The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-05-31
Observations
Too Many Ghost
Writers Asserts
Elder Statesman
BY Helen Essary

An elder statesman you all know
we'll sat brooding in his Capitol
tent the other day. Il tell you this
for certain. he said meditatively,
Tipping OF the long ash OF a high
priced cigar. "one OF the things
wrong with this world is too much
ghost.writing! Too much
ghost.writing.' he repeated the
words and looked into the dist
ance-toward the White House.
III tell you It makes for insin-
cerity. It is insincerity. 1t is
. more-it is dishonest. And mark
my words. II destroys individuals
and It destroys governments.
hadn't exactly thought OF ghost
writing as "one OF the serious
problems that confront us (politic-
al campaign PHYSIOLOGY But be-
fore the elder statesman had start
ed on his second cigar, | began to
believe there was more truth than
party prejudice In what he said.
Governor Dewey writes his own
speeches. the Z. s said emphatic
ally. "Whate> er they are they are
his own. Like them or not, and
most people do. they are the true
expression OF his own convictions
and intentions. You'd not catch
Tom speaking somebody else's sen.
fences, paid for at so much a
word Not Tom What he says,
he believes
And that was a darn sight more
than could he told about some 9TH
er recent candidates for the presi-
dency OF the United States. Will
kie wrote few OF his speeches.
Certainly he had ghostwriters-a
whole gang OF them.
"Winkie was and still is a smart
fellow" the elder statesman said.
though | heard note OF cynicism
in his voice But he would have
been a lot smarter il he had kept
away from those hired writer's and
shouted his own beliefs over the
radio and from every phblic plat
form in the United States and 9TH
er points east and west.
"Landon didn't write his own
speeches. Why. he used to stand
up before microphones and loud
speakers" the E. S. swore this was
a fact, and say what half a dozen
people told him he ought TO say.
OF course. he didn't sound natural.
And he didn't make sense.
~ "a frOt,h1ao Lei
ting ghost-writers do your think
ing for you is that once you begin
the business you hire another
ghost-writer and still another. Next
thing you know you are talking
contrariwise about the same sub
iect. Your different writer's ex-
press their own different ideas.
You come through exposed to the
public as a fellow who thinks six
ways from Sunday.
Even II the ideas the ghost-writ-
ers produce are good. they sound
phony when handed out by the
man who didn't think them up him
self Moreover" the elder states
man continued, the public is not
impressed by the pat sentence.
It's seldom they have any mean
ing. They're mostly cliches and
old. old stun dressed up. II the
stun had value the ghost-writers
themselves would be using ii.
Fact is, the ghost-writers
wouldn't be satisfied to put words
in other mems mouths II the words
were worth li5tening to- They'd
be out front amounting to some
thing on their own.
Herbert Hoover always writes
his own stuff" the elder statesman
reached for a match. "Harper's
magazine said he didn't. but Hoov-
er made them retract. He does his
speeches and articles in longhand
in pencil and locks the first drafts
up in a safe for proof or for pos
terity or something
As an example of what the world
is coming to in insincerity. the (.
S continued, there was the con-
fusion brightly made by a New
York publisher. The publisher told
the z. S. that he was bringing out
z swell biographies OF men VINO
are running the country. Now is a
good time for biographies. Every
body who can manage TO stand up
is active and adventuring. 1t is a
time when the lives OF the men at
the top would reveal history that
ought 10 be brought TO light"
Not one Of those y men you've
mentioned has time to write a
book" the elder statesman told
the publisher.
You're right, Not one OF those
u men has time to write a book
the publisher told my gloomy
friend. And not one OF the II is
going to write a book. We've got
ghost-writers for the whole dozen"
You see" added the elder states
man gloomily. you see what the
oet-vrifer Ia dotnR IN ua He IL