Border Battles

In two border States two influential newspapers, after teetering on the fence all summer, last week announced their choice for President. In Kentucky, twice Republican since 1896 (1924, 1928), the Louisville Courier-Journal announced for Roosevelt. In Tennessee, twice Republican since 1872 (1920, 1928), the Chattanooga Times announced for Willkie.

Kentucky has only two potent newspapers: Louisville's Times and its Courier-Journal. Both belong to handsome, 34-year-old Barry Bingham, whose father was rich Judge Robert Worth Bingham, Franklin Roosevelt's Ambassador to Great Britain.

A ripsnorting, eloquent paper was the Courier-Journal in the old days when Colonel Henry Watterson, founder and first editor, ran it. ''Marse Henry" used to end his World War I editorials with the chant: "To hell with the Hohenzollerns and the Hapsburgs!"

Editor of the Courier-Journal since last January is lanky, solemn Herbert Agar, 43, onetime diplomat, novelist, critic, historian. For the last six months the Courier-Journal has been a fiery advocate of aid to Britain. Editor Agar was one of 30 U. S. citizens who announced last June that they were in favor of immediate war on Germany.

Day after Adolf Hitler announced his new pact with Japan, the Courier-Journal declared: "We must give more and more aid to the British. We must send them planes, tanks and motor boats as fast as they are produced. . . . We must give them more of our overage destroyers . . . whenever they are needed. So long as Britain holds out, the German-Italian-Japanese alliance is frustrated. . . ."

A Gallup poll last fortnight showed 58% of Kentucky's voters for Franklin Roosevelt. Editor Agar, after much soul-searching, spoke himself for Roosevelt too, and the Courier-Journal (like the Roosevelt-hating St. Louis Post-Dispatch last month) bought a page in the New York Times to announce its stand.

Said "Marse Henry's" old paper: "We find that with all his faults we still think Mr. Roosevelt is a great man who may prove greatly daring in the face of the world menace. . . ."

Tennessee has 38 traditionally Republican counties (out of 95). Of Tennessee's eight big papers* all but one (Silliman Evans' Nashville Tennessean} are out for Wendell Willkie.

Last week Publisher Julius Ochs Adler (who is also general manager of the New York Times) announced a new afternoon paper for Chattanooga: the Evening Times, to compete with Grocer Roy McDonald's News-Free Press (also for Willkie).

The late, great Adolph Simon Ochs started at 15 as a printer's devil on a Knoxville paper, worked for a while on Watterson's Courier-Journal, acquired the Chattanooga Times in 1878 (when he was 20) with $250 of borrowed capital. In Chattanooga, Publisher Ochs amassed the fortune with which he bought the New York Times 18 years later.

When New York's big Times spoke for Willkie last fortnight, newsmen took it for granted that Chattanooga's little Times would follow suit. Three days later, on page 1, the Times boldly published a statement by Fletcher Morgan, campaign manager for Franklin Roosevelt in Chattanooga, attacking the Times. Wrote Manager Morgan: "This city and county are 75% for Roosevelt. . . . To all retail merchants of Chattanooga I ask . . . that they suspend their advertising until at least after the November election."

* Memphis Commercial Appeal and Press-Scimitar ; Chattanooga Times and News-Free Press; Knoxville News-Sentinel and Journal; Nashville Banner and Tennessean.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.