Evening star., 1943-11-15
OPA
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ing the Smith Committee conclu-
slons as unfortunate, misleading
and harmful to our national eco
nomic stabilization program"
The Smith report is based upon
questionable and, in many instances
seriously biased interpretations OF
the statutory and constitutional
powers of OPA." said the Scanlon-
McMurray statement, which assert
!ed the Consumers-Protection Com
mlttee had a membership of more
than 60 members of Congress wi.
tally concerned with the effective
operation of sur price control ano
rationing program"
The reply said this group docs
not hold that the OPA should be
above criticism or that the OPA ir
the past has not made some mis-
takes" but added, Those forces in
our country who have from the out
set opposed effective price control
and rationing will, in the Smith
Committee report, find comfort and
a new weapon in their fight against
our war Governments anti-infation
program"
Against the OPA the Smith Com
mlttee made this charge:
The Office of Price Administra-
ton has assumed unauthorized DOW
ers to legislate by regulation and
has, by misinterpretation of acts of
Congress, set up a Nation wide svs-
tenn Of judicial tribunals through
which this executive agency judges
the actions of American citizens
relative to its own regulations and
orders and imposes drastic and un-
constitutional penalties upon those
citizens, depriv1ng them in certain
instances of vital rights and liber-
ties without due process of law"
The OPA was not alone in seizing
legislative and judicial functions
the committee said, promising to
expose in future reports "other ex-
ecutive agencies"
Refer to Ginsburg's Files.
The committee said documents
found in the files of David Gins
burg, former OPA general counsel
who was inducted into the Army
last April, proved that "a para
mount purpose of legislation
drafted by Mr.. Ginsburg and Leon
Henderson, first OPA head. was to
place, 80 far as possible, final and
nonreviewable power and authority
IN the hands of the administrator
Beyond that, the report dealt gen.
orally with OPA as a whole, rather
than with any individuals.
The committee said it found that
OPA has developed an unauthor-
lied and illegal judicial system and
that through the mass of rules and
regulations daily enacted by that
agency it has also developed such
intricate and involved administra-
tive review machinery that litigants
are completely bewildered by the
maze of procedure through which
they must wander to eventually
arrive at court which will grant
them only the crumbs of judicial
relief"
This situation must be changed
and changed Immediately" 1t de-
clared
Numerous Edicts Cited.
In a period of less than 19 months
the committee said, 3,196 regula-
tions, amendments and orders were
issued by OPA, many of them hav-
ing been drafted by Obscure Off
cials having little business expert
ence." Only $50 public laws were
enacted by Congress during the
same period, it added.
The committee said it was "svm-
pathetic with the idea of prevent
ing imitation, but the complicated
and unreasonable regulations which
are being daily issued - and the
interpretations placed thereon" by
OPA officials "are driving a large
number of our citizens to the point
of desperation"
Notwithstanding the plain pro-
visions OF the act" the report said
your committee has found, in ex-
amining the files of the former gen.
eral counsel we'll devised
and planned scheme to control the
profits of American industry bv
freezing them at the level earned
by such industry during the period