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If the policy was to prevent inflation by administrative ac- 

 tion, there should have been more controls, and they should 

 have been more vigorously enforced. In a regimented food 

 economy it is difficult to make appeasement work. 



The problem of an effective reorganization of OPA is a 

 difficult one. There may be a few long-haired economists, an 

 occasional star-gazer, and some young, inexperienced law- 

 yers; but most of them are able, conscientious, public-spir- 

 ited individuals. For this reason it would be easy to change 

 and regroup the personnel, but difficult to improve it. The 

 difficulty is not the personnel, it is the jobs they have been 

 assigned to do. 



The leaders or the people see a new situation arising and 

 clamor that "something be done." In haste, "something is 

 done." Progress is often measured by the number and degree 

 of changes that are proposed and inaugurated. Occasionally 

 the best thing to do is to do nothing. Change is not all prog- 

 ress; it can be retrogression. Some of the world's most rapid 

 progress has been made by those who stood still while others 

 exploded into atoms by too rapid revolution. 



Conflict among Czars 



With the coming of new agencies, a food czar, a rubber 

 czar, an oil czar, and a price czar appeared on the horizon. 

 These czars are essentially in conflict with one another. Dur- 

 ing the rapid expansion of administrative controls, there has 

 not been the distinct limitation on authority that might de- 

 velop over a period of time. With overlapping authority, 

 decisions are based on conference. There is only so much 

 steel. The policy of each czar is never to admit that he has 

 enough, for if he does, his allotment is sure to be cut. This 

 leads to interminable conflicts over the amount of steel to be 

 allotted for rubber plants, for battleships, for tanks, and for 

 the production, processing, and distribution of food. Untold 



