Two from Column B . . .

In keeping with his campaign promise that top officials in his Administration would publicly disclose their assets and liabilities as a step toward restoring Americans' trust in their Government, Jimmy Carter last week issued financial statements for 15 Cabinet-level officials. If this was full disclosure, maybe total concealment deserves another try. Instead of announcing actual assets and liabilities, the White House used letter symbols ranging from A ($1 to $5,000) to E ($100,000 or more).

The statement of Bert Lance, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, for example, listed six Es and one D under liabilities, reflecting at least $650,000 in debts. His statement also showed that, as of the end of last year, he had more than $100,000 in cash, less than $5,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds and stock in 136 corporations --though whether he owns one share or 100,000 in any of the firms is impossible to determine. Lance reported $300,000 in income, but the sum includes an undisclosed amount of severance pay given him when he left the presidency of the National Bank of Georgia in Atlanta.

Nonetheless there were some intriguing tidbits on the alphabetic menu. Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal, when chairman of Bendix Corp., was the highest paid Cabinet member, with roughly $600,000 in salary and benefits for 1976. But he owned two singularly inexpensive cars: a 1973 Ford Pinto and a 1975 Honda. Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Joseph Califano earned $505,490 from his Washington law firm, about twice what Secretary of State Cyrus Vance drew from his law firm on Wall Street. But Vance's assets--six Es, two Ds, three Cs, one B and two As (at least $750,000 and possibly well into the millions) beat Califano's three Es, three Cs and two As (upwards of $345,000). Agriculture Secretary Robert Bergland's salary as a Congressman ($44,600) was more than double the $18,270 he took in from his 600-acre farm in Minnesota.

The two women in the Cabinet received much of their income as directors of several corporations: Commerce Secretary Juanita Kreps, fees of $61,150 plus a $30,106 salary as a vice president and professor at Duke University; Housing and Urban Development Secretary Patricia Roberts Harris, fees of $40,535 and $55,725 as a Washington lawyer. Interior Secretary Cecil Andrus earned the least: $33,000 as Governor of Idaho.

Rather lamely, Press Secretary Jody Powell argued that the statements were so obscure because "revelations of the exact amount tend to place families in jeopardy"--apparently meaning kidnapers or other extortionists. The fact remained that the statements added up to far less than Carter promised.

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