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Price controls and gas shortages

I was pleased to see the article "Gas price controls sparked '70s shortages" (Page 1, Monday), as it confirmed what I long believed. I lived in Germany from 1975 to 1979, and though gasoline was somewhat more pricey, we filled up without long (or any) lines and smoked on down the autobahn at 120 mph without concern, except to wonder what the problem was back home.

When I returned to the United States, I couldn't believe the slow progress on the roads, the hordes of cops microwaving drivers and odd/even gasoline buying with long lines of outraged drivers. My one disagreement with the article was that it wasn't just the inane actions of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter that caused inflation, but also Lyndon Johnson's act of playing soldier in Vietnam without having the money to pay for it that caused the inflationary spiral of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Thank God Ronald Reagan was elected and did away with price controls. Within months, we were awash in gasoline, and prices were dropping. It's too bad Thomas Sowell can't lecture Congress, which, instead of doing something constructive, spends its time trying to put blame on someone who doesn't deserve it.

JAMES R. CAMPBELL

Arlington