Evening star., 1939-04-18
.|ckes Voices Fear
OF Press Exposure,
Mrs. Patterson Says
Charges New Deals
Failures Caused
Attack on Papers

AttoCk on TOPeIS
Answering Secretary of the In
terror Ickes' attacks on the press,
Mrs. Eleanor Patterson, editor and
publisher of the Washington Times
Herald in a radio address, national
.ly broadcast last night, charged that
Mr.. Ickes in his attitude was voicing
the New Dealers fear of the press
"as the revealer of their errors and
accidents"
For some time the New Deal has
been slipping; she charged in her
speech. entitled THE Jawbone of
an Acidulous Man"
"Its failures have increased.
These facts are now we'll known
How do they become we'll known?
Because that section of the press
which is on duty in Washington.
and those editors away from Wash
1ngton who comment on the news
they send, have revealed the facts.
1t is this which is the animus of the
administrations steady attacks on
the press"
Mr.. Ickes purpose, the speaker
charged. was to "discredit the press
as a purveyor of truth of what goes
on in Washington"
The radio is licensed by the
Government" she said. THE news
reels impart governmental good will.
Only the press, under the Consti-
tuition, is wholly free of the restrict
ing hand of politicians in power.
What, then, more natural than that
men who love power and want to
keep 1t should attack the press for
discovering and publishing the
truths which foreshadow the loss
Of that power? -
"Mr. Ickes has had hours on the
air in which to traduce the Ameri-
can press. 1 have only IL minutes
in which to answer him. 1t only
gives me time to say that I wish
to swear Mr.. Ickes off the bench
. to try this case.
Il swear him off as Judge because
he suppresses views and prejudices
which are deterrent to his ambition,
and only reveals those he thinks will
aid him.
He dislikes and violently dis
agrees with Harry l.. Hopkins and
his entire policy of administration.
This fact. which he has made re-
peatedly clear in private. he has
kep from the public. which has the
right to know. He held the lowest
opinion of the efforts of James A.
Moffett as Federal Housing Admin
istrator, but at the White House,
at the dictation of the President, he
signed with Mr.. Moffett a declara-
ton of friendship which neither of
them felt and blamed on the press
accounts of their quarrel, which
Mr.. Ickes himself inspired.
He is no judge of the duty of a
publisher. The proof of this is that
he believed, and said as much pri-
vately on many occasions, that the
setting up of w. P. A. over P. w. A.
was a wanton waste of the taxpay-
ers' money. However, he kept this
essential fact from the public, which
it was his duty to reveal. Why
didn't he resign and tell the world
what he believed? Why? Because
he preferred to hold his job.
II swear him off the bench as a
Judge because he is inaccurate, as
well as prejudiced, and his charges
are always ex parte.
For example. in his first attack
on the press this year, January II,
he charged the newspapers with a
general suppression of the Johns
Hopkins report that tobacco is bad
for us. Only to have the author of
that report contradict him the very
next day with complete proof to
the contrary. *'*
Attacking publishers. Mr.. Ickes
reveals himself possessed of an in
tent to color and suppress the facts
surprising anything he imputes to
any publisher.
Attacking columnists, Mr.. Ickes
shows himself purveyor of more
baseless gossip than any he so de-
scribes. " ."
II venture that as an opinion. But
In the realm of fact I know that he
has been frustrated as a columnist.
About six months ago I offered him
a job of writing column for the
Washington Times. 1t is no exag-
eeration to say that he leapt at the
idea. But after considerable con-
sultation-and some delay-he was
forbidden to do presumably by
his boss.
From his standpoint, this was
indeed pity. For if Mr.. Ickes had
ever conducted a column I am sure
it would have been a column that
ended all columns, including those
he now attacks. And instead of
speaking to you here tonight-a free
woman-I-because of his venoms,
Responsibilities and inaccuracies
would probably be in Jail serving out
o sentence for criminal libel"
Secretary Ickes refused today to
make any reply to Mrs. Pattersons
speech.
IT did not listen to Mrs. Patter-
sons speech and I have not read
It," Mr.. Ickes said.