The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-01-16

OUT 10 ullleF from subsequently, re-
vealed facts.
For many years Britain's big
news gathering and distributing
agency has been Reuters. II cor
responds to our own International
News Service and our Associated
and United Presses. The name,
Reuter-, sounds German, but the
agency is as British as John Bull.
Not in England alone. 1t has cor
respondents and a public through
out the world. Undoubtedly it's
greatly handicapped by todays
London censorship, but it seems to
remain as honestly independent as
it's permitted to be.
Germany's essential agency used
to be Wolff. 1t always was subsi-
died by the Berlin government,
but nominally 1t was privately con-
trolled Now 1t has vanished from
the scene, supplanted by the frank
ly official DNB, bossed by Herr
Goebbels. Through him, OF course,
Fuehrer Hitler dictates everything
1t says.
Russia's agency, under Soviet
rule, is Tass, Comrade Stains
mouthpiece, naturally.
Italys is Stefanl; Frances is
Havas.
Stefanl and Havas chemically
have been governmentally subsi-
died but theoretically independ-
ent. Stefani still pretends to be
so, though it isn't, needless to re-
mark.
Havas Is Gone
But Havas, as anything but a
name, is no more. 1t never was as
far-flung an outfit as our Ameri-
can agencies or as Reuters. Never
theless. it was sizable-at least
next after Reuters. Toward the
end Of December. though. it was
announced from Vichy that an in
formation Office had been estab-
lished there by the Petain regime.
that Havas had been bought out
bodily and that, henceforth, the
government will collect and dis
tribute all French news. That any
actual buying was done l can't
guarantee; il may have been a case
OF confscation. Anyway, the con-
GERMS governmentalized by Vichy
100 per cent-meaning that it's
governmentalized by Berlin.
l ask, how can anybody place
the slightest confidence in such
news sources as DNB. Tass, Ste
FAM and the present Havas? Reu-
ter's can be trusted TO do its best,
but those others? Oh. MY
Even the French always have
had their news oddities. Which
recalls a funny incident.
Some years before the last World
war ! was European manager for
an American news collecting
agency. London was my head
quarters but was responsible for
the continent. too. From London
I sent to New York whatever dis
patches l pleased and didn't. at
first, realize that Paris wasn't so
Journalistically free.
Well. we had in Paris, as corre-
spondent, one f. Warrington Daw-
SON He was Of New Orleans
French origin and one Of the most
enthusiastically French boosters l
ever met. In due course he de-
veloped dislike of our agency and
quit his Job.
William Philip Simms, a we'll
known American newspaperman,
was named to succeed him. Phil
hadn't been in Paris long before
there was a bad Seine river food.
Phil reported It. This enraged the
Gallo government. on the ground
that food news was calculated to
put damper on Paris American
tourist trade. Accordingly Phil
was warned that. the next time he
committed such an offense, he'd be
expelled from France. ] streaked
II from London to take up his case
with the United States French en-
bassy The Paris foreign Offices
attitude was. "Oh. well, let it 90
this one time"
Simms Gets a Break
Shortly afterward there was a
general strike on the government
ally-owned French railroads. Phil
reported that also. Now we WILL
expel him" yelled the foreign Of
hce. Immediately 1t sent out for