The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1938-10-21
Old Trickery Again Being Used
In Writing Views of a President
That Intangible Personality the white House Spokesman
Is Back on the Job; Makes Goats of Writers; Taxes
Blamed for Added Burden Business Carries.
BY WILLIAM BRUCKART
WNU Service, National Press Bldg, Washington D. c.

WASHINGTON. - The white
House Spokesman" is backl That
ghostly, shy and sometimes playful
figure has been resurrected from
the grave where President Roose-
welt inferred his intangible person
atty early in March, 1888. He was
placed there with proper ceremo-
MES by Mr.. Roosevelt after his
witchlike voice had served during
the administrations Of Presidents
Coolidge and Hoover, and after he
had served valiantly as the source
of one inspired news story after
/ another. Mr.. Roosevelt unmasked
the "White House Spokesman" as
just the President of the United
States, speaking behind his hand.
But 10! Here is that man again.
could not help laughing a bit
the other day when the white
House Spokesman" reappeared on
the front pages of metropolitan daily
newspapers, in the work-a-day
clothes of authoritative White
House sources" Grieving as most
writers did that this trickery had to
be employed in order to write a
Presidents views, enjoyed the hui
NOR of the situation, nevertheless.
If the White House Spokesman was
going to be reborn, what more prop
er place could there be than Hyde
Park, N. Y, the Presidents sum-
mer home. That delightful home on
the banks of the Hudson river is
only about the length of an air.
plane runway from the fiction
scenes of nightly riding by ''the
headless horseman of Sleepy Hol-
low"
But restoration of the "White
House Spokesman" to his place Of
eminence is a serious matter. Use
Of such a disguise, such mask,
has no place in American life. Many
q time in the period when Calvin
Coolidge and Herbert Hoover 0ccu-
pied the White House, there were
stories sent to all parts Of the ma
ton that came from the "White
House Spokesman" 1t was a silly
procedure. 1t was both silly and
cheap. The head of the government
was simply using the correspond
ents as vehicles to carry the respon-
sibility which the then occupant Of
the White House should have as
sumed.
Some stories were trial balloons; ;
some were expressions OF person
al opinion by the President which
he was not quite ready to espouse
publicly, and others were pieces of
just plain trickery, given out with
the understanding that the Presi-
dent should not be directly quoted.
The course was adopted, so it was
claimed, as means of giving the
writer's all of the available facts
right up to the minute.
Just Kidding and Pooling
Readers of Newspapers
Well, without questioning the sin
cerity of purpose, the fact remains
that the writer's were the goats. And
here they are being made the goats
again, and the public, the readers
of newspapers, are to be kidded and
fooled some more. What's the ex-
cuse? There is none. 1t is the same
old ostrich and the same old sand in
which he is hiding his head; so why
do it?
The present, and rejuvenated,
'White House Spokesman" had a
good deal to say, behind this shad-
owy veil, about the desirability of a
truce between business and labor, a
truce with the administration in
Washington. The bitterness between
industry and government was made
almost into a parallel with Euro
pean conditions, and the "Spokes-
man" went further to suggest that
some method of getting together,
comparable to the European settle
ment," should be used here.
Well, I imagine there is none in
our country who do not hope for,
and believe in the need of, lasting
peace between business and govern
ment. AS the shadowy form said,
as it floated over Hyde Park, there
has been too much name calling,
too many charges and recrimina-
tons. The condition has slowed UP
general business; it has made the
relief rolls full to overlooking. But
when the "White House Spokesman"
seeks settlement" like that at
Munich, Germany, where Dictator
Hitler grabbed everything he want
ed-well, let me observe that it was
a swell subject as an illustration
why the ''White House Spokesman"
should remain in his grave!
There was another phase Of the
"Spokesman's" backfence snarling
that is bound to disturb the neigh
boris sleep. It was tantamount to a
demand that business stop misrep-
resenting the governments attitude
this being the New Deal attitude
toward business. That is to say,
there was yelled charge that bust
ness, which is to say, "the economic
royalists," have been lying about
the governments programs and OBJ
jectives, no mention being made of
y n