Evening star., 1943-03-14
Housewife in 0PA
Wants Woman on
Each Ration Board
Sees Feminine Touch
Needed to Clear Up
Wide misunderstanding

Mrs. Philip L. Crowlie, the typical
American housewife" believes lack
of feminine touch in ration boards
over the country is responsible for
large measure of public misunder-
standing and opposition to Office of
Price Administration programs and
she intends to do something about it..
While Congress contends OPA is
guided by too many theorists who
have never met payroll or carried
q precinct" Mrs. Crowlie believes
local ration boards too often are
composed of bald-headed bachelors
who have lived in hotels and eaten
In boarding houses all their lives.
They lack intimate knowledge of
problems involved in running a
household, tough task in these
times of shortages.
Mrs. CroWlie in an interview, ex-
pressed her first opinions since arriv-
Ing in Washington last week from
her Huron, S. Oak, home to give
OPA "bigshots" the housewives view
Of rationing. Her job has just been
approved by the Civil Service Com
mission. So, she feels all set to work
and speak
Need Women's Horse Sense"
II ration boards had benefit of
women'S horse sense" and practical
approach to living problems, espe-
cially those involved in food ration
Ing, they could avoid many of the
pitfalls and woes which have be-
fallen them in recent months, Mrs,
Crowlie said. Her first battle" will
be fought to have at least one re-
sponsible woman member placed on
each of the Nations thousands of
boards.
/ Il do not mean that women should
be employed merely as clerks said
Mrs. CroWlie, a personable and
handsome woman. "A woman should
be included in the group that sets
local board policy
An intelligent woman who is used
to doing all the work about her
home, Mrs. Crowlie thinks women
are ideally suited to advise in the
programs for distributing food. shoes
and similar things She feels that
rationing Of gasoline. tires, farm
machinery, etc, should be left to
the men.
Many of the board men are in
cllned to try to satisfy complaints
by saying regulations are born In
bureaucratic brains in Washington, !"
she continued. They really do
nothing to satisfy complaints, to get
to the root of the trouble.
Meat Ration O'Kay.
Mrs. Crowlie declared most house
holds will be able to get along all
right on the weekly meat ration of
about 2 pounds per person She
thinks inclusion of distribution of
cheese. butter and other fats and
oils in the meat program was not
too good from the housewives view
point, but she guessed there were
sound technical reasons" why this
was done. She thinks the average
housewife may spend too many of
her points for meats and come out
short on the other valuable foods.
You see, all of these rationing
programs were fixed before I came
on the scene" she declared with en-
phasis, indicating that she will have
something to say about what is done
in the future. Z
An intensive educational program
must be carried out over the Nation
to show the people just why it is
necessary for OPA to impose restric-
tions, Mrs. Crowlie said. OPA, she
feels, has good case, though the
public must be shown just how 1t is
to their best interests and the best
interests of the country to comply
with regulations that are irksome
Many people still believe rationing
programs are unnecessary burdens
simply because they have not been
told why the actions are vital, she
said.
A widespread homecoming pro-
gram this summer, Mrs. Crowlie
said, can do great deal to relieve
the food shortage that might arise
next winter. She will help sponsor
such programs.