Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-12-19


ability to sell to the public the i'm
portance OF rationing and the rea-
sons for it. Public relations is per-
maps the most vital factor of all
because once the cooperation of
the public Is assured, almost any
scheme can be made to work.
In defense of Leon Henderson,s
enort to make his rationing schemes
work, 1t must be said that he never
mad the entire responsibility De-
clsions with respect to fuel oil, for
instance, were affected by what
WPB did or what the petroleum
administrator did, to say nothing of
the restrictive orders from the
Office OF Defense Transportation.
President Roosevelt, in permitting
Leon Henderson to resign, recog-
nized that a new hand might do
better with this perplexing job, but
matters will not be improved unless
authority is clear-cut and all phases
Of a given problem can be grouped
under a single administrator.
More important still is the Sc
lection Of staff officers. Business
men have had little to do with
some of these programs because of
predisposition to consider them
too much concerned with their own
Industry. AS matter of fact. this
fallacy has cost Washington and
the whole program more than any
other single mistake made.
Little Selfish Interest.
For the rare and occasional case
where a selfish interest is given
prior consideration by business
man IN government, there are thou
sands of instances in which the
interests of the Government are
given the better of the argument.
Actually, business man familiar
with the intricacies of a given in
dustry and one who is going to
spend his career after the war in
that same industry is more likely
to be fair than unfair, scrupulous
rather than INSCRIPTIONS, because
he must live with all his colleagues
and competitors thereafter.
1t is hard for war executives in
high places to persuade business
men to come to Washington to take
administrative posts. The Truman
Committee, with all its constructive
work, has done more to discourage
the dollar-a-year men from coming
mere than any other single influ-
ence. For the Truman Committee
has been imposed upon by the labor
politicians and lobbyists who, the
moment they see an important BUSH
ness man in given post, begin to
attack his business affiliations.
Donald Nelson expressed himself
on this point to the Senate Com
mittee in vehement terms once. and
since that time. it is gratifying to
report, the problem of getting sue
cessful management men to come
here to aid in the war program has
been made easier.
The OPA should be overhauled
from top to bottom. There are some
good men in it, but the economists
and the statisticians should be given
things to do which are not admin
tstrative and there should be some
efficient administrators brought into
the picture. Likewise, the authors
OF all the curious questionnaires in
the OPA should forget there ever
was a socialistic controversy in
America and should concentrate on
one job-the war job-without re-
gard to postwar economics of the
class or reform variety.
Rationing Essential.
Butt above all, no matter who is
appointed to the position of price
administrator, there must be a new
relationship between the OPA and
the public. Men Of the type of
B. M. Baruch or President Conant
of Harvard or President Compton
of Massachusetts, Institute of Tech
nology, who comprised the Baruch
Rubber Committee, have the con-
f1dence of the people. Had they
been entrusted with the task of
carrying through to the public with
other tasks, there would have been
a greater measure of acceptance.
Rationing is essential, because the
shortages are by no means imag-
mary. Yet large segments of the
public don't believe the need is i'm
perative. Here is where the voice
of men of prestige is required.
Leon Henderson as an economic
adviser, to check on the figures of
other economists, could be a valu-
able man in Government, but it was
a mistake to ask man who had
never held elective Office or occu-
pied an administrative position in a
large business enterprise to tackle a
lob with which, to begin with, Con-
gress as the representative of thou
sands of protesting citizens, was I'M
sympathetic. Maybe Senator Brown
of Michigan, who is slated to sue
coed Mr.. Henderson. will have better
luck. He is we'll liked on Capitol
Hill by both parties and is rated as
able and fair minded.
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