Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-09-24

formal1ty OF the past. NOW IL q
CAB staff members. nine tenths
of whom are in Washington-and
boss-for better or worse-of the
$500 million adolescent airline in
dustry, it's 10000 employees and its
supporting business enterprises.
Since its creation in August,
1888, the CAB has been hydra
headed organization through no
fault Of its own. It was brought
into being by Congress and given
regulatory powers over the air.
lines in matters of routes, mail
and subsidy pay, tariffs and air.
line safety. 1t is a f1ve-member
board of quasi-judicial stature
and the President annually de-
signates a chairman and vice
chairman from its membership.
But neither the chairman nor
any one member ever was spe-
officially held responsible for the
expanding administrative detail
work that has developed from the
tremendous growth of air trans
portation in the past 20 years.
Consequently, no one member
ever displayed an eagerness to
supervise the staff and be re-
sponsible for it's legal, economic,
engineering and technical work,
lacking as he did specific au-
thority to hire or fire, expand or
contract. unite or divide. It was
inevitable, therefore, that eff
cheney experts, prowling around
the Government, would come
upon what they regarded as
waste, duplication, inertia and in
efficiency not only in the CAB
but in several other regulatory
agencies of similar complexion.
In compliance with the Reor-
ganization Act of 1949, the Presi-
dent, on March 10 of this year,
sent to Congress 81 plans for i'm
proving efficiency in the agencies
of the executive branch and ex-
planned in an accompanying mes
sage they were all designed either
to put into effect specific recon-
mendations of the Hoover Com
mission cor to apply principles set
forth by the commission in its
reports" Unless majority OF
the authorized membership OF
either House or Senate voted dis
approval of any one or more plans
they would become effective so
days from that date.
Regarding plan No. 49,
Included among the 81 plans
was plan No. Is, making the
chairman of the CAB responsible
for day-to-day administration,
rather than the board as a whole,
and placing on him the additional
responsibilities for the operation
of the staff. Plan No. 13 was ig-
nored by Congress for 60 days
and at midnight, May 23,s it be-
came legal and effective. But
many things were happening at
the CAB at the time and Chair
man Joseph j. O'Connell, having
been on the job since April 6,
1948. was yearning for the out
side and watching for a propitious
moment to hand in his resigna-
ton. though his term would not
expire until December 81, 1858.
That moment came on June Is
after he had rendered his deci-
sion in the now famous Pan
American World Airways-Amer-
lean Overseas Airlines merger
case, which subsequently was re-
vealed as being against the deal.
On July 3 the White House an
nounced the President had &C
cepted the resignation, effective at
once and so nothing was done
about plan Is up to that time,
nor could much be done until a
successor to Mr.. O'Connell could
be found.
Last Tuesday, Mr.. Truman's
search was ended when he
nominated Delos w. Rented, head
of the Civil Aeronautics Admin
istration of the Commerce De-
partment, to serve out Mr..
O'Connell's term. At the same
time the President nominated as
Mr.. Rentzel's successor, Donald
w. Nyrop, deputy CAA Admins
traitor since August, 1913. Con-
firmation of Mr.. Rented by the
Senate is for membership on the
board. The Craftsmanship, for
which Mr.. Rented is slated, carries
with it all that is expressed and
implied in plan IL which consti-
tutes more power and authority
than any previous chairman pos
sessed. Consequently, the eyes
of aviation everywhere will be
upon this personable 40-year-o
Texan, now in his third year of
public Office, after II years OF
experience in the commercial
aviation field.
ICC Plan Killed
The President absolved previous
CAB chairmen and members of
personal responsibility for what
ever ineficiency exists in the
agency and blamed it on the long
accepted pattern OF organization
of such independent quasi-judicial
groups. He explained to Congress
that boards and commissions
which he sought to reorganize and
concerned primarily with the sub
stantive problems of regulation
and with the adjudication of
cases. cannot give adequate
attention to the day-to-day ex-
ecutive directions of complex or
CARNATIONS. Then he added: ITO
the extent that they have con-
cerned themselves with admins
trative problems, the unwieldiness
OF the structure has sometimes
rendered administration slow,
cumbersome and indeciSive."
The new chairman, when not
heinp nlIo ci judicial will in affao+