The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-08-11
BLUE
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WATER
BY DENIS SNEIGR
The Navy blew its stack again.

AAV StdCA UAOWlnk Wy OaPIs -. IL
Murphy and Mrs. Kay Hanska
came about because the Public In
formation Office - as usual - die
not know what was going on.
Murphy is Public Information Of
ficer and Chief of Staff. Mrs. Hans
kat is a civilian employee in thai
office.
1t all started with a staple little
story that appeared on page one
of The Citizen q week ago today
the story announcing that the Navy
was constructing q $755,c00 build
ing on the Annex.
I got the dope for the story from
a Navy officer and q representa-
tive of the contractor who is build
ing the new structure.
told Murphy I had the story
and I told him I would let him
read it.
Murphy read the story and okay-
ed it.
The photo that appeared with the
story was made from q negative
made by the Navy.
Fred Hardin - q chief who 10
no longer attached to the Pho INA.
Wy talk for Public Information Of
fice) took the negative out Of the
files in the Pho and handed it to
me.
Mrs. Hanskat saw the negative.
Murphy saw the negative.
In fact Murphy asked that The
Citizen make him a print of the
negative which shows an old frame
building that was once the railroad
passenger station here.
"I'm a railroad fan myself"
Murphy said.
The Citizen photographer, Sybil
Arlington, made an 8-by-10 inch
print which I gave to Murphy.
All this took place on the day the
story appeared in The Citizen -
August 4.
Now let's 20 back to the previous
day - Aug. 3.
On that day ! called Mrs. Hans
kat and asked If the Pho had a
negative or picture in Its files Of
the old building. She said they did
not.
On that day I also phoned Muir
ply and told him we wanted a pic
ture of the old building which Is
being torn down. He arranged for
Sybil and me to enter the super.
secret Annex and make 4 shot Of
the building.
However, this was not necessary
after Hardin found the negative in
the file. Mrs. Hanskat did not
know the negative existed - that
it was in a file in her own office.
Now let's 60 back to Aug. 4.
A few minutes after Hardin had
handed me the negative, Mrs. Han.
skat entered the Pho and accused
me of taking q negative from her
files.
what do you mean by going into
our files and taking out negativ-
esq" she asked.
She was referring to the mega.
tive which Hardin had taken out
of the file and handed to me - a
negative she did not know she had.
Whether Mrs. Hanskat and Muir
ply think so or not. consider it
a serious charge to accuse some
one Of taking anything from q file
in some other persons office.
Anyway, the story and photo did
not appear in The Citizen until at
ter Murphy had read and okayed
the story. He also looked at the
negative. Mrs. Hanskat also look
ed at the negative.
The following day, August S, I
returned the negative to the Pho.
At the same time, handed Muir
ply his print Of the old railroad
depot.
He did not even say thanks but
Immediately blew his stack.
Murphy accused me of "sand-
bagsing" him. That is the word he
used.
He said l had asked him to read
the story when he was busy and
that he did not know that his Pub
lie Information Office did not know
what was going on.
AS you can see, there were q lot
OF people around the Pho who did
not know what was going on.
Apparently this situotion is SOP
in that office.
! told him I had asked his EN-.
ployees in that office to read the
story. None of them was interest
ed In seeing the story. They were
talking about q camera. This was
while l was waiting to show the
story to Murphy.
Fred Hardin had finally told me
that Murphy was the only one who
could okay the story.
Even after I explained this to
Murphy, he continued to get red
in the face and talk tough to me,
saying Hardin had been transfer.
red and didn't have anything to do
with the Pho and that Hardin
should not have given me the ne.
gative.
Now I'm supposed to keep up
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