The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1940-09-11

cred that they were imperfect
Accordingly. said Senator Dana
her, under federal regulations,
they should have been destroyed.
But, continued the senator, some
how Secretary Ickes obtained pos
session Of $3.50 worth Of them,
their face value. However, pro-
ceeded the Nutmeg State senator,
philatists are wild to acquire such
practically unavailable specimens
for their collections. AS per their
quotations asserted the senator.
Ickes stood to reap a profit of
S1s7.4l750 by disposing Of his
holding in the philatelic market.
Among the many dailies which
published this tale were the Wash
ington Post and the Washington
Star. Ickes being, himself, right
in Washington, read 1t first In
those two journals.
Slander-Libel-Et
Thereupon Harold wrote identi-
cal letters to the Post and Star,
to appear in their respective CON
tributors' columns" which they
published not long ago.
In these letters Harold referred
to the postage stamp yarn as
slandereus, hbellous and defama-
tory. He recognized, though, that
he had no redress against Senator
Danaher or the newspapers, be-
cause OF the rule Of privilege"
which, covered congressional pro-
ceedings.
The question he did raise was:
Does "this (the congressional
privilege rule) also give you (the
newspapers immunity from the
ethics of Journalism ?"
Following this query Harold
plunged into a discussion of news
paper technique that ought to be
interesting TO any editor or news
makeup man or anybody else con-
nected with the concoction Of a
welI-riin daily. Whatever ore may
think of his postage stamp dicker,
he talks like a trained newspaper
man
The only qualification is that he
may be trife too journalistically
professional to be fully understood
by the average reader.
Rather Too Technical
To begin with. Ickes promptly
repudiated Senator Danaher
charge that he was looking for a
s1s7,417.50 profit on his postage
stamps. He offered to sell his coll
lection to the senator for $3.50,
their original face value.
Harold holds that his repudia-
ton and offer ought, in the news
papers, to have gone into what's
known as the story's lead-that Is,
the first paragraph or so. That's
sound Journalism. A story's nub
should be played up right in front
then amplify. And Harold's re-
pudiation was as much part Of that
yarns nub as Senator Danaher's
accusation. This particular re-
pudiation didn't get into the pub
ushed story's lead.
The headlines (heads, newspaper
men call 'em), alike over the Posts
and Stars stories, embodied moth
ing but the juice of Senator Dana
hers accusation against Harold.
Perhaps that was unavoidable, for
there's no room to say much in
head.
But Harold argues that the
decks" might have modified the
heads" The deck Is that little
bunch Of comparatively fat type
right underneath a main headline.
The trouble is, the interior Sec
rotary complains, that the Post
and Star published their heads
without any decks.
Down to Essentials
Now we get down to the essen
tial story.
II starts of with Senator Dana
hers postage stamp charge against
Ickes. 1t goes on down the col
umn. still roasting Harold until It
comes TO a point where It says,
Turn to inside page so-and-so"
Newspapermen refer TO these
breaks as jumps or break-overs.
Harold complains that mighty
few readers bother to turn inside
They quit with the first page-the
one that pans him, minus his sub
sequent reputation.
Ickes knows how he's being
trifed with thus.