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Washington Di9est>
U. 5. Presidents Respect
Members of Fourth Estate
By BAUKHAGE
Newt Analyst and Commentator.
WASHINGTON. — In this post-election calm which has
settled over the domestic political scene, many a vest, shirt,
blouse, or slip in the capital conceals a palpitating heart.
What about my government job after the glad (?) New
Year?
The regular classified civil servants haven't much to fear. They
can’t be fired without cause, and no matter how thorough a new admin*
btration’s housecleaning may be, most of the furniture lands right back
where it was before, although here and there, you may at first faQ to
recognize an old friend in a new slipcover.
Bankhage
Long ago most 100 per cent New$-
Dealers in high places displayed the
wisdom which
they felt was the
better part of
valor and va
moosed. Others
assumed new col
ors. Some who
had not been too
careful previous
ly to keep the
right hand from
knowing what the
left hand was do
ing gradually be
gan to grow am
bidextrous and
soon were able to
write the lesson
•n the blackboard without exposing
the wedding-ring finger.
There is however one class of
permanent Washingtonians which
goes on like the brook. But even
individuals in this class may find
the nature of their daily tasks dif
fering slightly as administrations
change. I refer, of course, to the
Fourth Estate which now includes
commentators (since radio news
men as well as newspapermen are
eligible to the National Press club),
thus establishing at least a mini
mum standard of merit.
Naturally we who cover the
White House always wonder
what manner of mar we are
going to have to handle. While
a new Incumbent is learning
the art of getting his name
favorably inserted into a Wash
ington dispatch or broadcast we
have a chance to learn the care
and feeding of the source of
news which feeds the news to
â– s.
Once Dewey had a bad reputa
tion in this regard. But then, most
candidates are suspect before they
start, since it is taken for granted
that they all afe subject to the dis
ease of presidentitis which affects
victims differently.
Coolidge, for instance, was per
haps least afflicted with this malady
that attacks the strongest individ
ual when he walks under the white-
pillared portico of 1600 Pennsyl
vania avenue to stay for at least
four years. And Coolidge was about
as rich in front page material of
his own making as the clam he
sought to emulate.
I remember a remark William
Hard, now an editor of Reader's
Digest, once made to me:
“Cal never seemed to suffer from
presidentitis” (Hard invented the
word, I believe)—“he is the only
occupant of the White House I know
of who, when he lay down to take
his daily siesta, didn’t think when
he awoke that the world had gone
to pieces.”
Nu newsman, except toward
the last, could complain about
Franklin Roosevelt's news con
ferences. Regardless of what
one might think of his views,
his news was always printable.
It will be hard to produce an
other such.
The heavy majority of those who
traveled with Dewey on his cam
paign trips had nothing but praise.
But a few of those who had ex
perienced his press conferences,
and had enjoyed—or otherwise—his
press relations in earlier days were
cynical.
“Wait," they said, “until the
honeymoon is over.”
I found it hard to get concrete
predictions. I myself had seen a
vast improvement in Dewey’s press
relations over the years since his
first campaign. And I see no rea
son why a person can’t and doesn’t
learn.
On the train, whenever he could
(and that is the way most of the
correspondents described it—
“could,” not “would”), Dewey
went into the press car attached
to his train, chatted individually
with the fellows, learned to connect
names with new faces, answered
questions, and at least appeared to
be frank and free with his “off the
record” remarks concerning Re
publican doubts and fears, real, im
agined, or assumed. He sometimes
took time for a game of chess
“with the boys.”
there was, however, much
less informality in the atmos
phere of his entourage than
there was in Truman’s. The
Dewey affair moved so smooth
ly that a creak or two would
have been welcome. Like the
fanner in the poem “so even
ran his course of life the neigh
bors thought it odd.”
There was one man who made
press relations on the Dewey cam
paign train a joy—well, two men.
One was Jim Hagerty, trained re
porter himself, who is expected to
be the public relations secretary
in the White House. The other was
a man who probably won’t be in
Washington at all—Dewey’s veteran
political adviser, Edwin Jaeckle.
There was no conflict between the
two, a rare situation indeed. Jaeckle
supplemented Hagerty.
This would seem to contradict the
sharp charges of Warren Moscow,
author of “Politics in the Empire
State” which came out this fall.
Moscow, one of New York City’s
top-rank political reporters, who
also covered Albany, claims that
Dewey shut down news sources dur
ing his governorship in an attempt
to thwart any criticism. That he
even tried to lay down a press con
ference rule that a question was
“off the repord,” thus covering up
the fact that an answer had been
given not to be made public or had
been refused. Moscow asserts that
Dewey wanted to be the oracle, the
one and only, the sole source of
what should be reported.
If that was true earlier in Dewey’s
career, the dapper New Yorker
who has been widely-touted of late
for being able to take advice and
for being able to pick people who
know how to advise, has had some
good advice. If he should revert to
methods such as Moscow describes,
two things would happen: first, he
would suffer; second, he would fail
in his attempt, and the effects of
the effort might be permanently
disastrous.
Some presidents have tried to
conduct government by dis
turbing the “checks and bal
ances.” It never works long
and the freedom of the press
is one of the checks—a prin
ciple that is part and parcel
of the American concept of
government.
•
A notable example of how the
very weight of the news, legitimate
news, breaks through any wall, was
the case of the financial conference
called by President Hoover just be
fore the end of his regime—1931, to
be exact. Hoover had no intention
whatever of deceiving the public.
He simply didn't understand that
you couldn’t have a gathering like
that without making an adequate
explanation of some kind. At any
rate just a bare announcement was
issued.
Free Frets It
Bett Check
The next day at the White House
news conference. Hoover said he
would not comment on the meeting
(though the notice had appeared
in the papers), and that he consid
ered it the duty of the ijress not to
print anything which was only par
tially true, or else incomplete.
Richard Oulihan of the New York
Times, one of the most be
loved and respected correspondents
who ever covered Washington, and
an outstanding leader, made a typ
ically dignified, but very emphatic
protest then and there. He said it
was out of the question to ask the
reporters not to get as complete a
story as they could. It was pointed
out by another well-known reporter
that the press would have to have
the story, and the reporters would
have to get it, regardless of the
President’s wishes.
The President refused at first, but
the reporters insisted. Finally he
agreed to give out an official state
ment after the conference.
I have known other examples
of short-Uved gag rales. One
which Secretary of the Treas
ury Morgenthau tried to estab
lish on the treasury. He issued
an order that none of the treas
ury officials could talk with
newsmen. He might as well
have told reporters net to read
the market quotations. It failed.
Legitimate news continued to be
reported as it always had been.
Franklin Roosevelt had, at one
time, at least 80 per cent of the
newspapers "against” him. He
knew he couldn’t change their edi
torial views by giving out news to
their representatives. He also knew
that if he tried to withhold news,
the American people would be far
less likely to support him. And be
cause he understood the meaning
of the freedom of the press, he
wouldn’t have thought of trying.
And he knew how to make it appear
as favorable as possible.
The most effective check in a
democracy is not the first, second
or third, but the fourth estate. An
unenlightened public conceivably
might elect a totally bad president
and a totally bad congress which
would establish a totally bad su
preme court, but unless the press is
gagged, the public in a democracy
cannot be democratically unen
lightened.
NATURE . . . Eden (Nature Boy)
Ahbex and his wife Anna frater
nize with nature in their Holly
wood home under a guava tree
and display their brand new son
whose name is Tatha Om, mean
ing “one fully enlightened.”
INTREPID STEEPLEJANE . . . That fabulous Mary, Mary quite con
trary description might fit Mary Trapuzzano of Pittsburgh, Pa., who
prefers to earn her living by doing a he-man’s job. Mary is shown climb
ing a 100-foot tower which she is helping to dismantle in the Dravo
corporation yards near Pittsburgh. She works for her dad and is as
good as any male member of the crew. •
BLOSSOMTIME . . . Dorothy Ma
lone stands loaded to her shell
like ears with chrysanthemums—
also known as plain mums—in ob
servance of national flower week
November 7-14. The week is
meant as a tribute to flowers and
the happiness they bring.
WHAT IRON CURTAIN? . . . Sgt. Ralph M. Felling, the G.I. who ran
the Russian blockade of Berlin in his new automobile, demonstrates
how he leaned out of his car, waved a road map and a “four-power”
identification pass at a Russian sentry post and passed through the Soviet
lines into the American sector of Berlin. He is the first American to
have crashed the blockade since it was imposed last July.
SPIRIT OF 76 . . . Walter Mor
gan, 76 years old, of Fosston,
Minn., realized a long-standing
ambition to make a parachute
Jump. He dropped from 1,800
feet, doing the first 900 feet in a
free fall. Said he “enjoyed it im
mensely.”
PARCEL POST ... No worse for
wear is this newborn infant who
was found abandoned in a shop
ping bag at the base of a veter
ans’ memorial in Chicago. He
apparently was unharmed by his
exposure to sub-freezing (20-de
gree) weather.
TROUBLE IS HE’S INELIGIBLE . . . Any football coach might in-
excused for going dreamy-eyed over the idea of getting a tackle the size
of this Kodiak bear, which is what these members of Brown university’s
gridiron staff are doing. This nine foot four inch stuffed specimen was
presentee' to Brown by the' school’s Midwest alumni. Coach Rip Engle
(second from If ft) probably is thinking that the bear would be a bear
at backing up the line.
ENDURANCE . . . Fred Vin-
mont (left) and Bert Simons,
both of Dallas, Tex., pose in the
cockpit of the light plane in the
attitudes they will assume alter
nately while trying to establish a
new endurance flying record.
INVENTORS AND JETCYCLE .. . Sooner or later somebody was bound
to come up with a jet-propelled bicycle, and here are the three teen
age inventors from FaUs Church, Va., who did it. The contraption
they designed can work up to a speed of IS miles an hour with Its single
jet, but the boys now are working on a faster three-Je. Job. They are
Heft to right) John Hunton, 16; Bobby Dent, 15. and Mad Walther, U.
Famous Sons Arrested
r^HIEF Justice Fred M. Vinson
'^ l is not going to Moscow and his
name, therefore, will not become
a by-word with the Russian people.
Down in Virginia, however, his
name is so well known that it caused
a Virginia traffic cop to rub his
eyes.
' Among the students at Washing
ton and Lee university happen to
be the grandson of a late famous
Virginia senator, the great grand
son of a famed Civil war hero, and
the son of a chief justice. All three
were riding together near Lexing
ton, Va., when arrested for speed
ing.
The policeman, proceeding to
book them, asked their names.
“Robert E. Lee IV," replied the
first student.
It happened that he was telling
the truth. The traffic cop looked up
quizzically, but wrote the name
down, then asked for the next name.
“Carter Glass III,” was the re-
&y.
The cop wrote the name down,
then queried the third student.
“What’s yours?”
“Fred M. Vinson Jr.,” replied
young Vinson.
“Then my names’ Napoleon,”
exclaimed the flustered cop,
and let all three boys go.
NOTE—Mrs. Vinson, wife of the
chief justice, suggested to her son
that after graduating at Washing
ton and Lee he might want to take
his law degree at Yale. A Yale de
gree, she intimated, might give him
a better springboard into the legal
fraternity. Replied her son: “Little
Old Center college (Kentucky) was
good enough for dad, wasn’t it?”
• • •
Taxes Go Up in Smoke
Brass hats have kept it hushed
up, but the air force wasted thou
sands of dollars taking worthless
movies of the Bikini atomic-bomb
tests. For some unexplained rea
son, the job was turned over to in
experienced officers.
Brig. Gen. Paul Cullen, then a
colonel, had charge of the air force
camera crews at Bikini. His master
piece was a glorified, technicolor
training film called “Able Baker
Day,” which he sent over to Metro-
Goldwyn-Mayer to be edited. But
even after the Hollywood experts
added their touches, the picture
was such a flop and so hostile to
the army and navy that it couldn't
be shown.
Instead the top brass ordered
all the extra prints burned, and
only two copies kept for the
files. Since Cullen had gone
ahead and ordered 48 prints,
this made an expensive bonfire
—paid for out of the taxpay
ers’ pocket. Cost of the film
alone tin t went up in smoke:
$86,000.
Since the atomic energy commis
sion had called upon all the armed
services to cooperate in filming the
Bikini explosions, the navy was
working on a similar picture at the
same time Cullen was making
“Able Baker Day.” But Cullen was
in such a hurry to finish the air
force picture first and scoop the
navy that he sent an air force tech
nical adviser under the pretense
of helping the navy, though with
secret instructions to obstruct and
delay the navy picture.
The air force also made another
â– :j 4 $50,000 technicolor extravaganza of
Bikini, called “Phantom Wings."
This s(nelled so that it also was
never shown again.
It was produced by Maj.
James L. Gaylord whose total
photographic background, up to
that time, had been as a per
sonnel officer.
And here is how the air force
has rewarded the two officers who
wafted so much of the taxpayers’
money: Cullen was promoted from
colonel to brigadier general, and
Gaylord—in spite of his first flop—'
was placed in charge of filming the
recent super-secret tests atEniwetok
for the atomic energy commission.
He was supposed to have finished
24 films by October 1; so far, has
delivered only five.
U. S. Arniy’s Prisoners
Unfortunately, several thousand
U. S. prisoners still remain in U. S.
prisons for desertion, crime, or
violation of discipline during the re
cent war. Even more tragic, some
prisoners have suffered “perma
nent physical impairment” in soli
tary confinement. This was con
fessed in a recent circular issued
by the air force inspector general.
Meant oifly for the eyes of
the top brass, the circular
warned grimly that regulations
governing the treatment of these
prisoners were “not being com
plied with.”
“It is essential,” the air inspec
tor general stressed, “that pris
oners in solitary confinement on
bread and water be given one full
meal every three days and that
medical authorities examine them
daily.
“Failure of medical authorities
to perform the prescribed examina
tion has, in the past, led to perma
nent physical impairment.”
THE GARBLE SISTERS
“Did you read that Llandudno
speech?”
“No, I don’t pay much attention
to what them Notre Dame football
stars say.” /
“This Llandudno is a place. Win
ston Churchill made a terrific
speech there. He warned French
labor that any more strikes would
be like insurrection and said every
body working in an atomic bomb
plant should answer yes or no
whether he is a Copmunist.”
“The situation is getting worse
and worse. Do you think there
will be a world war this sea
son?
“Not at present inflation
prices. Nobody can afford it, net
even under lend lease.”
“Have you been following
them Paris meetings at the
Palaise de Chenille?”
“No. I think we should follow
our own styles and forget them
Paris dress designers.”
*
“How are you going to vote in
the coming election?”
“I’m waiting for the next Hooper
ratings on all the candidates. We
should have a man in the White
House who can hold his radio audi
ence without a jackpot or free ice
boxes.”
“I can’t make up my mind wheth
er to vote for Truman or Dewey.
They’re both friendly to the Ameri
can Indian. I suppose Truman will
have to take the blame for the
world series. It was permitted while
he was in office.”
•
“What did you think of Satlra .
being released?”
“Those New York Yankee club
owners don’t care who they fire
as soon as the season ends.” '
“That was strange about Gen
eral Marshall being rushed back
to this co'Sntry for a talk with
President Truman with Cleve
land leading by three games to
one, wasn’t it?”
“What was it all about?”
“There was some idea of send
ing Boudreau to Moscow or
someplace.”
•
“Did you see jvhere John L. Lewis
had Lincoln's birthday named after
him?”
“Yeah, but he didn’t pitch that
good. They got two hits off him.”
“Are you seeing any football
games?”
“I seen the Cleveland-Yale game
by video, that’s all. Veeck was too
good for Yale. Shotton is pretty old
but New Haven will keep him an-
.other year.”
—— «
“The spy investigations at
Washington have slowed down
lately.”
“Yeah. Alger Whittaker has
sued Chambers Hiss and the
winner sues Lizzie Bentley or
somebody. Then if it turns out
Moscow has the atom bomb We
sue Vishinsky in a playoff.”
“Do you think the Russians
have the bomb yet?”
“How can anybody tell until
they cross-examine Tokio Rose.”
• • •
The American Chemical society
reveals that it is now possible tc
treat sawdust chemically so that it
can be used as a substitute for
cattle and poultry' feed. Somehow
or other we are a little afraid of a
pork chop with an oak flavor and a
steak that has the taste of Oregon
pine. Not to mention Junior’s com
plain that he just got a splinter in
his hand from an egg.
• • •
“Istanbul, Turkey.—The Na
tional party, Turkey’s third po
litical group, has joined in the
sharp attack on ERP as ruinous
to the country. It says the
terms of the Marshall plan in
fringe on Turkish sovereignty
and encroach upon financial in
dependence. ‘The government
made serious errors in accept
ing the terms of the latest loan
which amounts to nothing,’ says
a statement.”—News item.
•
The loan was one of 10 million for
90 days. It’s a dirty shame the way
some of those European nations have
to stand for American millions!
* * *
Pete, a hippopotamus at the
Bronx zoo, just reached his
45th birthday. He attributes his
long life to the fact he watches
his diet, never having a bale
of hay more than twice a day.
• • •
Stalin recently asked an Amer
ican envoy to come up and have a
cocktail with him any time. We
will wager that Joe can shake up a
drink so it will not agree with any
body.
• • •
New York taxicab interests
say the business is in a terrific
slump. It is so bad they can
hear a flag drop.
• • •
Scientists warn that there is not
enough food in the world to go
around. A lot of restaurants seem
to have discovered this months ago,
lettuce and beets excepted.
• * •
“Loyal Worker” beat “Why
the Rush” at Saratoga recent
ly, and the boss says it is
mighty encouraging.
CLASSIFIED
DE PARTMENT
BUSINESS & INVEST. OPPOR-
*3.00 PROFIT IN 2 HOURS. No cost lixtor.
mation. Sample. Instructions, $1 bill.
DON’S CRAFT AIDE _
Box 927, San Fernando, Calif.
DRY GOODS STORE FOR SALE
Good Northwest Georgia town. Good pay
rolls and trading area.
W. M. CUMMINGS, Rockmart, Georgia
DOGS, CATS, PETS., ETC.
GREAT DANES
REBEL INN KENNELS
RL S. Marietta. Ga. - Phone tSet-M-t.
FARMS AND RANCHES
CANADIAN FARMS—Writ, in for rtlF.F IN
FORMATION on farm iettlenunt opportiHiitle*
I ertile Mils. Reasonably priced. R. C. Rosworth
Canadian PacitU Railway. Union Station. Si
Paul. Minn. ,
LIVESTOCK
DAIRY COWS AND HEIFERS
Good and choice, out of high producing
herds. Iart?e selection. Truck or carloads.
HARRY BIRGER DAIRY CATTLE^ CO.
327 Exchange Bldg.
So. St. Fanl, Minn. Phone: Emerson 7118
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