r
Xtirlrf Kewsmea -Geila?
Uutier By
ISaut in France)
..'... t-
...AT ai: xT.Oi.I
; "No rtor Sway U; No Fear Shall Atee - .
' from First Statesman, March 28, 1851 i
THE STATESMAN PUBLISHING COMPANY
- ' CHARUESA. SPRAGUZ, Editor and Publisher ; 1 ;
v - i Member of the Associated Press , .- ;
The Associated Prea Is exclusively entitled to the use for publication of all
news dispatches credited to It or not otherwise credited In this newspaper.
rive i ears
'" It was five years ago today that, as Lord
; Grey said of a similar time 25 years preceding,
the lights went out all over Europe.
Five years ago. today Hitler sent his shiny
new armor smashing into Poland.
Five years ago today Goering opened the
- cages to release his precious luftwaffe to bomb
and to strafe in Posnan, Lodz and Warsaw. "'a
Five years " ago today Hitler summoned his
JtrivIUtkag, , iUlillllimiCVl tut vreiuuuy m nivut
and announced his invasion of Poland.
Five years ago today Hitler cast tht lot that
" he said would decide Germany's fate "for
thousand years." .
Five years j and how much of ; history . has
crowded into thosenonths and days and min
utes! Five years and what swings have come of
" hope and despair, of grief and triumph!
Five year . . . and where now is -Hitler's
. shiny armor, Goering's lusty luftwaffe? -Where
now is the victory which alone. Hitler- said,
would permit him to doff his soldier's uniform?
1939 saw the quick crushing of Poland though
- the spirit of the Poles was never broken; saw
- British supremacy at sea threatened by German
i submarines. (.- ' -:." -' -
1940 saw the unleashing of the blitz in the
west: the occupation of Norway and Denmark,
the quick conquest of Holland and Belgium,
the collapse of France; Dunkirk; .Italy's entrance
in the war; the air battle over Britain; a British
4 offensive meeting initial success in North Africa.
1941 saw Hitler at the height of his power
.with his conquest of Greece and Crete and his
sweeping invasion of Russia to the gates of
'Moscow. Fighting alone, Britain was buoyed by
lend-lease from America, by the sinking of the
K tlAcitin n!emanlp ' on1 a fAK nffanciva in
. Africa; but the year ended: with. 'Japan's attack
at Pearl Harbor and the launching of war in the
Pacific. .' J . : .: - ' ' ..
1942 saw the turning of the
, "quickly extending their empire
Pacific; Rommel held and then
-at Stalingrad! and in the Caucasus; successful
" American landings in North Africa; victory at
. Guadalcanal.' : j. - v' '.
1943 saw Germany and Japan definitely onP
the defensive; the great drive of Russia and the
extinction of axis holdings in North Africa;
ending of the submarine as a major menace; in
vasion of Italy; 'Americans driving Japs from
the Aleutians; increased bombings of German
war industries. : ; ; ...-: ''"
1944 saw, the giant vise begin to close on
flrmanv Russians from th east. British and
Americans and allies from the south and the
west heavy bombings from the air; the falling;
away of satellite nations; penetration of Japan's
Interpreting
The War News
'- By KIRKE L. SOIPSON T
i ASSOCIATED PRESS WAR ANALYST
fast approaching an utter rout is unfolding before
the, world as the figures pour in from the battle
fronts there, north and south, to out date General
, Eisenhower's recapitulation of enemy losses in men
ana iignung equipment since u-uaj in iMonnanay
even before it reached prinL ' v
Those official Allied fiugres put enemy person
nel losses at upward of 400,000 men in France be
tween June 6 and August 25. His material losses
were proportionate, with planes, tanks, guns of all
1 sorts y the thousand captured or "ruined,
i The estimated equivalent of 35 German divisions
has been destroyed,' cut to pieces or trapped to their
certain doom in' coastal fortresses in Brittany. And
to show, for it all the foe has only the prospect of
an"; air-harried, tank-worried escape across ' the
lowlands of Belgium and Holland, .with many
; other thousands of Nazis to be abandoned to their
1 fate in Allied or French Patriot isolated pockets;
man frontiers through the Saarbrucken Gap per
haps within days or even hours.' :
The last lingering doubt of the completeness of
the Allied victory In the north vanished .with
. soners, enemy casualties and equipment and British
puncture of the potential Somme defensive front
. at Amiens. , : "'--V' --"':.: "'
The Nazi retreat front between the channel and
the Pise , was cut in two by the British two-day
- drive from Seine bridgehead to cross, the Somme",
' at Amiens. It is aimed seemingly to cut through to ,
the channel cpast east of the Calais hump, through
- . the heart of the Nazi rocket bomb installations
. while flanking American First Army columns , to
- the southeast and now within SO miles or less 'of
' the Belgian , border ; extend the double-fronted
sweep.- v v ' ' '!-:,
Perhaps the deadliest Allied threat in the north, ,
- however, came with the swift shifting of the Amer
ican First Army from the Seine theater below .
' Paris to the Oise front north and east of the city.
It has taken over the whole northern face of the
huge American bulge eastward between the Oise
and the Loire previously held by Pattern's gallop
ing Third Army. That means Uat Patton's force
Is being-concentrated on the eastern and southeast-
. era faces of the bulge. And that way beyond cap
v tured Reims, Chalons and St Dizier lie roads
that converge on the Saarbrucken Gap, some 60
miles to the east TBSrt way, too, lies the southwest
lunge to a junction with Patch's Franco-American
Seventh Army rampaging up the Rhone valley
r from the ' Riviera and . already reported on the
, Franco-Swiss fremtier near Geneva. v . ; '
k Another German army, not included in Eisen- .
hower'S; report, is being cut to pieces in the Rhone
operations. . A Junction of the Third and Seventh
Army would cut of f its remnants, seal all Isolated
German garrison troops still in southern France
south of the Loire or west of the Rhone against
escape. It would also lend double strength to the
power blow into Germany itself through the Saar-
seems concentrating.' v. ' '' ::"'
; The situatica for Germany is growing so desper
ate that conditional peace feelers are to be expected -
- it thov hva . 'lrr.'? VxNrl marf Knr fan Y
indicated German weakness in the west fail to re- -vive
speculation that in the end German leaders,
might deliberately staje'a total collapse there while
still wardlr ? c'l the E-j' -ins in the east in hoTe
cf Allied jbitead cf Eussian occupation of the in
dustrial hcr.rt cf th? rt':a ar.l a subsequent rift
this battle in any respect England will fall. '
After his great summer victories in Russia
said on Oct, 3. 1941: j ' . 8
tide: the Japs
in the western
pushed back in
seems necessary,
the legislature,
should not be
defense ring; and now.Festung Europa shrunk
to Festung Allemanial , '.
-Five years;-but the importance .of events is
determined, not by the clock or the calendar.
Those years of toil and sacrifice saw preserved
centuries of social progress through military i
victories which coming months must firmly
eiinch. ' ' i tl .
Quotes From Hitler. v
July 19, 1940, appeal to Britain to end tha
war: --.-. - -
Believe me, gentlemen, I feel a deep disgust
for. this type of politician who wrecks entire
tuitions and states. It almost pains me to think
that I should have been selected by fate to deal
the final blow to the stnicture which v these
men have already set Jottering. V
It never has been my Intention to wage wars,
but rather to build up a state with, f. new social
order and the finest possible standard of cul
ture. Every year the war drags on Is keeping -i
me away from this work.
In this house I feel it to be my duty before
. my. own conscience to appeal once more' to
' reason and common sense-in -Great Britain as
much as elsewhere. I consider; myself in posi
tion to make this appeal sinee I am not the .
vanquished begging favors, but the victor
speaking in the name of reason. I can see Ho
reason why the '.war must go on. I. am grieved
to think of the sacrifices it will claim.
Does Hitler feel like the jvictor now? And
who is the "politician who wrecks entire na
tions and states?". I j .
England rejected Hitler's appeal, so on March
16, 1941, he said: j !
No power and no support coming from any
part of the world can change the. outcome of
This enemy is already broken and will never ! .
rise again. ' . -;''-; , i ,: ; j' f f4 f ' : -
A year later, on Sept., 30, when he thought
Stalingrad was in his grasp he said: (
The occupation of Stalingrad, which will -also
be concluded, will become a gigantic sue-
icess., ',' .-"' '! J-;i ' - '"wi ' i: y
I Though: Hitler called the Russian "some kind
o( swamp-human" and the Russian, generals
"military imbeciles,'' they broke the back of his
armies, and his screams of "We will never and
in no circumstances capitulate" remain his
final, and frantic rejection of the '"reason" he
once appealed to for British surrender. t
(Five years for Hitler .'. and how much
longer?";; i : ' ' . ' S; 4 --
New State Building , ;
The Statesman is pleased to note that the state
.board of control has selected architects for the
'new state office building which was'authorized
back in 1941. The war has held up construction..
In View of changes in building costs the ques
tion arises if the $1,000,000 appropriated will
be adequate for a building in proper proportion
to the others. of the capitol group and for the,
housing of departments now in rented quarters,
it would seem in. order to total the footage re
quired and make a computation on the basis of
present costs per cubic foot. If more money
the matter could be laid before
f or else the complete Jbuilding
made at this. time. It would be a
mistake to build a bunty building on the block
opposite the state library, ,
The firm solortMl 1st the nn rrrsontin a
reorganization of Whitehouse & Church which
designed the state library Mr. Whitehouse is
dead, but Walter Church, who was associated
with him, now heads the organization. It is sin
cerely to be hoped that the loss of Mr. White
house will not impair the unity of the capitol
architecture. , 1 ; :
VD Letdown ! ' v
Additional statistics showing increases in
venereal disease in Oregon covering first seven
months yt 1944 compared with same period in
1943: syphilis 1247 cases this, yar, 812 last;
gonorrhea 1750 cases this year, 930 last. A 50
per cent increase in syphilis and nearly 90 per
cen increase in gonorrhea. The evidence is as
clear as the. figures can jnake them that ther
. has been a serious letdown in preventive mea
sures, including law enforcement which appears
to have coincided with the decrease in number
of military stationed In Oregon. We hear a lot of
croaking about states rights. What about bur
state duties? Do we have .to have the federals to
carry out the simple measures needed to prevent
venereal disease?' " 4
Editorial Comment
A FUTCKE FOK THKJEET? ,
One forgets that itiwas ily a very few years
ago that "jeep was the name of a mythical comic
creature, invented by E. C. Segar. the cartoonist ;
who originated Popeye the Sailorman. The "Jeep i
was a winsome little beast who .seemed to be neither
fish nor fowl nor good red herring no one knew ;
what he was, exactly. i . -' '
Today we know what a jeep is and virtually
everybody, from six-year-old boys to Guadalcanal;
heroes, knows what a jeep can do The effort in
Congress to amend the surplus property bill so as
to enable returning! servicemen to buy the tough
little battle-buggies at a low price after the war
brings up the question, Wha'is the future of the
Jeep? ;-.,: -O , I -'i'; :; , j. :
r Unquestionably, It has a place ready and waiting
for it on the. ranch and farm. But when people
only want to get about ordinary macadam highways
agamv what then? Will It become the college boys'
darling and take over the honored position of the
ancient Model T? Or will suburban families use it
instead of the Increasingly popular beach-wagon
for marketing, getting the children, to school, etc.? ;
Undoubtedly, the jeep has captured the imagina
tion of youth in advance. The- Jive set may maJke
it a postwar craze. But we doubt if any great nura-i
ber -of people will long submit fc- the poundiij
handed out by the Jeep.'f Even spring seats wp,
hardly fit it far anything, but short trips and tie
most rugged owners. Americans have never, taken -to
the small car; ' they have always demanded
comfort Our guess would, be that before the Jeep
wins a, lasting place In civilian life it will have to
be so reformed and dressed up that a CI won't
recognize itr-Christan Science Irvlter. ,v
' i (x '. i. , ... . . : 1 ! - .
'American! Ilayride
The Literary
GuidcpoGt
V'.': ' By John Selby j
"Brazil on the March," by Mor-
! ris UeweUyn! Cook OVhitUa
aey; tMi.-.j lU '-v:'ji! -,-
! Morris L. Cooke's. Brazil on
the March" is the first intelligent
and intelligible ; account of what
actually is happening In Brazil I
haveread. It also tells what
might happen there, and I i what
the effect on the hemisphere gen
erally, and particularly on - the
United States, might be. It is a
book that leads to puzzlement,
too. One wonders how North
Americans have stayed bli&d so
loi..-;-t;:;:r..::i.4v
I Mr. Cooke wis made chairman
of the American Technical Com-
mission sent to? Brazil iinder the
auspices of the State Department;
, the Office' of Economic Welfare
and the War production Board.
Mr. Cooke is S consulting man
agement engineer well known: to . '
many Philadelphians, since he
was once director pf public works
in, that city. His group was pick-,
ed to cover all possible phases of
the committee's j enterprise; and
so far as the record shows, its .
members workfcd congenially and r
successfully together. The rec
ord shows the Brazilians also co-
- operated with Enthusiasm.
i The mission! was planned be-
, fore, Brazil declared war against
-the Axis.. Affer that event, its
"importance and some Immediate
objective's: were necessarily
changed. Specifically, trie imme
diate problem !was to help Brazil
become more nearly self - suffi
cient because tjiere was not ship
ping space to bring in ill the
. things ; she normally Imported.
The long-rangie objective was to
help Brazil as ' a cooperative and
prosperous -partner of this coun
try, rather than to hold her down '
to a quasi-colonial position, j ,
t 'A higher hying' standard in
.Brazil will, M Cooke's commis- -
s aion and ; Its j sponsors - believe,
. produce a ? profitable exchange
. with. us and withj the world. '
LjThei plan is; the industrializa-
., tipn of Brazil.' Brazil's pait has
been a succession of booms, based
on the! exploititioii of a new! raw
material, and not oh its manufac
ture. Sugar was first, and when
it died gold came and diamonds,
.then rubber, next cotton and fj
nally coffee. This Is the state our
- own South endured while cotton
was king, .and In a limited way.
its cure is .a parallel one. ) ! -
"THE YOUNG IDEA" ; By Mossier
fir 1 if I I I T 1
: m M I I , ;
"There's nbiblng to be alarmed, about mat-. -abviaosly, the
J' " i'iat's J-Eila! -.
News Behind the News
. By PAUL MALLON ' . ,
(Distribution by King Features Syndicate, In Reproduction In whole
i 1 of in part strictly prohibited.) - ' l.
WASHINGTON, Aug. Si
There is rio strategy in this fi
nal disintegration of the war in
Europe, except
that which is
evident;;)
' The Germans
have .lost the
war, k n o w it,
are running,
stopping to
-fight wherever
they can clus
ter a show of
resistance to '
delay our -ad-
Paul MaUon
vaneefrrH
w'l4.M irmnA iXarl."
because ' that would require
maintenance of the Seine "river
line across France and. they had
Insufficient, men. ' -.,
Their generals have, tried to
improvise ; a line further, north
on the Somme-Ainse, but they
have insufficient power to main
tain that for long either. Not
much more than a delaying ac
tion Is likely there. '
- Their military eyes are really
cast back to the Maginot-Sieg-fried
lines how;, These, are still
-strong positions at the central
German border, but they will be .
worthless to the nazis unless the
Belgian forts can - be properly
manned to maintain the flank in
the lowlands. The last battle of
the war for us might develop
- there. J . -
General Eisenhower's plan
originally fnTe n d e d that the'
southern Invasion force should
meet the Normandy force around
-ODijon-Belfort and seal' off the
bulk of southwest France.
But when he found how hol
low and weak the nazis were be
! hind theh front lines, his fast
moving mechanical cavalry un-
der General! Patton, was sent
northward' before reaching Bel-
. fort, in an effort to cut the nazl
retreat, to ; the ' Belgian - forts,
while -the; infantry-- pushed
straight ahead up the channel
coat toward ?the same forts...;
Speed Is toe driving necessity
for success of his purpose, never -to
allow the enemy to rest, re
group , or dig in, but to keep
pushing, fighting.--
We are a little ahead of the ,
Russians in this race to Berlin. .
: The. reds had to let up for the
m
past three weeks, directing their
..attention toward . knocking Ro
mania and Bulgaria out of the
war and threatening to enter
Germany by the back door (they
'will gei Bucharest and the iron
gate and Carpathian mountain
passes leading to Germany via
Hungary, Czechoslovakia). "
But they will revert again now
to the 1 Polish front and drive
straight for the German capital.
.' Truth is, they ran Into more
nasi resistance than they ex-,
pected, not only at Warsawbut''
on the East Prussian border and
in the Baltic. The nazis have
trn
forces still on '"those
fronts.
" Hitler cannot- hope to urren
der to us on the western front
without quitting also to Bussia.
The terms are not only uncon-
ditional surrender but indivisi
- ble, and the agreement on this
cannot jor" will not be broken. .
To guess when this will come
- is foolish, but personal estimates
of military authorities now run
through October and November.
Of all Hitler's crimes against
civilization,.; his final tactics In
this wir are the most fiendish.
Not -eyen , his j savage, inhuman
atrocitiles on minorities cost as
many lives as his refusal to sur
render ja cause' lost months ago,
, and the maintenance -of the
slaughter of his own people and
others j needlessly, -even to the
continuance of a robot campaign
against j England which could
only be justified "by a madman.
. If he could be put into a ro
. bpt himself as a projectile and
shot to; his. death,' not even then
would j justice be done for ' his
crime, not even if he had a hun
dred lives. "
, His tactics are ' being inter
preted by some as an indication
he Is alreadjT fighting the next
war, that both, he and his forces
are making their way under
. ground to hide," pillage and sa
botage indefinitely; The fascist
, militia is being organized -for
that purpose, even has the name
"militiaw to give it the fighting
standard of-the Maquis.'
Such continuance Of resistance"
has befl threatened at the close
of , every." war, has ." never been
successful and will not be. Sni-
1 pen soon lose their zest in the
face of machine guns and 35 mm
.' cannon. . . . .
Rats j can be driven from any
lair by military frmilgation. Our.
military; conquest' .Willi subdue
- the .7a w-ttts completely, aa far as
violence Is. threatened by them.
But; pCurt Dlttmari unofficial
German radioplea if or better
A terms thus sounds false and de
ceptive against Hitler's tniUtary
tactlcsJ The plea- was no doubt
v offered: tc Inspire Jtnxt people to
ask "our generals why ;they do-
not make peace, to create some
American pressure to ease up.
HiUer is still Hitler to the
end.
, -There was a total eclipse of the
,sun in 1932, and a newsrCel com
pany tent two expeditions ! to
South America to get authentic
pictures of ii Bad weather pre
vented, their getting -. any shots
worth exhibiting. , The ' company
had to have a release, however,
-, and put the problem to its tech
nical expert ni manufacture a
picture of an eclipse for you right
in my t laboratory," he promised,
and has was as good as his word.
There j was-one flaw. When the
picture was run ofr, the word
"MAZDA" appeared on the face
of the sun.-Eermett Cerf ia
' THE SATURDAY " HEYIEW Or
LTTZnATUrJi
- WITH THE AEF IN SOUTH
ERN FRANCE, Aug. 25-(De-v
, r layed)-(flV,The only way a cor- ,
-respondent j can go over this
fluid, fire-cracked fantastic front -at
the moment Is to emulate.
Leacock's famous, horseman--
mount and! gallop madly' off in
all directions. . 7
Byi the . fitime you read this
there may not eyen be a single ;
J front left In this part of France. .
But right now there 'are so t
many and ; they1 are moving so
" fast that the ; already nutty
' newspapermen are getting nut- .
. tier by the; minute. ' v
For Instance, from this cock
eyed press ' camp this morning r
you can: "!
. -; Drive all day northeast and
'. reach the front in the Grenoble
sector. " -Drive
all day south and reach
. either Marseille or .Toulon-' .
your choice for you get shot at -.
.plenty in either place.
Drive half the day west and
reach the Rhone river front.
Drive all day north and try
to catch the forces last seenidis-
appearing in the direction of
Denmark or somewhere. - -
i- . . -
And If trying to make a choice .
leaves you: in- the mental con- '
( dition of most correspondents :
you can take the sixth alterna
tivedrive most of , the day ; '
. northeast, cross the. border, and
' be interned peacefully In Switz-
eriand.;';;'J:- v',;'--..:::;.-:
Just to f keep any slightest
. . semblance of sanity from en
tering the situation it should be
." added that; press corps officials :
today were, forced to move their
. camp 60 ) miles nearer . "the -front,"-
and Solomon I himself
never ; had !a tougher task than
deciding which front. ? ; 4
One must also take into con
sideration the-,fact ' that the ;
. speed of the advance has played;
hob with gasoline supplies. Al
ready our petrol is so limited we
coast down all hills,- and 'there
'are two sergeants and a corporal -working
out a formula for run- -ning
press "jeeps on a mixture of
cognac and coffee grounds. 1 -'..
In case you're wondering why
we don't just stay at "the front, -as
many of us did during, the
Italian' campaign, we must re-'
mind you the facilities for fil
ing our stories . for the folks'
back home still are necessarily,
limited to a 'single communica
tions center. And the best story.
In the world is not worth the
notebook . it's written on until
, v - gy MADS EN .
P.T. M. asks' when should ap
ple and cherry trees be planted.
Answer: J Usually February Is
considered j the ideal time. The
soil should be so thai it can be
worked when planting is done. '
r NW asks what may be used
for the treatment of prune and
peach root borers now that many
.chemicals cannot be had because
of war-time restrictions, i
Answer: County agents tell us
that one can obtain sufficient
i. quantities of paradichlorobenzine :
' for treating these trees. This ; '
should be applied at once while
the. soil temperatures still run -from
55 to 60 degrees F. . Full
directions on its use may be ob-
tained from your county; agent.
(N.W. your county agent is J. J.
Inskeep at Oregon City. Write
or see him for particulars.) ;
, Mrs. G. W. writes that she was ;
-given; a sago-paun 'this i spring '
and that the lower leaves are be- '
, , ginning to turn brown. She fears
. that all of the leaves will dry and
. the plant will die. - ,
Answer: j It is natural for the
lower leaves to turn brown and
drop off." - Do not overwater the
sago-palm' but do not let it dry
out. .It likes strong sunshine.
r Miss,R,;M.'M asks if there Is
. another , name for snake-plant.
She likes her plant but she hates
' its name. Also she says her plant
does not do well. Someone told 1
her it would flower but it never
.has. - v.
Answer: j Sansevieria :: (pro-,
nounced Just es it is spelled with -th
accent j on the first syllable
and on the final e which is long)
Is the correct name, and I no.
, tice that several are beginning hi
call it this perhaps fbrthe same
reason as Miss RJ1.M. wants a
. different name than make plant
I have also heard it called sword
plant L. H. Bailey refers to it '
as bowstring hemp, which is an
accepted ' name. Do not over- ,
- water this jlant Water once a
week.' Give It plenty of light
have sandy loam far its planting
soa.? It does bloom, when it Is
. old enough.
"Ssssmssssxgsgsn
'-. r K . ...
tevens
?. ; cfrmncATicii :
. . . ia heavy (
SI'ICj
la ster'Ung sHver Y m r"
tzam , ,v w J
A3 " prices Inclode " Federal
. 23 tax .
: Date fcr , JTslllng Overseas
Cci-s GLs, Sept 13 to
An Jewelry TTork. Diamond
Eeti;ar sJl T-rravl-j Done
b Ca- Cwa lie?
Credit If Desired "
It gets In. print in your news
paper. '
In order to meet that situa
tion, press camp officials 1 are
trying ; to set up a courier sys
tem on all fronts whereby re
porters can remain In the com
bat line and still file stories
which will be carried back to
canp for sending.
Trouble developed immediate
ly, however, when the courier
drivers started "getting lost be
cause frontline command posts
move so many times and in a
few hours are gone.
I could go on like this indefi
nitely, but word has just arrived
that Cannes has fallen. So sev
eral of us are going to1 Cannes
today where we may learn that
the - doughboys already have
reached Nice. If we go to Nice
we undoubtedly will learn that
the GI's have been playing rou-
lette at Monte Carlo all after
noon. 'j, ' "i; r ';-: - 'c
- If we reach the world famous
gambling city, our party un
doubtedly will b r e a k up. The
pikers will " stay there and ! try
to break the bank at Monte
Carta But , the f real gamblers
will crawl wearily back to the
Jeep and try to find where this
blankety-blank press camp has
moved during the day.
(Continued from Page 1)
pages, the 'columnist found ja
reading ' audience because his
stuff r was more personal and
oftentimes in far better' literary
style than the routine editorials
offered by papers. jr :
. . Originally the columnists were
primarily reporters,' like Mike
Sullivan and David Lawrence,
who reported, with some, inser
tion of personal opinion, j the
Washington news. Gossip 'col
umnists, headed by Pearson and
Allen, came In style.' developing
a following, by exclusive, gossipy
reporting, a '? style still followed
by Pearson. As time has gone on
the tendency of columnists ' to
pontificate as editors Instead of
- remain primarily reporters has
developed.' This often brings a
' clash between, the paper's own ,
editorial policy and the expres
' sions of the columnists it uses.
. Columnists are usually very
touchy over any deletions or al
terations in their copy. They
claim, and rightly so, freedom of
expression. But ; this has : fur
rowed the brow of many a man
aging editor and ' many a
publisher. R a y ; Howard, ex
pressed the difficulty well In his
statement In connection with the
dropping of Pegler as a Scripps
Howard writer:-! - -" '
"Many years of effort have
demonstrated, notably: ; In ' the
cases of Heywood Broun, Gen.
Hugh Johnson and Westbrook
Pegler, Vthe public's unwilling
ness to accept as something
apart from the paper's policy the
opinions of independent writers.
"Scripps-Howard must be
judged by its own expression of
editorial policy rather than by
uie views nr a iinvi tttniiisnf'
writer . . . '
Because readers " could not
seem to understand that the col
umnist's opinion was ' his' 1 own
and not necessarily that of the
newspaper's own editor and
publisher Scripps-Howard did
not renew the Pegler contract
The Incident raises doubtt as
to the future rating of the inde
pendent columnist ' Lee Wood,
executive editor of the New
York : World-Telegram, a S-H
paper, said several months ago:
"Personally I "think column
ists have reached a peak and, in
fact, are right now on the wane.
Newspapers' are and should be
giving: studious attention to re
vival of their own editorial
pages. Columnists are over
rated, I think."
-I think Wood's opinion is ac
curate, and hat Independent
columnists have passed their
peak, and that primarily because
they have gotten tired of doing
an able job' of honest-to-God
Independent reporting and tried
to make editors out of them
selves. That wffl not work, if
for no other reason than the
jealousy of. the newspaper's
own editor, who likes to think
that he is the sole voice of au
thority around the paper! "
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II"" Jv- .- V
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