Gerald Ford: "They Will See Something Is Being Done"

President Ford looked trim and rested, his face surprisingly unlined, as he met with members of TIME'S editorial staff" in the Oval Office last week. He sat easily in an armchair, cupping an unlit pipe in his left hand, and answered questions on energy and economic policy, foreign affairs and the demands of presidential leadership. In several areas, he was clearly still in the process of formulating his State of the Union program. The questions were asked by Managing Editor Henry Grunwald, Chief of Correspondents Murray Gart, Washington Bureau Chief Hugh Sidey and White House Correspondents Bonnie Angela and Dean Fischer. Excerpts from the exchange:

Q. What went wrong with your earlier economic program that makes you feel you need a new program?

A. We went through a long, I think, constructive process of economic summit, culminating in a program which we felt at that time would meet the primary threat of the problem of inflation. I thought it was well tuned to meet that headon, with some consideration given to the problem of economic stability.

But all of the economists that I have talked to, including the ones here and some from Western Europe, have indicated to me that they did not foresee the precipitous drop, particularly in the automotive field. Of course, that has been told to me very directly by the automotive manufacturers. There was a rapidly developing and certainly unforeseen massive loss of public confidence. When you combined all of those, the plan we had wasn't adequate and it wasn't properly balanced.

We have had to restudy conditions as we see them now and as we foresee them, and the new plan is aimed at the current circumstances rather than what the circumstances were in August and September. It is just an updating for the current conditions, conditions which were unforeseen and are far, far more serious.

Q. What is the shape of your energy proposals?

A. We have had the benefit of massive, year-long study. The energy program is the pulling together of the various recommendations that generated out of that study. In addition, we find that the voluntary program has not been as successful as it should be. Although for the first nine or ten months of this year we were using energy—either energy as a whole or imports—at a rate of about 5.4% less than '73, in the last several months it has gone about 5% ahead of a year ago. A year ago we were importing about 6 million barrels per day. Now we are importing about 7 million barrels per day. This proves to me that a voluntary program isn't sufficient.

Q. Is this failure of voluntary effort a disappointment?

A. It is a disappointment, but I think understandable. Everybody had ample gasoline, or even in some selected areas price wars, which certainly is not an indication of any lack of supply. What I am saying is,that the American people don't respond unless they see firsthand a crisis. Now, that may come. If we get some of these natural-gas shortages, which are inevitable up in New Jersey and New England, particularly if we have a hard winter, then again that crisis will be thrown at the American people and maybe a voluntary program will be regenerated.

Q. Can you foresee rationing under any circumstances ?