The Press: Indications

In his 36-hour inspection of Leghorn, Italy, Columnist Robert C. Ruark had sniffed out some lively scandal, and his five-day series on abuses in Lieut. General John C. H. (“Courthouse”) Lee’s command had touched off a full-scale Army investigation (TIME, Aug. 25). Perhaps some of Ruark’s loud charges about mistreatment of enlisted men, and about officers lolling in luxury’s lap, might not stand up. But dispatches in the New York Times and in Scripps-Howard papers last week listed some “sudden improvements” in the area, indicating that General Lee had felt and yielded to the power of the press:

¶Along “Bent Arm Boulevard,” main street of the headquarters compound, Italian MPs replaced Americans, and saluting arms unbent.

¶G.I.s said food at their messes was “100% better.”

¶Streets around general headquarters, previously limited to staff cars, were opened to traffic.

¶High brass found that it really preferred to ride the trains between Viareggio and Leghorn, instead of commuting in staff cars.

¶Courthouse Lee was now rarely seen in his black limousine; he had taken to driving his own jeep.