The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-08-21
ON THE
CAPITALS CUFF
Federated Press)
BY HENRY ION

Henry Luce is very powerful man
He is the publisher of Time, a news
magazine, the head of The March o
Time. newsreel, the publisher o
Life, picture magazine, the head o
Fortune, magazine for businessmen
and head of The Architectural Forum
a magazine for architects.
Recently, Mr.. Luce's Time magazine
ran full page advertisement in The
New York Times and a number OF
other newspapers throughout the
country.
| The ad was one of a series ito give
all the readers of this newspaper a
clearer picture of what the press in
general and Time in particular are
doing to keep the people of this nation
safe, strong, free and united"
The ad declared, Consider this
question of military training in peace
time. Public opinion polls show that
ia majority of Americans believe it
necessary.
But no other part Of our defense
program quite so urgently needs uni
versal support-a speed-up of the us
ual democratic process by which the
minority is converted to the viewpoint
of the majority.
This is where most of the nations
newspapers are doing, and will con-
tinue to do, a great job. Not by edi-
torials primarily-nor by any color
ing of the news. Simply by digging
out all the essential facts and telling
them"
The ad goes on to say, 1.-THE three
fold task before the press is to show
us that Uncle Sam will take care OF
the boys the best he knows how, that
their talents and abilities win be used
with as little disruption as possible of
normal civilian lives and careers; that
il war comes they will be far safer
trained than unframed"
That's Mr. Luce's conception of the
task confronting the American news
papers.
1t might be respectfully suggested
because Mr. Luce is a
very powerful man and makes up
lot of peoples minds-that there are
some other tasks confronting Ameri-
can newspapers.
They might, for example, examine
he question of government contracts
ior defense and make sure that large
portions of the money spent do not go
INTO untaxed profits instead of guns
md airplanes and tanks and rifles and
bullets and uniforms and shoes.
They might, for example, make sure
hat the public knows what organized |
abor thinks about national defense.
They might, for example, examine |
loosely the emergency" question and
ct people decide for themselves, on
he basis of expert opinion, whether |
hey should in peacetime surrender
iberties given up only reluctantly in
(Mr. Luces own military expert, |
Maj. George Fielding Eliot, has ex-
pressed doubts, not in Mr. Luce's pub
ications, about the necessity for con-
They might, for example, recall that
was Mr.. Luce's Life that gave Capt.
Torkild Richer, chairman of the Texas
20. board who resigned after discov-
ny Of his diddlings with a nazi com
nercial counselor, great build-up.
Mr.. Luce perhaps remembers Will
lam Randolph Hearst who was also
publisher.
Mr.. Hearst also started out as a
.reat friend of the working people.
lie wound up with his newspapers IL
and himself a cordially
ated person, his name synonymous
With the worst in newspapering.
"The odyssey of unique strain of
ats, driven a quarter of the way
round the world by the spreading
over of Adolph Hitler was revealed
esterday where the small ref L