Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-04-13
FAIR
ENOUGH
BY Westbrook
Pegler

Pegler
A CCEPTING the resignation
"a of Lowell Mellett, one of
his seifiess assistants with a
passion for anonymity, who left
TO become a political columnist
for the Washington Star, Presi-
dent Roosevelt could not resist
the temptation TO take another
cut at the American free press,
the best and fairest journalism
in all the world.
II am very much impressed
by what you tell me concern
ing the readiness Of the Wash
ington Star, and perhaps other
newspapers, TO publish points
of view contrary to their own"
Mr.. Roosevelt wrote.
There was no reason for the
President TO be very much i'm
pressed" by this readiness at
this late date unless he was
thinking of the Communist,
Fascist and other New Deal
publications. In that case he
should have been not merely
impressed but astounded and
incredulouS-
THIS, however. was only Mr..
l. RooseVelt'S way of insinuat-
ing that papers which have pub
lShed facts and discussions UNI
pleasant TO his administration
have denied his own corps OF
political epitheticians chance
TO answer facts with facts and
argume nts with arguments.
Such is not the case, as he we'll
knows.
The one New Deal columnist
who could most effectively do
this, if it could be done at all
and if she were less of
journalistic sideshow attrac-
ton, is Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.
She does six columns week
which run in many papers OPP
posed to the New Deal.
The old excuse that she is
nonpolitical and noncontrover-
sial, and thus inhibited, vanished
long ago when she proposed
such Fascist novelties as the
limitation of salaries, but not
of -unearhed- incomes such as
the income from the inherited
Roos Welt and Morgenthau
family fortunes, and the con-
scription for labor of every man
and woman so that the ma
tional government could tell
every one of us what to do
and make all of us join unions.
THE truth is that Mrs. Roose-
Il welt is a journalist emily in
the most nominal sense of the
word and by virtue of the cleo
ton returns of 1882.
But there are many other
New Deal columnists of average
ability who might try to give
the answers if they knew them.
Their trouble is that they have
no answers.
There is no possible refuta-
ton of the historical fact that
mob-insurrection under John l..
Lewis and Phillip Murray of the
CIO was encouraged and pro-
tected by Mr.. Roosevelt or that
he is now using the war crisis
and the military draft in an at
tempt to drive the 4-Fs and
millions of other citizens into
the power of such ruthless men
by offering them a choice be-
tween military service and I'M
willing union membership.
These are typical examples
of many questions which no
New Deal columniSt can an
Swer and to Which they have
offered only such irrelevant and
abusive retortS as ''labor-baiter'
and tory"
A MOTHER reason why the
"A New Deal point of view is
poorly presented, however. is
that intelligent and talented
writer's will not advocate its
hypocrisy and its connivance
with the anti-American COM
munistS.
The result is that for column
lists to present his case, Mr..
Roosevelt is reduced to the serv-
ices of misanthropic mediocre
ties of the newspaper business
who are bitter in the knowledge
that they can never hope to
write we'll enough to distinguish
themselves on their merits and
so must resort to abuse, wise
cracks and lies.
Three of the most vulgar and
inept of the New Deal blather-
sixties even use false names.
THE most liberal and fair
l. newspapers in the country
are found among the standard
dailies, many of them in the
smaller cities, which are OPP
posed to the New Deal as
Fascist or Communist program
and for other particular rea-
sons, plainly stated and argued.
This is not TO say that all
the papers of the opposition are
entirely hospitable to contrary