This week in journalism history: Termites!

"Vermin press" is a pretty common term for the pro-Axis (and frequently anti-Semitic) media of the early 1940s, but this* is the first time I've seen "termite sheet" for one of the star players. Nice to know you could have a little fun on the Post rim in 1942.

Things were indeed getting uncomfortable up at 12 Mile and Woodward. Father Coughlin's "Social Justice" was accused of cribbing a little too closely from Goebbels's "Angriff," among other offenses. The editor of "Publicity," based in Wichita, was soon to be indicted for sedition. After representatives of "Social Justice" were called to testify before a special grand jury in Washington, Coughlin basically gave up and suspended publication.

* Washington Post, April 17, 1942. INS, the old Hearst agency, merged with United Press in 1958, thus becoming the I in UPI.