Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-07-16
U. S. Report
Offsets Red
Propaganda
Muscovite Use Of Press
Draws Criticism !
BY wESTBROOK PEGLER

OFFHAND, it may be hard TO
" imagine more dreary item
than an. official circular of the
United States bureau of mines Of
the department of interior. but
as today's offset against the
propaganda OF the Communist
conspiracy against American in
dustry I cite from such a docu-
ment issued last January.
The Communist in American
Journalism is most deceptive and
effective when he gets job with
a paper purporting TO be an
American publication, for he
then has an opportunity 10 dis
tort and falsify for larger and
more trusting circulation than
he could reach through the coll
umns Of, say, the Daily Worker.
Why some publishers who pur-
port 10 be Americans. as distin-
guished from MuScovites, employ
as reporters and writer's men
and women known to them 10
be Communists or consistent
fellow-travelers, and why they
do not fire such individuals and
be damned TO the labor relations
board. considering that the gov
eminent itself claims the right
10 do so in the interest OF ma
tional safety, one may ask but
never learn.
THE publishers have free ac-
Il cess 10 the public mind and
could go 70 the people with their
case with "A certainty OF being
upheld
Instead. however, they seem 10
regard as private. household
fight the attempt Of the Com
muniStS 10 control and class
angle the news. forgetting that
the free press is not only theirs
but everybody's.
Within the past year con-
siderable stir was created by
propaganda purporting to show
that mine disasters were due 10
the greed and inhuman indiner-
ence Of Soulless corporations
which operate mines and 10 the
lack OF legislation 10 make them
guard better the lives OF men
in an occupation which is ex-
tremely dangerous AT best.
The needs Of laws 10 protect
mines from risks which can be
reduced by compulsory safety
measures will be generally &C
knowledged but the fact that
miners themselves have been
responsible for many of their
own disasters has not received
appropriate emphasis in this OBJ
scure mimeographed document
Of the bureau of mines which.
being political principality Of
the empire Of Harold F. Ickes.
certainly cannot be suspected of
Partially TO American free in
+ dustry.
TIIIS paper says that "men
Il engaged in the hazardous
occupation Of mining indulge
with the utmost indifference" IN
the habit Of smoking under cir
cumstanceS that max jeopardize
not only their own lives but
those OF scores even of hun
dreds-of their fciiow-workerS
as well The old adagc that
stolen sweets are the best
when applied To the practice %
smoking Surreptitiously in a coal
mine, especially in a gasSy mine.
Is without even remote founda-
ton"
smoking" says the circular.
"has been the cause or the
suspected cause Of many gas ex-
blossoms and black powder igni-
tions and has resulted I'm
numerous instances of injury.
loss of life and destruction Of
! property. Many fires i'm both coal
and metal mines, causing loss ~
life. have been caused by smok-
ing"
The circular then says that In
the first seven months of 1870
there were AT least three igni-
tiOnS. possibly as result ~
smoking and adds that be-
tween 1899 and 1889 ignition
from either open lights or smok-
ing was responsible for 237 per
cent OF the mine explosions OF
which records were available.
OF 80 explosions in the Ala
bama mines 76.9 per cent arc
attributed 10 open lights and
smoking.
TIIE bureau admits its inabil-
Il ity TO determine positively
how many disasters were caused
by smoking and how many by
open lights. but says that for
more than 100 years these have
been the important causes of
disastrous mine explosions.
A hough the men were
searched daily for matches and
smokers articles, cigarets were
found m a miners jacket. and
the bureau holds this TO indicate
strongly that this man and prob
ably others smoked in the mine
that day.
Enforcement OF laws and rules
against smoking is difficult, the
circular grants. Miners hide
smoking materials in their lunch
buckets, between slices of bread.
in their thernos bottles, in their