The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1905-12-22
AND
The PRESS
JAPAN WANTS TOXIC TO BE CON-
SIDERED A FIRST CLASS CAPT.
TAI IN NEWS MATTERS.

TOKYO, December THE recent dis
cussion over the unnecessary retention
of the urgent ordinances relating to
the control of the press and the pend
ing movement of the newspaper owners
to effect an organization designed to af-
ford them more extended protection
against Governmental oficiousness in
the conduct of their craft invest a
matter that has just been made known
through a semi-official channel with
pertinent interest.
When Martin Egan, who was repre-
senting the Associated Press in the Far
East during the war, was about to
leave Tokyo for home recently, he was
approached by a Government official
and asked if the association he repre-
sented proposed to continue regarding
the Japanese capital as occupying the
same Importance as a news centre as
it was during the war. The official in
question gave Egan to understand that
it was the desire of the Government to
offer the Associated Press every facil-
ity to keep in touch with official affairs
of Japan the dissemination of which
was polite and that it was it's hope
that the association would continue to
regard Tokyo on a plane with other
foreign capitals. The influence of the
Associated Press was recognized by
the Government, Egan was assured,
and it was it's desire to do everything in
it's power to engender the most cordial
relations between them. Egan, who
not be readily understood by persons
not conversant with affairs that are
not made the subject of official records
in diplomacy, replied that he did not
believe the Associated Press stood
ready to invest Tokyo with the import
ance suggested by the government un-
til it was assured that it's resident
correspondent would be granted all the
privileges accorded to correspondents
in other capitals. The stringent CEN
sorate, for one thing, he said, would
have to be relaxed if the Associated
Press was to have a permanent foreign
representative in Tokyo. 1t was point
ed out among other things that the
misrepresentation of affairs in Russia
continued Unfortunately in foreign
newspapers until two years ago, when
Melville Stone, General Manager of the
Associated Press, was invited to Rus
STA and accorded an audience by the
Gar Stone was assured at this au-
dience that in the future the stringent
censorate over news dispatches from
st. Petersburg and other Russian
centers would be relaxed and promised
in return that the utmost fairness
would be observed in rejecting the in
ternal affairs of Russia abroad.
Egan intimated in brief, that there
was growing prejudice abroad against
what was considered the unnecessary
harshness of Japanese conventions con-
corning the press. The secrecy observed
in military and naval movements was
not made the ground of this dissatisfac-
ton. That, he admitted, was undoubt-
eddy a matter of exigency in war
which meant so much for Japan and
no fault was found because of it's prac-
tice. He thought, however, that the
Government showed an altogether I'M
necessary harshness in it's censorate
over matters of news which were bound
to come to light in the course of events
and whose timely publication could eff
feet no detriment to Japan. Egan was
| told that the matters he represented
would be set before the government
| Since his withdrawal from Tokyo the
Associated Press has been represented
| by a japanese. The association, it is
declared does not propose to regard
| Tokyo in the light of first-grade cap
ital until the representations made by
Egan are accorded.