The Wilmington morning star., 1945-10-12
Fair Enough
Nv wEsTBROOK PEGLER
right, 1915, by King Features Syndicate

Nv WESTBROOK PEGLER
fconvr;rbt. 1913. by King Features Syndicate)
NEW YORK, Oct. Ill am the man who
writes those little, hghtsome eoltoriais about
the gradual disappearance OF the covered
bridge and the little red school-house, crows,
blue-iays and Wood-chucks, hog killing time
and the sugar bush and, IN season, about
pussy-willows, gentian, golden-rod and snow.
NV COPY is shorter than the whither-a
we-drifting essays which have to be profound
and deliberately other-handed or lnconclusive
in accordance with the tradition OF liberalism.
My function is to stir in you little feeling
of dear nostalgia most days, if you read down
to me, or, as often as I can, to turn up
the corners of your soul in quiet, homely
smile. After they scare you or make you in.
dignant am supposed to quiet you down.
Frankly, however, I get pretty sick and
tired of it all because if they would only give
me a chance I could write about Molotov,
Yalta, full employment, reconverslon and in
flation with the best of them. read all the
other editorials all the time and the butchers.
paper weeklies that cost Is cents and most
of the books arguing this way and that way,
which is exactly the way the heavy-duty edi-
torial writer's get their information and opin-
ions. Many is the time I have drawn some
of them into arguments in the saloon near
the office after work, just to show that am
II. Il
all the intellectual editorial words too such
as implementation, dynamism, esoterc and
cartelize which are standard equipment in the
work just as glamorous, exotic, sWank and
sultry are standard in the murder department..
On the other hand, don't know any more
about covered bridges, weeds maple syrup
and snow than anybody else. To hear me tell
it, you might think spent all my childhood
hours whooping in a covered bridge to raise
y. q oct
pretty and making angels in the snow The
fact is that never saw a covered bridge
until I was Is years old and touring New
England. You could rule maple syrup out OF
my life right now without a peep out of me
because I got an overdose when l was
young reporter eating off the arm and it was
practically nothing but waffles, waffles, waf-
files and buckwheat cakes, with maple syrup,
for years.
I happened to get started in this specially
way back there when the publisher had the
idea Of offering IS crack for little whip
lash or shirt-tail editorials called "brighten-
ers' to close up the editorial content each
day. That was about the summer that first
saw covered bridge 50 I did him one on
that and rang the bell and thereafter for
several months I made S. or $40 extra al.
most every week, reminding memories for the
world-weary. Then they put me on the edi-
torial payroll as a regular hand with the I'M
derstanding, on my part, anyway, that if
had the stuff they would let me work my
way forward through the country elections,
then the mayoralties, then up into such is
sues as world peace and what to do about
the atomic bomb.
day where we hash things over and the ed-
torial director hands out the assignments.
Three chief editorial writers have come and
gone, one into the advertising business one
into the Treasury department as some kind
Of counsellor on public relations and another
into the OWL, and, though there have been
some promotions-not me.
In 1880 they let me do one Of the World
Series in relation to international rivalry
which was reprinted in textbook on journal
ism and brought me 5000, including two
royalty checks for $3.50 and $3.50, respective
ly, spread over II years, and when Louis
knocked out Schmeling that time let myself
60 with something really big about the fallacy
Of the master race and they showed it up
forward just behind the leading editorial. But
always they have dropped me back to my
old spot, where the animal act would be if
this were an old-time vaudeville bill.
What do I care about snow, anyway? hate
snow by the flake or drift. Can you imagine
me down on my back in the middle of the
sidewalk down in Chelsea village where I live,
Tapping my arms to make snow angel, and
at my age, too? The editorial director would
fire me for bringing discredt on the paper
and yet every winter, he has got to have
one about what fun it is to lie down in the
snow and make angels.
A couple of weeks ago I held up my hand
as the assignments were being passed and
said ut is matter of transcendent impor-
lance that the Palestine question"
That was as far as I got. Turning to the
chief editorial writer he jabbed finger at
him and said, "You-Palestine," and then,
turning on me, with the same gesture, 'You
the double-breasted gas-bill"
Here Twas, walking up and down IA stories
every day with the elevator men on strike,
and Bevin calling Molotov a Nazi, and the
whole world is on fire and I am supposed
to write about duck.
Do you call that freedom Of the press? Have
l got freedom of expression? Is that what
we have been fighting for?
l demand to be heard. I will be heard
Hear ye hear ye, hear me, tomorrow-on
weed seeds falling under sere leaves and re-
newing the endless cycle of life
Editorial Comment