Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-07-30
BowIes Brinqs Business Acumen to OPA
By JAMES Y. NEWTON.

Price Administration general man.
ager." had made fortune in ad-
vertlsing and retired at an age
4l-When most American business
men are just reaching for success
In the JOB he took over this week
against the advice of all my friends
and advisers. the likable and ca
pable Mr.. Bowles will need all of his
business acumen AS right-hand
man to Administrator Brown, with
virtually complete authority, he has
inherited an organization badly de-
moraliZed py its own mistakes. at
tacks from Capitol Hill and many
other directions.
Mr.. BoWles says his first job is to
build strong organization one that
will be eminently fair and temperate
in its action, yet one that will be
tough and fight when we are sure
we are right 1t will be an organi-
Zation to resist the countless pres
sure groups which always have been
working on OPA The agency must
defend itself vigorously when at
tackled unjuStly. 1t must be re-
spected.
Definite Ideas on OPA.
Though new in Washington. Mr..
Bowles is long on experience with
rationing and price control. He
served for 20 months as Connecticut
OPA director, suitable apprentice
ship for the big Job which lies ahead.
He says his former sphere of in
fluence is mere "birdcage" COM
pared to the territory he now must
cover. He has very definite ideas
as to how OPA should operate, and
he is enthusiastic. energetic and
confident, though fully aware of
Washington pitfalls.
Mr., Bowles made a success of his
job in Connecticut; in fact. so much
so that Mr.. Brown tried for months
to persuade him to come to Wash
ington. He made it his business to
know thoroughly the local boards
on which the. success of OPA con-
trolls is largely dependent He ousted
incompetent officials. Once a week
he broadcast to the people of the
State on current rationing and price
matters, explaining the various pro-
grams. He conducted sort of
school, for State directors, receiv-
ing requests for advice as to how
programs should be carried out from
all over the county. His fan mail"
from housewives was large He an
sWered all with care
Born in Springfield, Mass. in
April 1901, Mr. BoWles is a men,
Der of family which founded and
still operates the Springfield Re-
publican. His grandfather, Samuel
Bowles, was the fighting editor of
that newspaper in the Civil War
He attended Choate School and
Yale. On his graduation from COL
lege he worked as a reporter on
the Republican for two years.
Went to New York.
In 1926 Mr.. Bowles arrived in
New York City in search of big
ger newspaper job. 1t was a bad
time The Herald and the Tribune
were in process of merging, and the
big city dailies were looking for
ways to turn off reporters rather
than TO take on new ones. Mr..
BoWles took job with George
Batten Co., an advertising firm
which, while he was there, merged
into Batten, Barton, Durstlne e.
Osborn, He was copy writer and
assistant manager.
MIR. BoWleS. with fellow emplove
OF .BBDO, William Benton left the
agency in 1929 to form-4ais own ad-
vertising firm of Benton & Bowles
He said they borrowed money to
start. the COMPANY ora shoe
string" Although it was time
when one would expect any new
business venture to end only in
failure, the new organization made,
an immediate success. In subsequent
years it became one of the Nations
largest agencies.
The fact that his business success
was born in depression" Is attrib-
uted by Mr.. BoWles to the constant
seeking at that time of industry
for new ideas. new ways to pull out
of the economic mire which gripped
the whole country. For years he
had studied new ways of mer-
chandising and marketing and his
efforts paid him well The firm OBJ
tanned a large portion of the Cen
eral Foods account, and handled
the same business for Proctor &
Gamble Blue Coal. Prudential Life
Insurance Co. and others
Denies Millionaire Story.
Mr.. Benton left the firm in the
early 1930s and now is vice preSi-
dent of the University of Chicago.
A story is told of Mr.. Bowles that
early in his life he was determined
to make million dollars before he
was 80 and he did it. Mr.. Bowles
denies it. He says the same story
was told of Mr. Benton. though he
added neither Bill Benton nor l
ever saw that much money"
Mr.. Bowles' hobby is sailing. In
fact he has made sailors out of his
entire family which includes Mrs.
BoWles and five children, ranging
from to 16 years old He had
65-1OOt schooner winch the Navy
took over promptly on our entry
into the war. In that boat he used
to take long cruises with his family
and a couple of friends rs the crew
The boat had an auxiliary motor,
but so far as Mr. Bowles was con-
cerned the makers should have
saved the material
He entered number of the Ber-
muda to New London sailing races,
though he says he never finished
in the money" The Bowles habit
Of relying on the elements and for
getting the auxiliary engine gave
the Coast Guard and friends a
scare more than once. In March,
1910. while en- route home from Ber-
muda. his boat was reported as long
overdue-some five days late. in