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I
January 4, 1944
REPORTED HARRY BUTCHER IS TO SUCCEED ELMER DAVIS
Along with a revival of the rumor that Elmer Davis is to resign as head of the Office of War Information there are reports that the cables have been kept hot in an effort to get Lieut, Com¬ mander Harry C. Butcher, Aide to G-eneral Eisenhower, and former Washington CBS Vice President, to succeed him. According to the best information available, Commander Butcher, being well satisfied where he is, has not been receptive to the proposal.
Rumors that Mr. Itevis is to go have been numerous. In fact on at least one occasion he has himself threatened to resign. Elmer’s path has not been one of roses and althougii his friends among the radio and press commentators seemed to be a legion in the beginning, they have been rapidly falling by the wayside. Criticism of Washington correspondents in Boston brought a storm of disapproval down upon him.
One of his most severe critics, friendly and wishing him well at the start, has been Frank Kent of the Baltimore Sun, who about every so often throws a harpoon into Mr. Davis, Elmer stirred up a new hornet’s nest for himself last Friday night when, over the NBC Network, he attacked tne so-called "Axis” newspapers the Wasnlngton Times Herald, tiie New York Daily Nev/s, and the Chicago Tribune , saying:
”We can win in 1944, says General Eisenhower, provided all of us, civilians as well as the armed forces, do our full duty. Two newspapers, the New York Daily News and Washington Times Herald, call that an alibi in case our military plans go wrong. It is worth remembering that the Time s-Herald was also one of the newspapers the other was the Chicago Tribune which three days before Pearl Harbor published to the world the plans by which our Array prooosed to fight if there had to be a war. The enemy who was already near¬ ing Pearl Harbor for that sneak attack must have been grateful for that information; as he will certainly be grateful for this endeavor by the Patterson-McCormick press to undermine confidence in our military leadership. Most of us, looking at General Eisenhower’s record, will be likely to have more confidence in his plans. ”
The Time s-Herald promptly retorted that they had been too "insignificant” to be successful in the Job he holds and Frank Waldrop of the Time s-Herald added that the OWI "has been the worst flop of many flops in the Roosevelt War Administration. ”
If Mr. Butcher were to go to the OWI, he would be the first radio man to head a major government war news bureau,
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