The Ypsilanti daily press., 1943-07-09
Observations
Washington Row
lnopportune For
Administration
BY chsrles p. Stewart

particularly inOppouuue time
for President ROoseyelts news
policy.
As quarreling between and among
the heads OF the administration s
various wartime offices bureaus
and commissions has developed
the chief executive has more and
more inclined 10 blame the press
for all this squabbling Ills gen
ersI proposition has been lhai the
Washington Journalistic bunch has
cooked il up for the sake OF in'er.
esting stuff 10 write about. or ta.h
about over the radio
Just before the Nallao-.JOue~
explosion occurred, the President
put this charge into especially con
crete form, al one OF his confer
encAs with the Washington scribes.
The facf is. OF course. that the
boys could not have made on a
cOnN inCing case OF official blCkeI
ing II there had not been plenty of
il for them 10 put into the record.
II they had faxed their siuif. they
would have been caught in The ayt
in short order
They could not avoid telling
their stories. They would have
"scooped one another in news
psrlsnce, il they had attempted H..
The bureaucratic internal trouble
simply generated until IT, blew up
from the force OF internal com
bustiou An explosions occur
renee can be denied II is true hut
not very ConyinCingly. Il it comes
IN SUGGESTIONS OF bangs. with
grand climactic thunder clap fol
lowing. Ike that WalIaCe-JoneS
bust-up
Wallace. az We all know. is our
v .. He also. hoWeysr. ia head of
our Board OF Economic Warfare
BEW. so-called His function is
to provide us With Wherewithal To
fight with Jones. as commerce
secretary. IS supplementary chic.
OF the Reconstruction Finance Tor
porstion. He pays Gf he acquires
the bills ths the BEN piles up
But Henry's version is that Jesse
has refused 10 pay them. Why
ne has refused gosh knows That
is what Wallace wants to ascer.
tain Jones says he will tell but
only on the strength OF a congres-
sionsl investigation. This comes
just as Congress is going into re-
cess and cannot bother with any
investigating.
Well. this Is no smsll-calber
muSs between a couple OF bureau
Gratis II involves a clash between
a vice president and cabinet
member
These men are not merely bu-
Iesucrsts; they are sdministrs-
tors.
But they exchange such express
sions as "dsstardly' and ''misrep-
resentstion' closely yerging upon
the term liar Naturally, We 1T
lie folk are dumpfounded 10 say
the least.
Elmer Davis troubles. as the
main source OF the governments
war information for the benefit OF
the press. here and abroad. have
been attributable mainly 10 the
fact that Elmer has wanted the
news 10 be recognized as coming
principally from him.
This is naturally enough for
newspaperman. either in his liter
airy or reportorial role He has
pride OF authorship and likes to
sign his stuff. il editorislly permit
ted TO do so Furthermore. if
known to the public as an expert
commentator on some subject or
other. his monicker Al the top or
the tsil-end OF story may add to
the yarns significance to the ave.
rage reader
But a press agent is different
thing
His function Is TO produce Ger
tain desired impression-but il it
is obvious that that is what he is
trying 10 do, he cannot but he sus.
pectsd in the matter.
Suppose the agent has some sort
OF medicine that he is trying to sd-
yertisP
Ii does not pay him TO empha-
size the brand OF dope. that he
recommends II he does. he is
sure TO be suspected OF prejudice
in his own remedy's behalf Nhst
he does. more effectively. IL TO
Keep personally under cover, Riv-
ina readers the notion that what
he is DurrcyibE is all there is 10
be said.
His game Is 20 be quiet, furnishi
ing official !nformants 10 pass oul
supposedly unofficial prescrip.
lions available. a. the real thing
IL these accounts clash, they are
confusing. manlfestly.