The Wilmington morning star., 1946-07-19
Fair Enough
BY wEsTBRooK pEGLER

Veterans Committee, Inc I have a copy OF
the Official bulletin, reporting on the recent
first national convention IL Des Moines. Two
of the three were reluctant to let me have
it, one Of them %remarking irrelevantly tina
they were not communists, although he, him.
self, might be called a pink. I then pointed
out that theirs was not a secret society-or
was it?-and that it should not be difficult
to get a copy from The national headquar-
tiers Just by asking.
I think this sensitiveness is due to the pres
ence Of communists In the organization and
the raising of the issue of communism at a
meeting of the metropolitan council OF the
AVG. in New York, last May.
This bulletin devotes ar entire page to a
juvenile boast about the press coverage Of
the Des Moines convention but the bulletin,
itself, is more Informative than all the cur
rent stories that / read III the daily papers.
Much of this Journalism was propaganda for
the AVG. larded with jibes at the undeniable
misconduct Of the American Legion at many
of it's disorderly national conventions between
wars.
The bulletin contains five photographs of
Charles Bolte, the national chairman, four OF
Gilbert Harrison, the v,ce-chairman, three of
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., two Of Henry Wal
lace and one Of Walter Reuther, president of
the United Auto Workers Of the CLIO. In this
repetition of the pictures Of leading PERSONAL
ties in the dominant political faction OF the
AVG. l observe a resemblance to the edl-
torial character of union publications, notably
The Pilot, Of the National Maritime Union,
which often carries half a dozen cuts Of Joe
Curran, the president. The tendency here is
to aggrandize the persons in power and pro-
mote their policies in an official publication
technically devoted to the interests Of the or
ganizaticn.
Mr.. Wallace, now SO years old, definitely
did not serve in the Second World War and
his biography makes no mention OF any serv-
ice in the first one. Mr.. Reuther, born in
1907. obviously could not have served in the
first one and did not serve in the second
one although he was just IS at a time when
many other American men OF the same age
dropped everything to join up.
Both Wallace and Reuther addressed the
convention and their remarks, serving their
own political interests, are reported to the
extent of half a page. The head on the Reuther
story reads, "'We're with you,' Reuther tells
convention delegates The text contains no
reminder that Reuther certainly was not with
them in camp or at the front during the war
or that his union ran up a shocking record
airplane plants.
Anticipating the resentment Of war veterans
against this phase of the U.A.W.'s per-
Torrance, Reuther, in April of this year, pro-
posed a bonus of not more than $500 Tor
veterans without overseas service and, 1r
overseas veterans, a minimum bonus OF $ooU
and a maximum of 81. 500. He also proposed
unemployment salaries for veterans who may
be thrown out of work by union strikes ana
the Des Moines convention adopted this idea
in its platform. That plank calls for SIS a
week for 20 weeks 'for unemployment of all
kinds, including time lost due to labor dis
putes."
In Reuther's case it will be seen that his
union, with it's enormous taxing power, would
ingratiate itself with wa veterans by tapping
the public treasury for strike benefits, ira
ditionally the responsibility OF the striking
union, and campaigning for bonuses. The bull
letin SAYS the conve ntion rejected a bonus
PROPOSAL but that, l think, Is a misleading
INTERPRETATION Of the resolution.
It said the AVG. would fight for a bonus
if certain conditions are rot met by Congress
which obviously cannot be met. Ihese are
affective price control, guaranteed employ
ment for every citizen and veteran ana 10"
cost housing FOR all. Some OF these conditions
are so ambiguous that the AVG. can say
that thew have not beer fulfilled, whatever
Congress might DO. men, iavuis
mere gesture of patriotic rejection OF the
bonus. the group, at rext years convention,
NAV come out for something like Reuthers
bonus plan. Inasmuch as the ave-. processes
70 appeal to the more intelligent veterans /
ann puzzled to find SO transparent a device
set before them as an honest remuneration OF
the bonus. Nevertheless the official summary
flatlv saws the convention voted against a
bonus.
The bulletin, as I said, is and
this is true in a negative sense, as well,
the case OF Ken Pettus being an example.
Ken Pettus, formerly of Seattle, now OF Chi
cago where he is a news editor Tor the
National Broadcasting Co., and writes other
radio material, is described as a veteran OF
q months Army service in the PacHlc Wnere
he was successfully sports editor feature
editor enG managing editor OF tn Tokyo
edition az Stars and Stripes"
The Associated Press reported from Tokyo
last March 3 that General Douglas macarthur
had approved the removal of Kenneth L. Pet
tus. Of Chicago. from the post OF magazine
editor of Stars and Stripes on the ground Of
questionable integrity emo discretion" 1t &C.
c,1rs to me that this was pertinent matter
which could be omitted from the bulletins
biographical story only at the risk of good
faith between the bulletin and its readers.
The A.P. said MacArthur's inspector general
had said he found evidence that Pettus had
'1avored'' his writings with "communistic
thought Pettus denied that he ever had been
a communist. The case caused a great stir.
One Of the vox populi letters ELECTS a re.
Spouse which provokes but does not satisfy
a legitimate curiosity. A veteran objected to
the promotion Of financial contributions from
'wel-heeled liberals" and proposed that the