Detroit evening times., 1945-04-11
BEHIND
The NEWS
By Paul
MaIIon

w you like this column in gen.
eral, you could we'll skip it
today. II you do not. you may
enjoy my predicament.
Some readers have been
throwing snowballs at me in alb
normal volume. and some edi-
tors have come along with
complaints, like this one:
IL wish Paul Mallon would
give us the sort of column he
formerly did. He used In he
great reporter. Now he deyotes
himself exclusively to writing
editorials. Is that his real forte:
People have noticed the differ
ence."
That makes il sound rather
bad. / think there have been
some differences, but too few
people have noticed them. SO
this one column is on the house.
1T SHOULD interest readers TO
Il glance back at the record,
particularly as an example OF
this type of Journalism, which
has been rather widely mis-
judged and misinterpreted
Last Jan. 9 When the unset
tied ondition of the peace
policy was a front page and
editorial page topic, you should
have read in this SPOT:
"The administration plan In
10 stage n big three conference
Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin)
for q Anal settlement of princi-
Piles In q postwar club of ma
tiOns, and then have the work
Ing diplomats draw up charter
for II. which will he ready In
April (they hope and expect.)"
TIiEN came Livada. and now
Il the San Francisco conference
Is coming April 25. But just be-
cause il was not written in the
vein of journalism which shouts
"w'uXtra, wllxtra, / Just have
piece OF sensational information
right out of the feed box not
even my complainant remen-
bers il.
Next day, January 10:
The club naturally would
guarantee her (Russianl gains
forever with arms and perpetu-
ate a postwar which directly or
indirectly Is dividing spheres OF
influence between Russians and
British. with Russia In posses
sion of the lions share.
"The coming Mexico City
meeting is supposed To bring
Argentina around and establish
a front Of diplomatic solidarity
on our longitudes. "======
(And this was written al a
time when not only the liberals
but most writer's were debating
the harsh position of the state
department on Argentine. which
] then reported was merely a
device for bringing them into
the fold)
THE Russian notice OF abroga-
Il tion of the nonaggreSsion
pact with Japan announced last
Thursday was written here
February IS:
Best news of the Crimea Con-
ference was not made public.
Russia is 10 become a full ally
Of the United States by joining
us against Japan and probably
before the April 25 conference.
The crucial voting arrange
ment agreed upon at Livadia
and announced several weeks
thereafter was precisely pub
lished here Feb. 81:
Russia won her point
-. the big five can take up any
important case Of future threat
ened war by majority vote, but
steps to prevept war can he
taken only by unanimous vote"
"a decision which shook all COM
mentation and commentators
when Officially divulged there
after.)
Necessity for the choice of
Gen. Macarthur to head the
final crushing of Japan was
strenuously advocated Feb. u
when the press was full Of con-
trary reports that the navy or
one of Macarthur assistants
would be chosen.
At that time the reports re-
flected a movement TO sidetrack
him. His choice was forecast in
a column about a week later
and announced in giant head
lines last Thursday.
MY COMPLAINANTS might
NI say this advocacy Of Mac
Arthur was editorial. Well then.
it was right. The appointment
was made.
Feb. 81:
"The Volcano, Boniu and
Ryukyu islands adjacent south
ward Of Japan must be seized
even beyond the Two venture
to afford land bases for our
planes to cover an attack on the
Japanese mainland"
FEBRUARY II (When imme-
diate victory was being COM
monty phophesiedD popular
predictions that the end In Eu-
rope IL a matter Of days or
couple of weeks, are not iusti-
fed by the inner military
facts :"
A few days after Mr.. RooSe-
welt submitted his workers
draft (manpower program: