The Wilmington morning star., 1944-02-14
Wire Tapping
BY JACK STINNETT

WASHINGTON-There is one factor in war
time Washington which is very little touched
upon the suspicion with which every one
regards every one else. It's a delicate mat
ter but a very real one which has affected our
war effort for good and bad.
A few months ago, I wrote in this column
that there was more overlapping in Washing
ton today than ever before in spite of the
fact that there are laws governing wire-tap-
ping (Which consists both of listening in on
telephone conservations and making automa-
tic recordings of them) There was no denial
and well there wasn't because it came from
an agency of our government best in posi-
ton to know
Since then, I have found that stenographic
records of telephone conservations, personal
interviews, and even so-called off-the-rec-
ord conferences are more the rule than the
exception. I have even heard of one instance
Gt may be true or false but it isn't in the
least far-fetcheO in which one government
Official has a secretary accompany him to
all social functions, to note down every howdy-
do", how-are-you'' and the answers thereto
just in case some one tries to trip him up
on a slip of the tongue or an unintentional
innuendo.
It's sad state of affairs-one that on first
examination seems to be more naturally a
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healthy growth of a democracy-but on Sec
ond glance I'm not so sure.
In the first place, none of this suspicious
mountaineering is done with any idea of catch
ing spies For the most part that is left up
to. the FB1, Secret Service and few now
minor Congressional committees and govern
ment agencies.
Why then, you may well ask, is there any
justification for all this suspicion in the ma
io,,'c OIL SC, 10 l>oa,, @l,o,
scrupulous, the overly-ambitious, the lust
for-power- and-money'' boys from taking over
the war effort. Some of them are very real
threat and no Pigment of the fction-writers
imaginatons.
If WPB Chief Donald Nelson hadn't beaten
off the wolves that tried to get hold of the
War Production Board, our war effort might
well have been another story. If his Deputy
Chief Charles E. Wilson could have been run
out of town by some of the men who wanted
to take over, there might have been a pro-
duction bottleneck at the very peak of the
war effort.
use these names only because l have no
idea what methods they used to keep jobs
sought by the unscrupulous but in view of
their records their sincerity can hardly be
doubted. If they had stenographic Or even
dictaphone records of concentrations made of
interviews with persons who they had reason
to believe might misquote them, they were
only employing a method highly approved
by modern crime detection.
don't think that either Nelson Wilson
had to use these much criticized systems.
Their fights were too much in the open. But
other government officials have used them
and the only question is whether they were
justified in fighting fire with fire or were
merely trying to hide their own ineffciencies
by using very dangerous extinguisher.
STILL think that it's pretty sad COM
mentary on a democracy that's going about
for the war effort that there has to be so
much suspicion around the national capital.