The Press: Every Man for Himself

For twelve tedious weeks, the New York Post Home News belabored its readers with an exhausting, antiphonal series called “An Appeal to Reason.” One of the alternate authors was Co-Editor and Co-Publisher T. O. (“Ted”) Thackrey, who was for Henry Wallace; Co-Editor and Co-Publisher Dorothy S. (“Dolly”) Thackrey (who is also the owner) was for Tom Dewey. Last week the Thackreys outdid themselves. In a four-page election supplement, readers were not only told which local candidates the Post Home News favored, but which ones the Thackreys disagreed on. Example: Thackrey favored Communist Simon W. Gerson for city council; his wife endorsed Jack Kranis, Democratic and Liberal Party candidate.

Next day the co-editors got an irate letter from the help. Sixty-seven staffers (including the executive, managing, and city editors) wanted it known that they emphatically disagreed with both the Thackreys: with Ted chiefly for indorsing Wallace, Communist Gerson and eight candidates of the Commy-controlled American Labor Party, and with Dolly for indorsing one of the A.L.P. men. The staffers wrote: “The impression must prevail, among this newspaper’s readers, that those who write for it and produce it daily are, like one of you, for the triumph of Henry Wallace, of many Communist Party members and of many pro-Communists.” They demanded that their letter be printed in full, with signatures.

At week’s end the Thackreys, who evidently had had enough, ran the letter with a desperate little editors’ note: “Certainly it should not be concluded that employees NOT signing the above letter are in agreement with either or both co-editors . . .”