OPA's Surprise

On a Sunday, the day before Christmas, OPA sprang its little surprise. By the time most housewives could get to the grocery store, their outstanding red and blue stamps would be worthless. Across the U.S. last week, the reaction was swift.

P: An Oregon housewife, holding her temper firmly in check, sent her ration board a restrained greeting: "34 blue stamps, 34 red stamps. 15 Ibs. of sugar invalidated. Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year."

P: The New Dealing Atlanta Constitution thundered: "OPA has . . . broken faith with the American people. . . .

P: In San Antonio, small groceries phoned their regular customers to come over on Sunday and beat the OPA's plan. Queues lined up all day Christmas to strip the shelves before the old coupons expired.

By its order, OPA had wriggled out of a tough spot. Shortages in meats, butter and canned vegetables were real. But the victory cost heavily in moral prestige. Into the ashcan with the invalidated stamps went much public confidence in OPA. Housewives asked: Can Washington ever again be trusted to deal fairly with those who save? Do the rewards go to housewives who hoard the most food and squander the most stamps? Many a citizen, mindful of what happened to his red and blue stamps, began to look suspiciously at airplane stamps 1, 2 and 3, wondered if they should be spent at once on shoes --which will hereafter be rationed at less than two pairs a year. OPA hurriedly promised that current shoe stamps would remain valid.

To some extent, OPA was bearing some of the blame that belonged to the War Food Administration, which sets the food policies for OPA to carry out. Last spring and summer, sometimes against OPA's advice, WFA's kewpie-faced, easygoing Marvin Jones cheerily experimented with taking some meats off the ration lists.* Sharing Washington's war optimism, through OPA he also ordered wholesalers and retailers to reduce sharply their stores of canned goods, to get ready for quick handling of surpluses in case the European war ended suddenly. Result: with so many foods moving point-free, OPA found it harder to distribute supplies evenly and feared that a sudden spending of stored-up points would strip all grocery shelves of food.

"Lesson in Morals." New Dealing Columnist Lowell Mellett, a devotee of the hit-me-harder school, thought OPA's Sunday punch a disguised blessing: "I believe we have been given the one Christmas present we've wanted most--an increased sense of participation. . . . We not only want to do more, we want to be made to do more. We want, in fact, to be regimented--regimented much further into the war effort." But the New York Sun's George E. Sokolsky probably echoed many an embattled housewife, who was willing to be rationed, but wanted the rationing to be done fairly. Said he: "Mr. Bowles has told you that it is bad economics to be thrifty and bad morals to be honest with yourself or your Government. He has proved that profligacy is a virtue and thrift a vice. When you get a chance gorge yourself, because your stamps might be canceled. Thanks very much, Mr. Bowles, for the lesson in morals."

* Despite many ration-free meats last week, Manhattan's Harvard and Union Clubs were accused by their butchers of being investigated by OPA. If guilty both faced a meatless, pointless New Year.

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