Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-10-02
Douglas. Nye
Both Assailed
irU9Remarks :
Their Fears end 'Dares
on Insurance Sco'ed
BY HUGH :. JOHNSON

81 SAY TO Douglas, If YOU
Il don't keep still, you are
going 10 he brought 10 Wash
ingtOn some day and he COM
PEELED To reveal what YOU
have behind those insurance
policies.
IF you don't keep STILL thus
Senator Nye recently threatened
Lewis w. Douglas, head of the
Great Mutual Life Insurance
Company.
Why? 1.-THE newest fear"
said the Senator. "has been
started by Lewis Douglas. He
has declared that ii Hitler
should win the war, an insur-
ance policy would not be worth
the paper II is written upon"
II is possible not 10 agree
with the opinions of either of
these gentlemen. In the present
hysteria both of them are hop
ping pretty high. Certainly the
argument about insurance on
both sides is likely TO cause
unwarrantcd fear and even
panic among many people whose
only security is insurance for
which they have saved and sac
rificed for many years.
Put that aside for a moment.
1t is this IF you don't keep
still business threatened by an
influential senator that should
give the public the greatest
concern.
THERE are more kinds Of CEN
L sorship and gag rules than
one 10 choke-off freedom of TX
preston and debate in these
terrible times. We can't afford
10 permit any kind of gags or
censorship al all
The senator Is z member ~
Senate subcommittee which,
without any direct ana hnrltA
from the Senate. is seeking 10
censor motion pictures hf eoft-
Quoting an Investigation Of u.
These fishing expeditions are
unpleasant 70 any victim limo
cent or guilty. To threaten ono
Of them without good cause and
with IF you don't keep still may
not be technical blackmail. bat
I IL is certainly distinctly un-
+ American ttf>e-t9f eeeFe4e4f4-
As 10 the insurance companies
and what they have b hin d
those policies y they have been
recently investigated by great
/ Joint executive-Senaie-Ilousc
committee n T. G. They
came away with a clean bin cl
health. Docs the senator mean
now 10 imply that their invest
ments behind our policies area
I not good? II he does not mean
1 that. what does ne mean
And if he means that how ,is
( he in any swecter odor in this
matter OF destroying confidence
in insurance than Mr. Douglas?
Douglas says that if Hitler wins
the war they won't bc good.
I Senator AAS'yc- seems 70 imply that
they may not be good anyway
II is pretty Scurvy business on
both sides
WHAT does Mr. Douglas mean
w by ~ Hitlcr wins This
war? If he means "if Hitler
( conquerS and Subdues America,
insurance policies won't be-
good he is probably right But
I IN spite of all the recent hystcrl-
cal nonsense there Is about as
much danger of that as ol
billiard ball growing whIskcrS
But. II he means what IS more
likely. some kind of a Stalcmatc
in Europe with both sides blcd
white and exhausted and now
governments I aking over the
wreckage of the old ne is as bad
as Senator Nye in dragging IN
this insurance scare 10 frlghten
innocent people toward his point
of view.
However that may be. This
country can't stand for any YOU
keep still-or else" stun. from
legislative committees. private
committees or executive action.
AS in this case. frequently the
arguments which are sought 10
be choked are so full OF holes
that fortnight debate will do
more to kill them and do II
more quickly than any kind of
evasion Of the guaranty IN the
bill of rights OF freedom OF
speech and expression.
Taken in connection without
other obvious trends toward die
iatorShip, when We give that up,
we might as well invite in both
Hitler and Stain We shaR be
faithful copies of their system
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