Evening star., 1943-07-05
OPA Enforcement

Price Administrator Prentiss
Brown has complained that the pro
jected cut in OPA appropriations will
cripple it's enforcement program, and
it may very we'll be that this is the
case. To a large extent, however,
this is a form of retribution which
OPA has brought down on it's own
head.
The enforcement policy of this
agency both under Leon Henderson
and Mr.. Brown, has been exceedingly
difficult to understand. Until the
OPA enforcement officers appeared
upon the scene, an individuals good
faith-the earnestness of his effort to
comply with law-had counted for
something in this country. Most
Americans, if satisfied that a person
has made an honest effort to obey
a regulation, are not disposed to
accept the view that he stands in the
same position as a willful violator.
Attorneys for OPA, however. have
gone throughout the country preach
ing the strange doctrine that good
faith is immaterial-that if a buSi-
nessman violates any of their multi
tude of largely lnintelligible regula-
tions he should be haled into court
and punished, no matter how hard
he may have tried to comply with
the orders.
On several occasions Federal
Judges have refused to condone this
alien philosophy and have admins
tered sharp rebukes to OPA for at
tempting to impose it on the coun-
try. But, although Mr.. Brown has
had ample warning of the adverse
reaction, it does not appear that
anything has been done toward
formulating more reasonable en-
forcement policy. An incident in
New York last week is typical. A
restaurant operator had been found
guilty of overdrawing his ration
point allotment for meat, and the
OPA attorneys demanded that he
be denied the right to buy any meat
for two months, a penalty which
probably would have put the restau-
rant out of business. The chief
hearing commissioner refused to
accede to this demand, however. rul-
ing that the offender should be given
twelve months in which to make up
his ration point deficit.
Pointing out that the good faith
of the restaurant owner had been
established, the commissioner said
that while he believed the offense
should be punished, he was not will
ing to impose penalty which would
put the restaurant out of business.
IT we can enforce OPA regulations
without destroying a business, par
ticularly in a case where the good
faith of a respondent has been estab-
lished, that's what we ought to do"
the commissioner declared. "We
must proceed on the basis of con-
Oh uCllNC pO11Cy, dllo VIC Sl1Oulo 1AoG
want to persecute people"
Vigorously dissenting from this
view, the OPA lawyers are threaten
ing to appeal to Washington in an
effort to have the finding of the
commissioner overruled. If this case
comes to Mr. Browns attention he
might profitably look into it, for it is
typical of the arbitrary policy which
many OPA enforcement officers have
been trying to impose upon the coun-
try. All that they have succeeded
In doing, however, is to build up a
feeling of public resentment, and
this is anything but helpful when
the time comes to go before Congress
for additional enforcement funds. If
OPA finds that it's hands have been
tied when action on its appropria-
tion bill is completed, it will be large
ly due to this stubborn refusal to
recognize that there is great deal
of difference between an honest mis-
&alr Al - 1,ia ~