Evening star., 1943-03-05

vi iAFiAiso, Wv tAiol
he will depend David Lawrence.
on the honor system" This is a
mark of such progress in govern
mental administration that it de-
serves widespread applause.
Mr.. Brown is a former United
States Senator. AS such he had to
go before the people at the polls and
he learned something of the cur
rents of public opinion and citizen
psychology. Unlike most of the other
administrators President Roosevelt
has appointed, who are bureaucratS
first and public servants second, if
at all, Mr.. Brown puts service to
the public ahead Of all other con-
eiderations. 1t is refreshing, for
instance, to hear these words at a
press conference as the OPA ad-
ministrator declares:
THE time has come to stop all
unnecessary Inconvenience of the
public :. this action is in line with
my general ideas on all OPA regula-
tions. Positive enforcement meas
ures must be used with criminals,
but they are not necessary with the
general public. Instead, I expect
to secure voluntary compliance by
the public through understanding
Of the need for regulation.'
Cause of Resentment.
Had that simple rule been in
effect months ago, Mr.. Brown him.
self might still have been in the
Senate, for he was, defeated in
Michigan for reelection on the
Democratic ticket by the narrowest
of majorities mostly because of
public resentment over just such fool
things as the ban on pleasure driv-
ing
In the first place, there is no law
on the statute books which legally
authorizes penalties for pleasure
driving and, in the second place,
what. is pleasure driving anyway
the following of normal everyday
family pursuits or high-speed driv-
lag over the highways to night clubs
or resorts? Common sense should
have told the administrators that
when gasoline was rationed down to
three or four gallons a week the
public would do little or no vasteful
driving.
Certainly, there will be chiselers.
There always were, but it has been
a. fallacy Of New Deal philosophy
for 10 years that it is more impor-
tant to irritate and harass the o5
to 80 per cent who are honest and
cooperative than it is to let the
small minority get away with some
thing, little realizing that no matter
what the law or the regulation the
dishonest will find way to circum-
vent, and that often the bother of
o cumbersome enforcement machin-
cry is more trouble than it is worth.
Totalitarian Methods.
All the gasoline and tires wasted,
for instance, by the few who don't
heed the Governments appeal for
conservation is infnitesimal COM
pared to the amount saved by a pro-
gram operated with understanding
Of public psychology.
The difference between voluntary
ism and coercion is difference be-
tween faith in the people and loss
OF confidence in the democratic
process. The tendency to copy total
itarian methods and to assume that
the American people cannot be de-
pended upon to help voluntarily but
must be coerCed is so palpable in
the New Deal approach to admins
trative problems that it was no won-
der the people elected such an over
whelmlng number Of Republicans
last November and brought about a
virtually new majority control in the
House Of Representatives
Senator Browns policy is not just
a sudden decision. He held this view
when he was asked last December
by the President TO take the job. He
has not yet gotten rid of the clique
In the OPA who are responsible for
the mess in rationing various prod
ucts, such as fuel oil, and it is safe
assumption that he never would
have handled the problem of canned
goods rationlng as is being done to-
day if the scheme had not been so
far under way and machinery set
up when he took Office.
But Prenuss Brown is getting re-
suits in the right way and viii be
heard from in the coming months
He viii give an example by contrast
with his fellow administrators which
they would do well to study and
emulate
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