Evening star., 1936-04-22
NEW DEAL HINTS
CURB ON PUBLICITY
Press AGENTS Told to Hold
Down Output of Hand.
Outs.
BY CARLISLE BARGERoN.

AA4 a44 SAAoAk w ASSP vNoo4AA&A6 tSAA oA4
the countrys front pages rs much as
possible, orders have gone out to the
horde of New Deal press agents to
hold their output to the minimum. 1t
is a part Of the administration S
strategy, it is understood, to main
taing the calm which has come over
the city and which Las become so
pronounced of late the correspondents
pouts cause them to resemble young
ster who sucks his thumbs.
In addition, taboo Is understood
to have been placed upon the wise
cracks and other pronouncementS
which used to make headlines, such as
that of Harry Hopkins that Gov. Lam
don balanced the budget "out of the
hides of the people" 1t does not
mean that the thinkers concentrated
here are not thinking just as hard as
ever, but they are not saying as much
about 1t.
The change is noticeable not only
in the press conferences, but in the
reduction in handouts with which
the correspondents offices formerly
were flooded. Until about the time
that Mr.. Roosevelt went of to Florida.
it was with some difficulty that one
moved. about the twelfth floor of the
Press Building, where a number of
correspondents have their offces.
Hand Outs 2 Inches Thick.
Outside of each door was piled
handouts inches thick. telling what
the Federal Housing Administration,
the P. w. A. and w. P. A and nu-
merous other alphabetical agencies
were doing. The w. P. A. bundle de.
scribing boondoggling projects was
in many instances inches thick.
For some time the correspondents
never gave these releases a second
look, but some of the more enterpris-
ing ones later developed the practice
of taking q particularly funny project
each day and sending it to their pa
pers under the heading "Today's
Boondoggle" This came to be a daily
feature in several of the metropolitan
papers.
The housing administrations daily
budget contained not only narrative
of how it was getting along, but "fea-
lures" for the women's pages of the
newspapers telling the housewife how
she could put the bureau in another
corner of the room, repaper the walls
and it would make all the difference
in the world, and funds coulds be
secured under the housing admins
tration's loan plan to do this with.
Security Board Continues.
The only releases which seem to
come regularly now are those from the
Social Security Board seeking to ex-
plain the social security law and oc-
casionally telling of State having
enacted legislation to conform. A
steady stream of releases also come
from the Democratic National Com
mittee, but they are mostly of speeches
column" which Charlie Nicholson
Democratic publicity director, dis
tributes to the country newspapers ano
which he wittily calls 'dspelling the
fog" But to large extent the cor
respondents mail bag" has dwindleo
to the old reliable output Of the For.
eign Policy Association, the American
Federation of Labor, the National
Economy League and the like.
The New Deals press agents are
under instructions to cease making
news" about their departments: that
Is, for each to cease vying with g
compatriot in an effort to show the
work his particular department is
doing. The word-o mouth campaign
between the publicity men Of Secre-
tary Ickes and those of Hopkins still
is continuing. In fact, it has taken
on new vigor with Ickes' effort to gel
s700, ,0O0, 600 Of the $500, 1000, 900 re.
lief fund.
Country Publicity Maintained.
The understanding is that there has
been no great curtailment in the
distribution of publicity out in the
country, particularly on the part Of
the Housing Administration and the
Rural Electrification Administration
The r. e. A. Is conducting an intensive
campaign to educate the people or
the uses of electricity. It has sug-
gested, for example. that a COW will
give better milk If the radio is playing
music. It has just received a very
critical reaction on Bulletin r. e. A
48745-Special No. 18, which among
other things said:
Ducks are very timid and afraid OF
the dark. Modern duck farms use all
night electric illumination to keer
their ducks from stampeding."
A citizen signing himself Safety
First" wrote in to commend the r. E. A
in satirical vein. He once had a
terrible time with a duck, he said
that became frightened in the dark.