Objection
To the Editor:
Isn't it time that reputable magazines stopped printing scraps of pernicious conversation with unidentified persons in their serious articles? In his “Letter from Havana” [September], Peter Schmid reports that “a young writer” told him that the Russians “never take a bath . . . the Russians stink. . . .” How interesting! Are we to rejoice in the information? Are we to conclude that every one, or the majority, of the millions of Russians “stink,” or is it only all the Russians in Cuba? What kind of vicious propaganda is this?
There are few things . . . in journalism more misleading than the comment from some alleged “mill worker,” “authoritative source,” . . . “friend,” “high official,” etc., etc. The writer who uses these . . . dodges . . . is usually dealing in the Big Lie that looks like Truth.
Walter Leuba
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
