Tobacco Documents Online

AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER . FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1967 I 1'lreiv111cni to the FTC The nomination of James M. Nicholson for a place on the Federal Trade Commission came as a surprise, and once confirmed, he will' continue to be the object of curiosity until his position is made clear on the issue of consumer protection that now divides the commissioners. Beyond the bare biographical, facts-hi's grad- uation from a first-rate law school, his service as Indiana.treasur.er of the "Lyndon B. Johnson for President Committee" in 1960 and! a law practicee that never took him bef'ore the FTC-little is known of Mr. Nicholson or his predilections. Noth- ing in the record precludes the possibility that he will be a good commissioner. He will, in any event, be superior to a candidate who was thought to have been seriously considered for the post. The FTC; once described! as a slumbering giant, has a large staff that does not operate with maxi- mum efifectiveness. One of the difficulties is that intellectual excellence is not rewarded by ad- vancement. But two of the commissioners, Mary Gardiner Jones and Philip Ellman, are truly out- standing and keenly aware of the consumer in- t'erest. It is to be hoped that Mr. Nicholson will join with them in making t'he FTC a more effective instrument of government. PAGE A24 = ~ - ~