The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-01-20

up Sucn an organization Inc tdlK-
ers don't employ the term ''propa-
ganda," because that words I'M
popular, though Professor Fried
rich uses it. probably for the
reason that. seemingly, he isn't
very favorable to the idea, and
wants TO stick a mean label onto
it. It's proponents, however. speak
OF a public information" depart
ment or bureau, approximately
after the Creel concerns fashion.
Heaven knows that government
tai information available enough
in our capital. Every executive
department and Independent agen-
cy has a publicity man or a whole
staff. Collectively they issue re-
leases by the truckload. To be
sure. these handouts tell only what
the various departments and agen-
cies choose to TELL undoubtedly
they're extremely reticent con-
corning quite a few facts that the
public would be keenly interested
in If they were ventilated also. The
stuff's volume is enormous. though.
But the advocates OF a central
publicity management argue that
present sources of the dope are too
scattered; they believe that CO.
ordinations needed.
Out of Control
Professor Friedrich finds no fault
with George Creel personally. He
says that George honestly sought
to sell to the world the idea of
democratic victory and "a Wilson
ian peace, but that the COMPUB,
as 1t generally was called, got be-
You'd his control and he was forced
to stand by helplessly while his
concept was crushed beyond rec
ognition" - the peace finally ar
rived at was anything but Will
sonian.
The fact Is. asserts the profess
sor. that the COMPUB'S work was
too effective.
1t overly emphasized. he main
tains, the necessity Of winning the
war" in purely military sense.
Consequently. upon Germany's COL
lapse at that particular wars end,
according to the professor. the de-
mocracies took 1t for granted that
they'd won permanently and felt
such "a false sense Of security"
that they didn't take the future
into account, resulting in the re-
pudiaton OF President Wilson's
program. both at home and
abroad"
And that, observes the Harvard
spokesman. amounted to the de-
mocracies' loss Of the war. In a
way. he adds, their exaggerated
hopes. created by the COMPUB,
proved to be the cradle of Hitler
ism"
What's more, he goes on, the to-
talitarian powers are modelling
their propaganda activities largely
upon the COMPUB'S pattern.
Particularly the Nazis," he re-
marks, ARE known to have copied
it extensively" He doesn't spe-
officially ask the question, Are we
going to re-establish, in this coun-
try. a set-up that -olk like the
Nazis regard so highly?" It's a
query that he rather implies, new
ertheless.
In South America
Professor Friedrichs views in
terested me decidedly, for | was on
the COMPUB'S payroll while we
we're in the last war. / was living
in Buenos Aires when we broke in
and, offering my services to the
United States embassy. was as
signed TO the job of handling
COMPUB matter throughout that
part Of South America.
II took pretty well there.
wrote most Of II myself, for
COMPUB headquarters didn't send
me much. The Argentine, Uru-
guayan and Paraguayan newspa-
pers liked 1t, though-made a reg
uiar daily half page Of it. English
propagandists in the same region
were jealous Of it--said II tended
10 build up Yankee trade in the
River Platte republics at John
Bulls expense. Sir Ernest II.
Shackleton was their chief South
American propagandist at the
time As south polar explorer
he was a whizz but he didn't know