Evening star., 1942-12-28

propag anda
Henry McLenors. minister by most
of the folk. and not rs a man who
sits down and writes what he feels
and thinks.
The Governments oficial COL
umnist should have free rein to
express his own convictions. He
wouldn't last very long. to be sure,
but he could be replaced and his
replacement could be replaced, and
that would be all right too. because
the valuable part of an of1icial COL
umnist would be the mail that he
received.
He'd get mail lots Of 1t. From
every State In the Union would
come letters. wires, special deliv-
cries and post cards. And nowhere
else does the public so completely
speak its mind as 1t does in letters
to columnists I have only been
a columnist for = couple of years
and not a great, outstanding COL
umnist at that-but I have learned
more of the temper of this Nation
through my mail than through all
the talking and travelling that I
have ever done.
Can't Write Now.
AS it is now, people can't vrite
to their Government Certainly not
with any assurance that their letters
won't wind up in the dead letter Of
fee beside a cake that some doting
aunt sent to nephew at the
wrong address in 1888. II I wanted
to write letter to the Govern
ment today I wouldn't know to
whom to send it. I'm quite sure
that Mr.. Ickes would never get a
letter Of mine. and that Mr.. Nc
Mutt would never see one. The
same goes for the President, the
Vice President. Miss Perkins (bless
her dear heart and Mr.. Nelson.
But If the Government had an
offcial columnist there would be
some one to write to. some one to
beef to, some one to make sug-
gestions to. Take the mail that I
got today, some 200 or 300 letters.
The letters came from everywhere.
They came from all sorts of people.
To read them was to know. pretty
we'll how this country felt about
what was going on. They were no
Gallup poll collection. They weren't
answers to direct questions. These
letters were from men and women
who felt something so acutely that
they had to sit down at a desk and
write about it.
Letters From Soldiers.
There were letters from soldiers.
One, a private from Camp Shelby.
wanted to know why only officers
could be served something to eat
after midnight in the towns around
the camp. My pass was good until
$50 in the morning." he wrote, but
not even lunch wagon would serve
me cup Of coffee. I had to get
newsboy to go in and buy me a
cup Of coffee and bring it out to me
where I enjoyed 1t on the curb.
That's a helluva note, amt it?"
Another, from a paratrooper, who
was trying to make Youngstown,
Ohio, before the holidays. asked:
Why is it that everybody on
earth gets a priority card on air
lines but soldiers? This Is written
to you from the Jacksonville air.
port where 1 have been for two days
OF my To-day furlough. waiting for
ride North. Children get on, old
ladies get on. fat businessmen aet
on, but me and my buddy can't get
on. What's wrong with a soldier?"
Ask About Raticning.
An old lady writes: Il am IS. An
alone. MY son is in the Army. u
have made little living for years
by selling eggs. Now I can't ret
tires or gasoline to get into town
to sell my eggs What is going to
happen to me?"
Statesmen write: Thanks for try-
ing to get us little gasoline. II
being chased out OF our Jobs will
help win the war we are glad to
oblige and We don't want any deco
rations, but nobody has even limited
at how 1t helps the war effort to
keep thousands of statesmen ground
ed thus cutting of their means Of
support, their ability to pay taxes
and buy bonds, while all the time
their tires are rotting through dis
use. Just doesn't add up"
Mothers write: Word of nv bov's
death came today. In the paper I
read Of decorations being given those
who are alive. My boy gets MOTH
ing. Is there nothing that goes to
those who die for their country,
unseen and unsung?"
This country needs an official
columnist. In six months his mail
will tell him more about how the
people who make this country feel
than all the politicians. poll gath
erers and propaganda hired hands
could gather In six years.
distributed By McNsusht Syndicate, Incl