Imperial Valley press., 1943-12-01
OPA CONTROL OF
BUTTER IS A JOKE

The OPA method of handling the but
ter situation is a joke.
Everybody knows that. Even candid
OPA'ers might acknowledge it ON the
side, where they could not be quoted by
the newspapers.
Rant as we may against the situation,
the big question is what in thunderation
can be accomplished by such TRADING.
To this, we may respond that much
benefit can accrue from such consider
alton.
OPA as a typical government bureau,
has reduced the wholesale price of butter
from 45 3 a cents per pound to 45 cents.
That isn't much of a reduction but 1t
does half a dozen things.
First, it reveals to the public how thin
is. the margin of profit by which this one
phase of the great American competitive
system can sustain itself We stress
this, because in the past, and behind the
scenes today, and in the plans of the
future there is much in the way of vicious
attacks against the terrorS of the Amer
ican profit-motive system. This thin
margin of profit is an example of that
horrible robbery of the people to which
the masses are subjected by the Amerl-
can way of life.
Second, that 3 4 cent reduction spells
the difference between profit and loss
for the milk professor. It's the only COM
pensation the professor gets for all his
work, investment and risk.
Third, since there is no profit, process
sors expect to quit operating. OPA has
been so informed There is certainly
enough of butter shortage as 1t is, but
@now OPA-established to protect the
people and operate in furtheranca OF the
war effort. uses its powers to do exactly
the reverse,
d.. Fourth, here we have an excellent eX-
ample of bureaucracy at work. Not at
its best; not al It's worst Just bureauc-
racy as certain forces will try to
maintain it after the war.
Whether we can understand the vast
intricacies of business or not, here we
have perfect picture of the thing which
is being proposed as the substitute for
free private enterprise.
Fifth, no finer occasion could be ac-
corded Imperial Valley folks to study
the faults of bureaucracy than just such
a case as this 1t deals with something
we know pretty much about, namely,
dairying- And examination reveals that
OPA methods have completely driven
dairy herds from the Bard area have
materially reduced them here in lmpe-
rial Valley, have unnecessarily and avoid
ably curtailed the butter needed by the
people and the armed forces and threat
en- to completely wipe dairying from
our own agricultural ranks. All because
it tries to substitute man-made laws for
the Simple truths and accuracies Of ma
ture-made law.
Imperial county may be doing pretty
we'll financially on the whole right now.
But what about after the war? Well
certainly need those dairy herds when we
go back to normal operations. But they
may be completely gone. Not destroyed
by the war Destroyed by OPA!
No one can say that such glaring crimes
result from the personnel of OPA bu-
reaucracy. Most of the people working
in that agency are pretty good people,
folks just like all the rest of us. Many
can see the wrongs and work with us
to correct those wrongs. But they, like
us, are caught in this mOnstroSity called
a bureau, and bureaus enact rulings OF
universal application and those rulings
become law, whether they fit each com
munity and circumstance or not. There
is the fault with centralized govern
mental-dictatorship of business
And we had better write it down in our
minds so that at the earliest possible mo-
ment, we can revert to the good old moss
back idea of freedom of private enter
prise.
Yes, it's we'll worth while to TRADE
,NvrT nIrD yNAV