No Seal of Approval

As head of a special congressional committee investigating private and public agencies that purport to protect the consumer, New York Congressman Benjamin Rosenthal took special interest in the Good Housekeeping seal.

Although conferral of the seal is supposed to be based on objective testing of a product, Rosenthal's investigation found the award to be as much an advertising gimmick as a guarantee to consumers. The legislator contends that the main criterion for granting the seal is whether a manufacturer agrees to place his advertising in Good Housekeeping magazine. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration has seized as "contraband" for quality and safety reasons at least two products advertised in the magazine, and is reportedly investigating several others.

Small wonder then that Rosenthal and others found it "incredible" that Richard Nixon last week named as his temporary consumer consultant Willie Mae Rogers, head of the Good Housekeeping Institute, which is responsible for granting the seal. Further, Miss Rogers was to remain on the magazine's payroll while serving the Government. This, said Rosenthal, raised "obvious conflict-of-interest questions."

Noting that "Mrs. Clean," as he called her, and the magazine had fought against truth-in-packaging legislation, Rosenthal declared: "Miss Rogers is not the type of consumer consultant the President deserves and not the type of consumer consultant the Congress will let him keep. The President should reconsider."

Nixon did. At week's end he asked her to take a leave from the magazine and to sign on with the Administration as a paid consultant. She refused, indicating that the criticism would make it impossible for her to function effectively, and declined the appointment.

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