Leave hardware at home.

Byline: The Register-Guard

An article in last Saturday's Register-Guard reported that objects confiscated from passengers are piling up at the Eugene Airport. The same thing is undoubtedly happening at airports across the country. Perhaps there's an opportunity here.

An accompanying photo showed one of the tubs of contraband, and its contents may say something about people in this part of Oregon. Most of the confiscated items seemed to be tools: pliers, screwdrivers, wrenches and whatnot. Airport officials are wondering what to do with all these things, but maybe if they waited a while longer they'd have enough tools to build their own airplane.

A better idea, one that would compensate somewhat for the inconvenience of airport security measures, would be to start a contraband exchange. A passenger who couldn't take his wrench aboard the plane would receive a chit in exchange for his tool. After arriving at his destination, the passenger would exchange the chit for an item that had been confiscated from someone else at the other end.

The only problem with this idea is that a version of Gresham's Law would take hold, with bad items driving out good. It wouldn't take long for people to figure out that they could surrender a 99-cent paint scraper in Eugene in hopes of picking up a $20 Swiss army knife in San Francisco. Jerry's might even have to open a drive-up window for people on their way to the airport. But it's worth a try.

Another innovation would also be worth considering. The photo showed that the Eugene Airport's contraband tub contains, amazingly enough, box cutters - the very weapons used by the Sept. 11 hijackers. Anyone who would bring a box cutter to an American airport deserves a special penalty, such as washing a row of cars in the parking lot.