yankel berel, what now strikes me is the lack of direct communications from Chofetz Chaim on this burning topic. He had an opportunity to publish multiple articles in the papers to publicize his opinion. He was very outspoken on many topics.
This seems more significant than competing quotes from people who heard something in private. It seems that Chofetz Chaim wanted to be the posek for all observant Jews and did not want to be part of the machlokes. How do we interpret this?