The Turning Point in the Controversy
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tographs of various UFOs. Entitled "Well-Witnessed Invasion by Something : Australia to Michigan," Life's story hit hard at the swamp gas explanation through interviewing witnesses and showing photographs of the area. An article in The New Yorker magazine stated acidly : "We read the official explana tions with sheer delight, marveling at their stupendous inade quacy. Marsh gas, indeed ! Marsh gas is more appropriate an image of that special tediousness one glimpses in even the best scientific minds." On the other hand, Time continued its ridicule of the idea that UFOs might be extraterrestrial and agreed with the swamp gas explanation; it called the current wave of sightings "primaveral deliriusion" and said the sight ings exemplified an "American mythology." The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) featured Hynek's explanation in red, front-page, banner headlines, and an editorial bluntly stated that the swamp gas theory "smells."19 The New York Times printed a witness's drawing of the Dexter UFO and compared it to a drawing of one of George Adamski's sightings ; the New York Times lumped Adamski and the witnesses from Dexter in the same category. In the same issue, reporter Evert Clark wrote that Congress held back from investigating UFO sightings because it would "en courage the idea that there is more to the unidentified flying objects than mistaken sightings of natural and manmade ob jects" ; an investigation "might frighten much of the pub lic by seeming to indicate concern in Congress." In an other editorial, the New York Times continued to oppose the idea that the UFO phenomenon was unique : "people who are conditioned by television, comic strips and books to believe in flying saucers find it easy to see them in [man-made} phenome " na, and the Michigan sightings typified people's "strange propensity for seeing what they want to see." But th e Chris tian Science Monitor said the recent sightings and investiga tion in Michigan had "deepened the mystery" of UFOs, and "it is time for the scientific community to conduct a thorough and objective study of the 'unexplainable.' " Syndicated columnist Roscoe Drummond decided that the swamp gas ex planation had signaled the time "for Congress to take charge" in an investigation and "a more thorough and objective search for the facts is in order. "20 In early April 1 966, probably in reaction to the Michigan sightings, CBS news began to investigate the UFO problem. The result was a nationally televised news show, "UFOs : Friend, Foe or Fantasy?," narrated by Walter Cronkite. In .
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