Milford chronicle., 1948-03-19

consistent WIN lLS
past
In studying the
strange political
policy or spirit Of
the Herald Tribune one comes
across Communists and friends and
associates of Communists who are
lavishly publicized, usually in
praise.
Much Of the reading matter I'm
a metropolitan paper is yes-and-
no copy. It isn't news but fea-
ture stuff. Leave it out and mo-
body is deprived except the sub
jeCt who might have been ad.
vertised free but wasn't. AS be-
tween a fellow who runs with
the Communists and one who
opposes and shuns them, an
editor can make an arbitrary
choice.
AS a starting point Of these es-
says, return to the observation Of
Joe Davies, our ambassador to
Moscow, who wrote that Joe Barnes.
the. .foreign-editor and, in reality, the
policy editor of the Herald Tribune,
was radical and that Mrs.
Barnes was "much more RADICAL
than her husband, That makes a
pretty radical combination in charge
of the policy of a paper which used
to be a weI-edited, well-written,
conscientious Republican party or
gan.
Howard Barnes, the drama editor
of the Herald Tribune, is the brother
Of Joe, the policy-maker.
BY a rule Of val
kute ues that battles me.
Of the theatrical de-
SPACE partment had shown
a crush on a Broad
way gag-writer named Carson Ka.
min. His great work is a comedy
called Born Yesterday" In this,
he exalted the New Republic and
thus, inferentially, Henry Wallace,
its front editor until recently. Kanin
personified free enterprise as an
illiterate, larcenous junk-dealer and
the y. S. congress as a sniveling
thief. The show has some laughs
and a pretty blonde.
Kanin seems to be no Communist
himself for he has made careful
arrangements to get out of his
tawdry play every dollar that the
law allows.
The Herald Tribune has been
crazy over Kanin and this play
and the infatuatiOn even extend
ed to a show by Donald Ogden
Stewart of Hollywood, who has
been mentioned in connection
with more Red fronts than Stain
himself in the congressional I'M
vestigatiOns. Kanin was the pro-
ducer.
All actors, producers and press
agents know that a two-column
head in the Herald Tribune's Sum
day drama layout is great prize.
Just casually I have noted in the
Sunday section two three-colurDn
pictures and one twO-colunn carl
cature for Kanin's interests and a
half dozen gratuitous puffs Of arti-
ficial text. One picture was Just a
dumb, vague photograph Of bunch
Of people in common clothes sitting
around, reading. They were the cast
of this new play of Stewards, about
to be produced by Kanin. Il was
called How I Wonder and it laid
an egg. There was absolutely moth
ing but personal favor to explain
this free advertising.
Why not give space away to peo-
pie noted for their Americanism
if you profess to be a Republican
paper? Let the Daily Worker and
Marshall Fields thing root for their
team but let us root for ours.
Kanin has no reg
judged istered political rec
by ord in Washington
Company but he did appear as
witness for Carl
Aldo Marzani, an Italian-born Com.
munist spy who planted himself in
the American cloak and dagger
service Of the army for non-dan-
gerous duties in the war and twice
sneaked into our state department
as an employee. Marzani used a
Communist party alias.
The Herald Tribune's precious
friend, Carson Kanin. "a years old
and safe out Of a soft job in the war,
said he couldn't remember
whether he ever was a member Of
the joint anti-fasciSt refugee COM
mittee which is as red as a IRE
engine. But then he apparently
thought the better of that evasion
for he quickly said he was willing
to say yes"
Kanin testified that he and
Marzani fought the Battle Of
Washington for Is months until
he went overseas in May, 1874,
and that the spy had a nice rep.
utatiOn for "peace and good ore
der and being a Iaw-abiding
Citizen
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