The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-05-29

Among them was Lou MaXon,
the Detroit advertising magnate
who has brought now blood
into the OPA since Hendersons
departure. Leon had never met
Maxon, and as they were intro
duced, he said:
"Gee, Lou, I'm glad to meet
you. 1t took me a year and a
half to become the cOuntrys
greatest so-and-so. But you've
done it in six weeks"
The incident is symbolic of
the rising tempers inside the
office which faces the most diff
ficult domestic necessities. The
fight has become so hot that
nobody can predict exactly what
will happen to the OPA. 1t will
have to get tough and cut out
its internal feuding, or it is fin
iShed.
Basic issue involved is whether
prices should be increased to give
the food professor, the food
wholesaler and the retailer a
better chance or whether prices
should be held down to satisfy
labor. Fundamentally the
question is whether we will or
will not have initiation; also
whether prices can be kept down
by the honor system, or must
be enforced by police.
THE PRICE BATTLERS
Here are the leaders in the
OPA civil war:
Lou MaXon, high powered, lik-
able Detroit advertising genius,
imported by Prentiss Brown to
tone down some of Henderson's
toughness; looks like a minor
league shortstop who has put on
weight, with rear view much
like waddling Leon Henderson,
but front view revealing no bay
window.
Most people like Lou, especially
those in the business world. They
like his idea Of throwing away
the policeman's billy to enforce
price ceilings, also his more
liberal ideas on prices.
But among those who definitely
do not like MaXon is the leader
of the old Leon Henderson camp,
J. Kenneth Galbraith, Deputy
Administrator in Charge of Prices.
Galbraith is so tall he appears to
walk Oh stills. Born in Iona
Station, Ontario, Galbraith was
educated at Cambridge, England,
has the deliberate speech of an
academician, the casual, tousled-
hair manner of a precocious boy,
For the last four years, how
ever, he has been an important
economic adviser to the National
Defense Council, then with
OPA. Behind his youthful
casual exterior, Galbraith can
be tough, and he has been plenty
tough in fighting MaXOn.
Chief higher-price advocate,
goading Maxon from the rear has
been Charles H. Fleischer, and
the A and P stores, who last week
got fed up with the fight and re-
signed. He advocated new Sys-
tenn of Floating ceilings" per-
hitting higher prices, arguing
that the food industry was being
squeezed between low price CELL
ing and the higher cost of food
production.
Vigorously opposing him have
been:
Richard Gilbert, former HarV-
ard economies instructor, now di-
rector of OPA's Defense Econom-
les Section, and an arch-enemy
Of higher prices.
Russell Nixon, also of Harvard,
now of the OPA Labor Advisory
Committee. His committee put
such pressure on Prentiss Brown
against higher prices, argued that
this would bring chorus of wage
demands from labor, that "flOat-
ing ceilings" we're killed.
Robert X. r. ("Triple R') Brooks
former economics instructor at
Yale and Williams, now director
of OPAs Labor Office and de-
vout disciple of low prices.
BYRNES, THE ARBITER
This controversy over higher or
lower prices rocks not only the
Census Building where OPA is
housed, but also the East Wing
at the White House we're AS