Askov American., 1942-02-12

other, they get to going pretty strong
in their praise of their wares. Ma
turally, after little time, they get
so they believe what they at first
knew was salve. In due course of
time they start to blow themselves up
in the same manner and with ap-
parent equal results. Millions of peo-
pie hear this day in and out and they
finally absorb the ballyhoo and get to
believe it.
After few months of this, a COM
mon ballet actress gets so she thinks
that she is fully as good as Sarah
Bernhardt and common soap
peddler imagines that he is of the
best. 1t is getting so now that be-
fore they start 15-minute or half
an hour program, the cast spends
about five minutes in telling the in
visible audiences how good they are.
They blow each other up to an ad-
miring audience, who usually get a
sad letdown.
The newspapers have copied this
technique and blow up most anyone
or anything, providing the price is
forthcoming. BY the constant bally-
hoo, singer who really has voice
best suited to call hogs and an actor
who could not have made a third
class honky-tonk dump 80 years ago,
are made into great artists and enter
tainers.
All this is carried into other ac-
tivities, especially politics. A Min
nesota Congressman, during the reign
of the "best minds, gave for his rea-
son for voting against the McNary-
Haugen bill 'that the best minds were
against it." No other reason was
necessary, apparently, in his opinion.
1t was not even necessary to go into
the merits of the bill, so fully did
he take the words of the "best minds"
that he waived aside the recommen-
dationS of the various farm organiza-
tions as being the unsound think
ing of yokels.
All this grew especially during the
past 20 years and when this war
broke out host of military ex-
perts" blossomed out and here this
doctrine of false optimism met its
first Waterloo. In the scientific art
OF war, ballyhoo is one thing that is
out of place. But, the radio bally-
hoo artists who called themselves
military experts persisted They sold
the idea to the country that we could
sink the entire japanese fleet in few
weeks, some even said days and by
spring the Japs would be out of the
war. Our admirals and generals
probably had grave doubts about this,
but they apparently had fallen under
the spell of the windbags, for they
said nothing, although probably shak-
ing their heads. Building up great
expectations and a sudden letdown
undermines morale.
Purges seem to be the order of the
day in other parts of the world.
America could well afford to have
one grand purge-to retire all the
radio Windbags and ballyhoo artists
from the public limelight. Before
this war is won we will have to get
down to brass tacks. The first step
should be to rid ourselves of all
pretense and conceit and those who
have been constantly deluding the
people, so they are afraid to think
straight.
The undersigned, while not claim
ing to be military expert, still has
had over eight years of military edu-
cation-the first under two of the
outstanding generals of the A. E. F.
at the war college at Fort Leaven-
worth. We were then taught to al
ways give the enemy credit for good
sense and efficiency, unless we knew
otherwise. I served under many
generals, some efficient, some other
wise. I can remember of no efficient
general being braggard or wind
bag. The way remember efficient
officers, is that they always had a
certain restraint, general character
istic of really educated and able peo-
pie.
S. j. SIMONSEN.
Pease, MINI.