The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-01-30
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1915, by King Features Syndicat,

BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1915, by King Features Syndicate.
Continuing my running commentary on the
dangerous attitude of the Blue network, one
of our big national radio chains, toward mis-
called news broadcasters specializing in ex-
element and falsehood. here are chapter and
verse on a specific incident.
On the Sunday evening after the recent
election, Drew Pearson, in his program over
the Blue said that Frank Sinatra had called
at my room at the Waldorf Astoria on cleo
ton night to take punch at me for opposing
his friend, Mr.. Roosevelt, and, not finding me
in, contented himself by mussing up the room
This was absolute fake.
Sinatra undoubtedly did get tight. as later
inquiry showed, and returned from Sidney Hill
mans PAC headquarters to his own apart
ment in the same hotel where he caused
large disorder and was subdued by house
detective. In all large and well-conducted no.
tels of which the Waldorf is one, all unusual
incidents are Investigated promptly and re-
ports are made in writing to the front office
Such reports were made in this case.
Being a Roosevelt ian, Sinatra had right
to howl and did. But he never did come near
my quarters either in my absence or after
my return about 1 in the morning.
few days after Pearscn's broadcast,
NEW
Deal communist smear which puts an oppo-
nent in an unfavorable light without ibelling
him. An item had appeared in one of the New
Deal Gents room columns reporting that Sina-
ira had refused to work in the Waldorfs
WedgeWood room unless 1 checked out. There
was no libel in that, either, but, like the Pear
son broadcast, it was a smear.
So 1 inquired of Lucius Boomer the man.
aging director who said that of course there
wa in hat
hired to sing, dance or do card tricks in the
saloon attempted to edit the guest list he
would get rid of the performer
1t occurred to me that the Blue network had
some responsibility because, in the newspaper
business, a reporter who brings in fakes is
fired, the paper runs beg pardon and
that is that
Mark Woods, one of the Blues vice-presidents,
suggested that I write piece about it. He
said they could the publicity but he made
no offer to right a wrong
That made me curious as to how radio
treats people who have been smeared with
political or personal motivation so I called
on Chester La Roche, another vice-president,
whom I have known for years and Ed Noble.
a New Dealer, who had served in the De-
partment of Commerce, and then acquired
the Blue and became it's president.
Both La Roche and Noble said Pearson was
a headache to them because they thought he
was malicious and unreliable but couldn't get
rid of him because, by the of such meth.
DDS and material he had acquired a large
popular following.
Mole said an apology might be arranged
but that if he gave one, Pearson would CON
trive it in such a manner as to make it worse
than the original fake. He took a helpless at
titude La Roche cited an item which Pearson
had broadcast about the automobile trip to
Washington of John Foster Dulles, Tom Dew
ey's adviser on foreign relations during the
campaign to confer with Cordell Hull on solemn
state business. He said Pearson had made it
appear that Dulles had used the gas for this
travel because he had sore toe but that he,
La Roche, knew that the trouble was much
more serious, in fact a bad infection. He
thought Dulles had suffered serious injustice
but that was the end of that.
During this time 1 was investigating the
thief and imposter calling him
self William Gailmor who had been employ
ed by the Blue as a news commentator on
their key New York local station, and had
several talks with officials of the Blue, in
the Sinatra-Pearson thing.
At no time did they offer an Independent
or correction but, in the end, they
said that if I brought in affidavits from the
Waldorf house detectives and t h e manage
ment, they would make one.
My point has been that the victim should
not have to go to such extremes to disprove
a fake. He might not know how to go about
it. He might not have time He might be
away, even overseas
Still, La Roche and Noble now insist that
they are anxious to give fair and complete
retractons when their commentators are
proved unfair and that they review all their
scripts for appropriate news authority In
this case there was no news authority and
IN answer to my own specific inquiry, Mr.
Boomer says, in writing Il have checked
the files of the night manager, assistant man.
ayers and floor clerks and can find no record
of any unusual incident in the room you &C.
cupied on election night
But quite as dangerous as motivated lies
broadcast for smearing purposes over national
CHAINS are half-truths and even wholly true
statements and observations uttered with the
dramatic voice. Noble, La Roche and all ra-
dio men, and many other persons of intelli-
gence, know that harmless text may be an
incitation to riot delivered with certain in
Elections. There was broadcaster a few
years ago whose text was absolutely fault
less but whose sneerng pronunciation of the
phrase this Jewish gentleman or 'Mr. Hen
ry Morgenthau' was SO full of hate that decent
people thought of Goebbels and shudderel.
1t did no good to censor his copy.
1t is up to radio to manage these problems. |
The newspapers. generally, weed out liars and
takers when they have revealed themselves
and, fortunately, our type hasn't yet been
wired for sound.
WootT o1u h1nI