The Devil Did It

GENERAL Alexander M. Haig Jr., President Nixon's chief of staff, testified last Thursday that White House aides have considered a "Devil Theory"--an explanation for the 18-minute gap, now known as Rose Mary's boo-boo--that did not rely on poor secretarial footwork, the hum of electric appliances.

Calling the mysterious erasure "a source of great distress," Haig reported that government lawyers speculated that "perhaps some sinister force" had applied the other energy source and taken care of the information on that tape.

We agree.