How many staff members should a first lady have, aside from domestic help? How big a taxpayer – funded budget? We presume the American public would want first ladies adequately staffed – but with reasonable consideration for economy, too. Frequently signals for conservation and economy come from the White House, and rightly so. Lyndon Johnson ordered White House lights tumed off, except for necessity, as an example to the nation. Richard Nixon once initiated year-around daylight saving time. Jimmy Carter ordered thermostats lowered to save energy and fight inflation. Now comes a renewed report, though – read into the Congressional Record by Rep. Daniel B. Crane, R-Ill. – that Mrs. Carter has a taxpayer – paid staff of 20, nearly as large as the staff of the vice president of the United States. “As far as I am able to determine, Mrs. Carter’s staff costs the taxpayers between $600,000 and $1 million per year in salaries alone,” Crane said. He quoted syndicated columnist John Lofton as saying Mrs. Carter’s staff director makes $56,000 per year and her press secretary $47,000. But he said facts on staff and salaries are not easy to obtain. As for earlier First Ladies, the Illinois congressman said Mrs. Eisenhower had only one full-time staff member, paid $11,355. “Mrs. Kennedy had just one person on her staff . Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Nixon had two.” He said Betty Ford had three at first; two later. However, a Nov, 20, 1979, editorial from the Mattoon, Ill. Journal Gazette, cited by Crane, indicated Mrs. Ford had 12 staffers. Now that questions have been raised by a member of Congress, we believe Mrs. Carter or the White House should step forward with a complete public statement. The taxpayers are entitled to the facts and disclosure is needed to clear the air.