Evening star., 1943-06-17

ported. David Lawrence.
Leaders of labor have felt that
the production job could not have
been accomplished without the
wonderful energy displayed by the
workers, and that this has been
inadequately reported.
Public officials, harassed from
morning to night by thousand and
one problems and by multifarious
responsibilities, see their work as
significant and constructive but
inadequately reported.
Members of the minority in Con-
gress who have pointed out serious
mistakes and are constantly calling
attention to grave abuses of power
feel that their remarks are made
quately reported.
Members of Congress of both
political parties who have worked
long. tedious hours on legislation,
much of which is not sensational
or spectacular but nevertheless vital
to the war effort, feel that their
work has been inadequately re-
ported.
Policy Clashes Indicated.
Then there's the question of en-
phasis. Mr.. Davis says too much
attention is given by the CORE
spondents here to the feuds and
squabbles between Government Of
ficials and that there are other
things worth far more space. EX-
perience has shown, however. that
friction between officials sometimes
has deeper meaning than a clash
of personalities. When officials air
their disputes in the press, it is
often the result of some funda-
mental conflict in governmental
policy.
Reporters are not permitted as
a rule to know about these funda-
mental questions. The necessity
for suppression on the ground that
the enemy might benefit from in
formation has been used to keep
reporters from getting at the facts
Hence, If officials quarrel, it means
that policies are clashing. too.
Then there is the internal war
In Washington which Mr.. Davis
and many others of us would like
to forget and even gloss over if
that were possible Many disputes
and chickering's aren't Just the
reaching-out of ambitious officials
for power. They are often the con-
f1ict of left-wing and right-wing
philosophers
Secret Report on officials.
In many governmental agencies
there are radicals who feel they
must keep watch on conservatives.
Thus the needing of the idea of
having businessmen in Office here
has been going on ever since the
war started. A considerable amount
of secret reporting about ones su-
perior to persons higher up goes on
sll the time. The White House
gets reports about what is going on
in various governmental agencies,
and some of this isn't transmitted
through the regular channels.
If President Roosevelt established
one simple rule-that he wouldn t
listen to or read communications of
criticism sent by subordinates about
their superiors-he would end much
of the squabbling and intrigue in
Washington overnight.
What Mr.. Davis is asking for is the
Ideal situation for the politician in
power, in which the constructive
things done so far outweigh the
mistakes that reporters would for
give and forget the errors and actu-
ally ignore them. But representa-
tive government, composed as it is
of persons of different viewpoints.
inevitably brings a critical press, and
It has always been newspaper
tendency to pay more attention to
sensational divorce cases than to
nappE marriages..
Errors Emphasized.
AS for treatment of those who do
make mistakes and commit errors
In the handling of public business,
the tendency is always to emphasize
the error. Thus labor leaders would
like to have the country forget or
minimize the strikes and war STOP
pages because in percentage they
are low. Yet in small plants weapons
or accessories valuable to the war
effort may be held up and, in turn,
may prevent completed weapons
from being assembled. To empha-
size these Is not to be unfair to the
many who do not go out on strike.
1t Is good deal like the con-
troversy over the bankers back in
1888. A small percentage played
fast and loose with the people S
money, but the entire banking pro-
fession or business came in for
severe indictment. And If ones
recollection can serve him as far
back as those dark days of 1898,
wasn't 1t the head of the Govern
ment who made public broadcasts
giving the impression that all busi-
nessmen, all bankers, all persons in
the management group were betray-
ers of the peoples INTEREST," Faint
voices of protest calling for fairer
distribution of emphasis were heard
then but in vain.
Now when the criticism is coming
hard the other way, it is not sur
prising that the virtues of the ad-
ministration should not be getting
the desired emphasis as against the
many evidences of incompetence
which have permitted our war effort
to stumble forward only through a
constant reshuf1ing of agencies and
personnel
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