Show i I I I U. U S. S Presidents Respect Members of Fourth Estate I I By BAUKHAGE Newt News Analyst and arid Commentator In WASHINGTON In this post-election post calm which has settled over the domestic political scene many a vest shirt blouse or slip in the capital conceals a palpitating heart p What about my government job after the glad New Year The regular classified civil servants haven't much to fear They cant can't be fired without cause and no matter how thorough a new administrations administration's administrations administration's admin admin- housecleaning may be most of the furniture lands right back where it was before although here bere and there you may at first fail fall to recognize an tin old friend in a new slipcover r Long ago most per cent New 3 Dealers in high places displayed the wisdom which N they felt was the I P. P better part of 4 t 0 valor and va va- vaI va- I f e f 1 Others i assumed j assumed new col col- colI col- I O ors S Some o m e who WM T t had not been too I I. I It I careful previously previous prevIous- r LI L ly Y to keep the l JI right hand band from knowing what the left let hand was doIng doing doing do do- ing gradually began began be be- to ambidextrous ambidextrous ambidextrous am am- i. i t gan grow and soon were able to Baukhage c write the lesson on the blackboard without exposing the wedding-ring wedding finger There is however one class of at permanent Washingtonians which I goes on like the brook But even individuals in this class may find I the nature of their daily tasks differing dif dif- fering slightly as administrations change I refer of at course to the Fourth Estate which now includes y commentators since radio newsmen newsmen news news- men as a. well as ss newspapermen are I eligible to the National Press club thus establishing at least a minimum minimum minimum mini mini- mum standard of merit Naturally we wo who cover the I White House always wonder what manner of man we are going to have to handle bandle While Thile a a. new Incumbent is learning the art of getting his name favorably inserted into a WashIngton WashIngton Washington Wash Wash- ington ton dispatch or broadcast we weha ha have ve a chance to learn Icam the care and feeding of the source of news which feeds the news to us I Once Dewey had bad a bad reputation reputation I tion in this regard But th then n most candidates are suspect before they start since it is taken for granted that they all are subject to the disease disease disease dis dis- dis- dis ease of which affects victims differently II 4 i i Coolidge for instance was perhaps perI perhaps per per- I haps least afflicted with this malady 1 that attacks the strongest individual individual II ual when he walks under the white- white I pillared portico of 1600 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsyl Pennsyl- vania avenue to stay for at least I four tour years And Coolidge was about I r as rich in front page material of I his own making as the clam he sought to emulate I I remember a remark William Hard now an editor of at Readers Reader's b Digest once made to me t R Cal never seemed to suffer from Hard invented the I word lord I believe believe he he is the only i occupant of the White House I know of who when he lay down to take t I his daily siesta didn't think when I he awoke that the world had bad gone to pieces I N No 0 n newsman except toward the last could complain about Franklin Roosevelt's news conI con con- I I Regardless of what i one might think of his views 1 I his news was always printable II It will be hard to produce another another an an- 1 other such The heavy majority of at those who traveled with Dewey on his campaign campaign cam cam- 1 trips had bad nothing but praise But a few of those who had experienced experienced ex ex- ex- ex his press pres conferences and had enjoyed enjoyed or or otherwise otherwise his his press rela relations ons in earlier days were j cynical I Wait they said until the honeymoon is over I found it hard to get concrete predictions I myself had seen a avast avast vast Tast improvement in Deweys Dewey's press relations over the years since his I first campaign And I see no reason reason rea rea- son aon why a person cant can't and doesn't learn On the train whenever he could and that is the way most of the I correspondents described it it- it could not would Dewey went into the press car attached to his bis train chatted individually with the fellows learned to connect names with new faces answered questions and at least appeared to tobe tobe tobe be frank and free with his off the record remarks concerning Republican Re Re- publican doubts and fears real imI imagined im im- im- im l I or assumed He sometimes took time for a game of at chess with the boys There was however much less informality In the atmosphere atmosphere atmos atmos- I phere of his entourage than Ii there was in The Tho Dewey affair moved so smoothly smooth smooth- ly that a creak or two would have been welcome Like the fanner farmer in the poem so 50 even ran his course of life lite the neighbors neigh bors bars thought ht it odd I There Thero was one man who made madeI I press relations on the Dewey camI campaign campaign cam cam- I train a Joy joy well well two men Ore One was Jim Hagerty trained reI reporter re reo I porter himself who is expected to be the public relations secretary in the White House The other was wasa a man who probably wont won't be in Washington at all Deweys Dewey's Dewey's Deweys veteran political adviser Edwin Jaeckle There was no conflict between the two a rare situation indeed Jaeckle supplemented Hagerty This would seem to contradict the sharp charges of Warren Mo Moscow cow author of Politics In the Empire State States which came out this fall Moscow one of New York City's top-rank top political reporters who also covered Albany claims that Dewey shut down news sources durIng durIng during dur dur- ing his governorship in an attempt to thwart any criticism That he even tried to lay down a press conference conference conference con con- ference rule that a question was off oft the record thus covering up the fact that an answer had been given not to be made public or had been refused Moscow asserts that Dewey wanted to be the oracle the theone theone one and only the sole source of at what should be reported I If that was true earlier in Deweys Dewey's career the dapper New Yorker who has hal been widely-touted widely of late for being able to take advice and for being able to pick people who know how to advise has had some good advice I If he should revert to methods such as Moscow describes two things would happen first he hc would suffer second he would fail in his bis attempt and the effects of the effort might be permanently disastrous Some presidents have tried to conduct government by disturbing disturbing disturbing dis dis- dis- dis the checks and bal hal ances It never works long and the freedom of the press Is one of the checks a checks a principle principle principle prin prin- ciple that is part and parcel of the American concept of government A notable example of how the very weight of the news legitimate news breaks through any wall was the case of the financial conference called by President Hoover just before before before be be- fore the end of his regime regime 1931 to tobe tobe tobe be exact Hoover had no intention whatever of deceiving the public He simply didn't understand that you couldn't have a gathering like that without making an adequate explanation of some kind At any rate just a bare announcement wa issued F Free ree Press 1 Is Best Check The next day at at the White House news conference Hoover said he would not comment on the meeting though the notice had appeared in the papers and that he considered considered considered consid consid- ered it the duty of the press not to print anything which was only partially partially par par- ally true or else incomplete Richard of the New York Times one of the most beloved beloved beloved be be- loved and respected correspondents who ever covered Washington and an outstanding leader made a typIcally typically typically dignified but very emphatic protest then and there He said it was out of the question to ask the reporters not to get as complete a astory astory astory story as they could It was pointed out by another well-known well reporter that the press would have to have havethe havethe havethe the story and the reporters would have bave to get it regardless of the Presidents President's wishes The President refused at first but the reporters insisted Finally he agreed to give out an official statement statement state state- ment alter after the conference I have known other examples of short lived lIved gag rules One which Secretary of the Treasury Treasury Treasury Treas Treas- ury tried to establish establish establish lish on the treasury He Issued an order that none of the treasury treasury treas treas- I ury officials could talk with newsmen He might as well have told reporters not to read the market quotations It failed Legitimate news continued to be reported as it U always had been Franklin Roosevelt had bad at one onetime one time tune at least 80 per cent of the newspapers against him bim He knew he couldn't change their editorial editorial edi edi- edi- edi tonal views by giving out news to their representatives He also knew that if it he tried to withhold d news the American people would be far farless farless farless less likely to support him And because because because be be- cause he understood the meaning of the freedom of at the press he wouldn't have thought of of trying And he knew how to make it appear as favorable as possible The most effective check in a democracy is not the first second or third but the fourth estate An unenlightened public conceivably might elect a totally bad president and a totally bad congress which would establish a totally bad I supreme supreme su su- preme court but unless the press is gagged the public In a democracy cannot be democratically I lightened |