The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1943-05-20

Elmer Davis Has
Difficult Job in
War News Policy
BY Charles p. Stewart
PRESIDENT


DETAILS OF PRESIDENT
ROOsEVELT's and British Prime
Minister Winston Churchills latest
Washington combinations natural
y will be profoundly confidential
or quite awhile Some broadly gen
lral broadcasts have been and are
itiIl being emitted, but they are too
vautlous 10 be very Informative.
Particulars will have to wait for
future history.
The situation is all military Sc.
crecy today. It is quite understand
able. Advising the enemy in ad'
vance OF what is coming for them
would be obviously poor strategy.
The same rule prevailed during
World War No l, and 1t may have
been as strictly enforced then as
now. At that time, however. it was
not so conspicuously emphasized
as il is today. Officials who had
inside facts to leak simply did not
leak them. Now they do leak. the
press is warned to keep them
hushed up, or publication OF them
will be reasonable And the press
has been good about keeping the
husher on.
was connected with the l9-teens
foreign nublicity service (known as
the "Compub' under George CreeD
and We disseminated about all we
goe-good. bad and Indifferent. l
am not so sure that it was not about
as effective as our censorship
which We had in that era likewise
We we're believed. anyway.
II We had a streak OF bad luck
We admitted IT, II the luck turned
the other way We took credit for
that. too. and all the bystanders
swallowed our accounts CORES.
pondingly unquestionably.
They figured that we were tell
ing the truth.
When a jab at the enemy was
contemplated. it was not adyer-
tised in advance, but folk knew that
thrills we're impending and were
stimulated ahead,
Moreover, think that, in those
days. the Compub was more popu-
lar than the owl is at present. This
isn't necessarily a reflection upon
Elmer Davis, the current outfits
director.
George Creel. Elmers publicity
predecessor. made his getaway
from scratch. before Washington
bureaucracy had had time to de-
yelop much internal quarreling to
a point of national ridiculousity and
sll.around ill-feeling. so George
slid In rather easily. Elmer's trou-
bles were prepared, in advance for
him by earlier incumbents. He sim
ply inherited them.
Besides, ! suspect that President
Woodrow Wilson was an easier
executive for his publicity agents
TO ge. on with than President
Franklin D. has proved TO be.
The earlier World Wars execu-
tiye's policy was to turn HIS pub
LEFTY over to his subordinates to
manage for him, and they made a
professional Job Of it. F. D. r. con-
siders himself personally a prime
publicity-ite, which he is not. pro-
fessionally. and maybe he had
made mistakes that good advice
would have steered him clear from.
The screech over his exclusion OF
journalistic presentation at war
time and postwar international con-
ferences hints at It. F.D.R. thinks
he is a newspaperman but the press
evidently disagrees with him. He
has news in his system, but the
working correspondents evidently
disapprove OF him as an editor OF
It.
The fact is that Prime Minister
Churchill manifestly is better liked
by the American reportorial corps
than the White House tenant 10.
There are good reasons for II.
Winston is not "smarty."
He has been muzzled by his affil-
iation. but it plainly handicapped
him in his conversations with Yam
kee scribes in our own capital
The truth is that a lot OF news.
which might naturally have been
looked for from Yankee sources,
has oozed out. instead. from British
craftsmanship. The London press
has had it before We did. 1t has had
10 be quoted here from London
papers. Naturally, this has been re-
scented in our own publicity circles.
They can't say much about it but
they can be disgruntled.
Thus Prime Minister Churchills
visit here has been somewhat dis
counted
II isn't very dignitied for Winston
10 have been corked up in Washing.
ton. But what could he do about
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