Toward a Just Marketplace

Consumerism--Upton Sinclair and Rachel Carson would be glad to know --is a healthy development that is here to stay.

In these words, President Nixon last week introduced a message to Congress outlining his "buyer's bill of rights." The authors of The Jungle and Silent Spring, in fact, had less to do with the message than a man who was not mentioned: Ralph Nader. Nixon's address testified to the growing power of consumerism, and of Nader, the lone crusader who has become the leader of the consumer movement.

Provided that Congress approves and allocates enough money. Nixon's proposals will make some major advances toward what he called "a just marketplace." The main items, many of which Nader has been campaigning for: > Consumers for the first time will be permitted to join together in "class actions" in federal court and share the legal expenses of suing manufacturers and merchants guilty of deception. Convicted manufacturers will have to bear all legal costs and pay damages to all who sue. Nixon's proposal, however, does not go as far as Nader and others have demanded. Class-action suits would be restricted to eleven specified offenses --for example, worthless warranties and false claims for a product. Consumers would not be allowed to sue until the Justice Department established the offender's guilt in court.

>The Justice Department will add a new consumer division, to be staffed with a score or more of lawyers and economists. It will operate much like the present antitrust division, filing suits against companies.

>The Federal Trade Commission, long a Nader target, will get new powers to seek injunctions against businessmen whom it accuses of unfair practices.

Nader had an acerbic response to the message: "It would not have been approved by William McKinley." The consumer's popular hero had reason to be satisfied in a week of other victories. The House passed a mine-safety bill setting limits on coal dust in mines for the first time. A congressional committee began hearings on railroad accidents, which Nader claims are responsible for 1,800 deaths a year. And the Department of Transportation issued a policy statement promising to make public soon the names of auto brands that fail to meet Federal safety standards. Next, Nader plans to petition the Federal Aviation Agency to ban smoking on planes for safety's sake.

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