look
askance at Mr.. Henderson'S position,
particularly in view of the fact that
in some cases-notably the women's
garment industry - readiustments
have been made, and apparently
without adverse consequences.
1t might also be mentioned that
OPA is on dangerous ground in it's
dealings with the public. There was,
for example, a recent proposal to
require all cars to exhibit stickerS
advertising the type of gasoline ra-
ton card issued to the operator.
The avowed purpose is to enable the
public to spot "cheaters." The re-
Sponsibility for detecting cheaters
rests with OPA, however, and not
with the public. If OPA attempts to
handle this responsibility by en-
couraging all motorists to watch
each other it is going to run into a
hornets nest of trouble. Another
example concerns the sugar ration
ing program. Reflners and pro-
ducers are complaining that the
surplus of sugar on hand is so great
that warehouses are jammed and
storage space cannot be provided for
this years production. Yet at the
same time housewives, especially in
the rural areas, cannot get enough
sugar for canning and preserving.
Dissatisfaction is widespread, and
the OPA will be counting serious
trouble if it permits this situation to
reach the point where public conf
dence in the soundneSs Of the sugar
program is destroyed. Instead Of
sitting tight" OPA should relax its
sugar quotas or come forward with
a convincing showing of the need
for continued drastic rationing.
All of these circumstances add up
to the conclusion that the price
control program is approaching a
critical stage. 1t is to be hoped that
Mr.. Henderson, instead of offering
to resign his post, will stand his
ground in those matters in which he
is clearly right, while manifesting
his willingness to correct mistakes