Greenbelt cooperator., 1942-02-27
Consumer Voice
On Ration Boards
Urged by Coop
By JOHN CARSON

The Cooperative League of The
u. S. A., this week urged Donald
Nelson, administrator of the War
Production Board and Leon Hend-
Crson, administrator of the Office
If Price Administration, to have
representatives of consumers NAM
ed on all local rationing boards.
Lincoln also advised Nelson and
Henderson that as consumers,
they should be consulted by state
and local defense authorities when
rationing boards were being ap-
pointed.
After describing the consumer
cooperative organizations and stat
ing that these "rural and urban
consumer" groups have member
ship representing from 100000
to 100000 persons, Lincoln made
the following points in support of
his suggestions:
1. These consumer cooperative
organizations are composed of the
finest of UNPAID public servants"
because consumer cooperatives "in-
carnate the public interest"
2. Local rationing boards and
their activities can be and should
be very helpful to the public NOR
ale during the war period if the
work is properly administered.
3. Although these local ration
ing boards will be appointed, un-
der present plans, by state and
local defense councils they will
actually be representative of WPB
and OPA. These government Or
ganizations cannot escape respon-
sibility for their conduct.
a. Because these local rationing
boards will be widely scattered,
WPB and OPA will have the ut
most difficulty in supervising or
controlling their work and there
fore WPB and OPA must make
certain the boards are entirely
representative of the public inter
est, rather than any selfish inter
est. Members of consumer coopera-
tiwes, as unpaid public servants"
must serve the public interest.
They are thus peculiarly fitted for
this work.
Lincoln urged Nelson and Hen
derson to form a pattern of or
ganiZation which state and local
defense councils would follow in
creating these boards. He said
local consumer cooperatives would
assist local boards and where there
was no local organization, the re-
gional cooperative organization
would help. He also offered the
facilities of the League in this
work.
In presenting this statement,
Lincoln added that while he was
only discussing the interest of
consumer cooperatives, he felt thai
farmers and "labor" should also
be represented on these boards,
and he added that profit industry
would be represented, as he
thought it should be. At the same
lime, Lincoln expressed his opin-
ion that an appeal made to Mel
son and Henderson and to Cong
ress by another group of citizens
FOR the creation of a Board OF
Civilian Supply should be needed.
Lincoln's appeal followed closely
On a similar one made by Cong
ressman Jerry Voorhis. The pos
sibility that 5000 more local boards
would be appointed to ration sugar
and thus. add to the 5000 boards
involved in the rationing of rub
ber tires caused discussion as to
the conflicting responsibilities and
chaos which would develop. Lin
coin and Voorhis emphasized that
these local boards might help tre-
mendously y in uniting people in the
national defense effort.
Some officials of OPA have been
proposing that only one rationing
board should be appointed for each
community and that board should
deal with all kinds of commodities.
They have Joined with consumer
cooperative representatives IN uIg-
ing the appointment of bona-fide
representative of consumers to
each one of these local boards
These representations, now sup.
ported by Lincoln and Voorhis
have been convincing enough thai
OPA has developed preliminary
and entirely temporary pattern ol
rationing board organization anc
this preliminary plan provides fol
consumer" representation.