The Wrangell sentinel., 1944-06-02
ION THLs WASHINGTON
 FRONT
By JACK sTNNETT
Rv LICK STINNETT

WASHlNGTON-The are a few differences of opinion on the new Secretary of the Navy that might well be worth sticking away in the back of your head at this point.
 One is that his days of "reti-I cence" and passion for Obscur- ity" may be over.
 The second is that some brass hats in the Navy probably aren't as happy about the appointment asl my recent column reported almost everyone else was
 James V. ForrestaI rose to prom thence, wealth and power in Wall street, where silence is considered golden. When the President called him to Washington as one of those young men with "a passion for an- onymlty," it was no great strain for Jimmy" Forrestal to keep hisl mouth shut. When he was elevated to Under Secretary of the Navy, heI had a boss, the late Frank Knox, who liked to make his own an- uouncements. ..nz.a.s..
 
 Forrestal knew the value of sil-I ence that made much headway with his bosses. But, say those close tol him, those days are gone forever.
 As Secretary of the Navy he wiliI have to make public pronounce ments from time to time. If he fol- lows the precedent set by Knox andl the President, he will hold weekly press conferences. That doesn't mean that Sec. For-l Testal is expected to become Volu-i able. If his statements before Con- gressional committees are any cri-I terion, his press announcements will be as concise and staccato as communiques from the front.
 ForrestaI knows his Navy. Aside from being in it in World War I, he had been Under Secretary near ly four years.
 No sooner had his appointment been announced than Navy men were thanking their lucky stars that they wouldn't have to break in" a landlubber in the midst of war.
 Their prayers of thanks are not unmixed with the hope that the new Secretary won't be too tough. AS Under Secretary, Forrestal tap ped the noggins under a few brass hats on several occasions. Because he does know his Navy and because he's a two-fisted, realistic business man, he won't stand any foolish ness.
 Most gold-braiders respect him for it, because his devotion to the Navy has been demonstrated num- erous times, but there are die-hards who would rather have more free dom. especially when traditions are being tossed out the porthole for more modern ways of doing things.
 So far as blue prints and projec- tions go, our all-oGeans Navy is al ready built or on paper. The two problems now are to keep it ahead in the race to meet the exigencies of changing warfare (whole fleets of plane carriers, for example, were only a dream a few years ago), and to see that it isn't sabotaged after the war.
 Navy men tell me that there are few men in government doing more postwar thinking today than For restal. If he continues to be cab- inet member in peacetime, the fu- ture of the Navy may we'll be in Forrestals hands, and you can bet he will be fighting all the way. Nazi Propaganda
 Take the word Of a lot of gov ernment officials and don't believe everything you hear.
 The most recent proof of this has a rather amusing story behind it. Rep. Sol Bloom (Dem., N. Y.), chairman of the House committee on foreign affairs, had asked Fore ign Economic Administrator Leo T. Crowley batch of questions about Lsnd-Leaae> Practically alh had to