The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1946-01-22
Fair Enough
By WEsTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1916, BY King Features Syndicate

| Copyright, 1916, BY King Features Syndicate
| WASHINGTON, Jan. 21.-The job Of news
paper reporter is to get the facts, including
the who, what, when, where and how, put
them on paper or phone them to the shop.
We have scores of reporters with the Ameri-
can Army in far places of the world but we
have had no detailed information from them
concerning the conduct of "bras-hats' who,
in general terms, are alleged to have sur
rounded themselves with luxury at the expense
of their commands and to the neglect Of the
enlisted soldiers and the destruction of morale
and discipline.
On the other hand, there have been vague
reports of such selfishness, naming no names.
For example: Zone young officer assured
me that his gold-braided commander was
living in a sumptous home, stated by 80
Filipino houseboys."
This dispatch from Manila carried the
credit line of the A.P.
1nasmuch as soldier publications can not be
allowed to discuss the personal affairs of COM
manding officers the civilian correspondent
working for a private employer has duty to
get such information for publication where it
Will do the most good. He might risk removal
1rom his assignment by order of the officer
tnus exposed but more likely the case would
be carried to the War Department and the
ot1lcer, himself would be relieved and pun
ished.
1t is no difficult feat of reporting to call
, On inc gold-braided" commander and ask
nun now many houseboys he is using and
for verification to make a personal check
among the help. But merely to relay such
gossip to the United States on the work Of
junior officer who might have been repeating
gossip eod might have had personal grudge
IS JUST pad newspaper work and smacks more
OF the night club school of journalism than
OF tne conventional city room. Incidentally,
the term "gold-braided" here is an exarop1e
of the one-word smear description introduced
by the jerked English weeklies which have
their hates and house-pets, the former COM
monty described as ''potbellied" or 'beetle
proved" and the latter as '.forthright'' or
squares shooting There is suggestion here
that The officer under discussion wears gold
braid merely to please his personal vanity
when the fact is that by regulation he Is re-
,quired to wear it.
AGAIN: Another young officer complained
OF Lleutenant-Colonel who, he said, managed
TO wangle two private homes on the claim
that he had to have space to entertain dis
tinguished VISITORS
" His distinguished visitors have consisted
OF Red Cross and U.s.o. girls the young
officer said This in a city where housing is
at high premium"
In very short time any reporter who WAS
willing to make the effort could have nailed
down the facts as to this rumor. The best
way, usually Is to go to the man concerned.
II he is guilty he probably will buster or
threaten. Then you have him. You just make
notes OF what he is saying and tell him that
OF course you are going to quote him verba-
tim. Ask him who his distinguished guests
were. ard checly him That
whether it is not true that his guests have
oeen mainly Red Cross and USO girls De-
scribe his housing and his scale OF living.
state his duties, identify his unit of command
and, for contrast, describe the condition in
which his men are living and the nature of
their duties. Present the facts to his superior,
quote him, too, and report his action, if any.
That is the obligation of free press
Still again: '..another officer, in the Navy,
said men in his unit were scandalized when
an impatient captain sent an 8O-foot launch on
tour of the harbor in search of the ship
which was doing his laundry.
Tt cost the taxpayers better than hum
dred bucks just so that bird could wear
clean shirt said the young officer
Without the captains name and veriflcation
OF the incident this again is sheer gossip no
more excusable because it comes from the
other side of the world than it would be if it
had been turned in by a city-side reporter in
which case the author would have been sent
back 20 get the details that are drilled into
American civilian soldiers and sailors over
every cub as primary essentials.
These reports may be true but they may be
false. AS presented they do no good but on
the contrary tend to bring all officers into
contempt and to destroy discipline and conf
dence at home in the men commanding
American civilian soldiers and sailors over
seas, including thousands Of conscientious,
able patriots.
The civilian correspondent who should get
himself kicked out for giving names and veri-
fled facts without such nasty little escape
words as "allegedly," "purportedly" and
"presumedly'' would be upheld all the way
from his home office to Washington and, if
the situation were really as bad as all that,
would bring about spectacular reforms and
become the perennial guest Of the American
Legion at all future conventions with suite
to himself and case of Bourbon, free.