William P. Smith – 9/26/04

This page was last updated on September 26, 2004.

Hearing bells; William P. Smith; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; September 26, 2004.

How hard up must Mr. Smith be to focus on a minor side point?

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Every Sunday’s Opinion and Commentary features a column called ‘Dateline D.C.,’ and the author is described as being ‘a Washington-based British journalist and political observer.’

“He (or she) seems to be to the political right of Heinrich Himmler. But my purpose is not to criticize his or her opinion.”

[RWC] No, the point is to attack the author’s credibility on a trivial point.

The real reason I’m critiquing this letter is the “He (or she) seems to be to the political right of Heinrich Himmler” comment. Before I proceed, though, here are a couple of points to remember.

· Conservatives are on the right end of the political spectrum while fascists and socialists (liberals, Marxists, “progressives,” et cetera) are on the left end.

· Himmler was a Nazi. Nazi is shorthand for Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers’ Party). Therefore, Himmler was a liberal/progressive/socialist.

Smith’s comment about the “Dateline DC” author being to the political right of Himmler is probably true given that Himmler was a socialist, but that isn’t what Mr. Smith meant. Mr. Smith wants us to believe Himmler was on the political right. Once again, we have a leftist trying to rewrite history to convince us Nazis were conservatives run amok. The truth is, Mr. Smith shares a lot more of Himmler’s political beliefs than does the “Dateline DC” author. Before anyone gets their underwear in a twist, I’m not claiming Mr. Smith shares Himmler’s other traits.

“In the Sept. 19 column (‘Viewing the GOP, darkly’), Mystery Writer is talking about the Riverside Church, which is described as ‘lofty, with excellent acoustics and bells once used to enhance Tchaikovsky’s Wellington Victory March.’

“Now for the facts: Tchaikovsky never wrote a piece called Wellington Victory March. Mr. Tchaikovsky did, however, write the 1812 Festival Overture, Op. 49.”

[RWC] True, Beethoven wrote “Wellington’s Victory,” but read on below.

“The carillon (set of stationary bells) at Riverside Church was recorded on May 10, 1958, to be used as part of the effects for a recording of the overture that had been recorded earlier by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. When combined with cannon shots recorded at West Point, the result was a legendary recording, originally issued by Mercury as SR90054.”

[RWC] What Mr. Smith didn’t tell us, or didn’t know, is that Mercury/Philips also distributed a 1995 CD with this version of the “1812 Overture,” Tchaikovsky’s “Capriccio Italien,” AND Beethoven’s “Wellington’s Victory.” As I understand it, “Wellington’s Victory” was inspiration for the “1812 Overture.” Given this information, it would be easy to make the horrible mistake made by “Mystery Writer.”

“I don’t expect much from opinion columnists, especially those of the right-wing flavor. It is, however, unacceptable not to get yours facts right, especially facts that can be as easily researched as these can.”

[RWC] Mr. Smith should take his own advice. Perhaps the next time Mr. Smith writes a letter he will remember Himmler was a liberal. Then again, he probably won’t.