Lee Iacocca, the Columnist

If Iacocca’s writings live up to his reputation, we can expect lots of candor on the Editorial Pages of The Times.

There are areas where, one wonders, can even this outspoken businessman be candid, when surrounded by the assassins of his own business community. I.e., the following:

1--The prosecution of responsible executives for the illegal practices of their corporations.

2--The tendency of American corporations (i.e., “big steel”) to run out on their workers when they see greener pastures for their corporate capital.

3--The extraordinary wages and bonuses, paid to executives, for often questionable performance.

4--The immense drain on federal revenue of the “business lunch” and other entertainment write-offs.

5--The refusal of military suppliers to take responsibility for poor products, leaving it to a bumbling secretary of defense to make excuses for them.

This is only a partial list, of course, and I’m sure Iacocca will take up lots of other gauntlets in his columns. What I hope his column will not become is a free-of-charge version of Mobil Oil’s paid paean to American business.

We’ll be watching you, Lee!

ALLAN RABINOWITZ

Los Angeles