The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-10-08


secret from their present staffs,
they can't be very efficient snoop-
erS
, Such an individual as our White
| House tenant can't mysteriously
disappear from Washington for a
fortnight without arousing GER
tain amount OF curiosity as to his
whereabouts.
Neither can so well known a per-
sonality as Franklin d. Roosevelt
devote his two weeks absence from
the capital to a journey from coast
10 coast and back again, plus lit
tie side-trip into Mexico, facing
huge crowd at each stop-over, and
making an occasional speech in the
course Of his travels-he can't do
It without being more or less iden-
tilted.
Franklin u. isn't sufficiently IN
sophisticated not TO realize all this
Consequently, it's a fair conclu-
sion that safety considerations
weren't the sole reason for the sec
reoy order that he slapped, through
Censor Byron Prices Office, onto
the entire Yankee press, until he
was ready. himself, to release the
accumulated story
Practice Blackout?
One guess is that the stunt was
In the nature of a practice black
ou.
a make-believe blackout's pur-
pose is to tram folk into dousing
their lights and hunting cover the
minute they hear the sirens. It's
educational, but it fools nobody,
so far as the L. S. AS concerned.
and isn't expected 70.
Now, what's the chance that the
presidential idea in issuing that
censorial mandate was simply to
accustom the press and its readers
TO spells Of wartime secrecy-not
for his own protection or from a
desire TO choke off the news indeh-
nitely7
Indeed, he didn't want the news
choked of, for he broadcast 1t as
vociferously as possible when he
thought the right time had come.
Probably the truth is that one
OF his reasons for keeping on a
temporary husher was TO get the
public upon the our vive. in order
to create all the more of sensa-
ton when, finally he took the
cork out.
Another explanations suggested.
It's this:
F. D. p. decided on that trans
continental expedition ard didn't
want to postpone it, for this was an
appropriate juncture, to see what's
stirring and to boost enthusiasm.
From a political standpoint, It
didn't look quite the right time for
the roundup. though. COMPRESSION
al election day was then little more
than a month ahead, and it was OBJ
vious that opposition newspapers
would describe the affair as unadul-
terated campaigning in admins
tration candidates interests
II doesn't appear that F. D. r.
did do any actual plugging for
those Of his own preference, though
his mere presence in their various
bailiwicks may have been helpful
to EN-.
Anyway, the press was gagged
during the whole performance.
Critics Punch Lost
Since it's been all over, such pa
pers as have chosen to do 80 have
been in a position TO holler poll
tics and some Of EN- have done so,
but II was belated enough to have
lost most OF its pungency For
maximum effect, their outcry
should have accompanied the trip
instead Of having followed il.
But 70 sum up!
II that tour was a secret. except
literally as matter Of printers
ink, while genuinely in progress so
was the weather during the same
period.
The Observers eat.tltd 10 his
own deduction:
l. Was secrecy dncreed 70 sup
press politics talk aEt.l too late for