Evening star., 1943-07-15
OPA Under Fire

The complaints filed against the
Office of Price Administration by Lou
r. Maxon, deputy administrator, tend
to confirm the widely-held belief that
this vital agency has begged down
in morass of legalistic red tape
and economic experimentation. Mr..
Maxon'S statement was issued after
he had decided to resign from OPA
because of differences with Admins
traitor Prentiss Brown, and, as a re-
suit of this, there will be natural
reluctance. to accept in its entirety
his vigorous indictment of the
agency's methods and policies. But
the specific charges which he has
made conform closely to the impress
sion of OPA which the public has
received, and, considering his oppor-
tunity to observe the workings of
OPA from the inside, it is reasonable
to believe that there is a great deal
of substance to his criticisms.
Mr.. Maxon's first complaint runs to
what he regards as the failure of OPA
to establish workable overall food
program, with the result that opera
tions in this field have been strictly
catch h-as-catch-can." In conse-
quence, he says, many food decisions
have been the product of expediency
rather than sound planning, and it
can hardly be doubted that there is
basis for this complaint.
His next complaint is aimed at a
strong clique" in OPA who believe
that the Government should manu-
facture and distribute all commodi-
ties. There is no reason to suppose
that Mr.. Brown is sympathetic to this
view, but there is large body of
circumstantial evidence that such a
clique does exist in OPA, and that it's
members are determined and ener-
getic in pursuit of their objectives.
Mr.. Maxon's criticism of the young
lawyers" who have OPA so bound up
in red tape that "Houdini himself
couldn't untangle it" hardly requires
a recital of supporting evidence. Mr..
Brown himself has indicated that he
looks with disapproval on some of the
activities of his legal staff, and it is
probable that an effort is under way
to bring about improvement in this
respect. But it may be doubted that
the effort has been determined
enough to effect any thorough going
reform.
Finally, Mr.. Maxon assails what he
calls the "professorial mind"-a men
tai attitude that is born in the class
room and nurtured on theory, and
which therefore distrusts practical
experience and practical men. This
is a generalized complaint, unsup-
ported BY specific evidence. And be-
cause it is generalized, it should not
be accepted without reservation. But,
when allowance is made for this, the
fact remains that OPA, while under
taking a necessary program bound to
have a profound effecton business and
industry, has preferred to lean more
on the judgment of young men in
their twenties and early thirties,
wholly innocent of any practical ex-
perience, than on the knowledge OF
men who have spent their lives in the
affected fields. This certainly is not
healthy condition.
Mr.. Maxon concludes his statement
with the observation that "OPA must
not fail'-that it is a vital agency
which must be made to function sat-
isfactorily. There will be no dissent
from this view, but the important
question is whether the responsible
administration officials will recognize
that there are fundamental and
possibly fatal deficiencies in OPA as
that agency is now established.
Without this recognition, there is
little hope of substantial improve
ment.