Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-08
THE CORRESPONDENTS
Resent Attempt to Restrict
Their Facilities.
CLIMAX OF DISCONTENT
Reached by Announcement of Presi-
dents Secretary
IN MRS. MORRIS INCIDENT
Other Gases Recalled Where White
House Has Been Sensitive About
Newspaper Articles.
IN MRS. MORRIS INCIDENT

For a number of weeks there has been
serious and earnest discussion among the
corps Of Washington correspondents of the
growing disposition of the executive and
administrative branch of the government
to curb the facilities of the special repre-
sentatives of the press and to criticise the
free exercise of the duty of commenting
upon public affairs, the duty with which
the special correspondents are charged.
The discussion was increased when the
President issued his order forbidding cab
met officials to give out news to the spe-
cials and limiting the dissemination Of In
formation to official statements to be fur
nished the press associations.
1t was recognized Immediately that this
action amounted practically to the estab-
lishment of a system whereby an admin
istration would have the news presented
to the public only in the light desired by
the officials.
1t is only fair to say that under pres
sure of public sentiment that order has
since been modified and the President an
nounced TO group of correspondents called
to the White House that newspaper men
would be welcome to inquire at headcuar-
ters about official subjects of public i'm
Dortance. But while the order was modi-
fed. 1t Is claimed by many correspondents
that the spirit of its original intent still
fingers.
The Mrs. Morris Incident.
The climax of the discomfort of the cor
respondents was reached last Saturday
when 1t became known that the President S
secretary, Mr.. Loeb, had expressed to the
representative of a paper which had pub
lished a fun and fearless account of the
Morris episode that the manner in which
the paper in question had handled this
matter In its news columns had been very
objectionable to the White House from the
President down
After the correspondents had recovered
from the amazement into which they were
thrown by this astounding statement they
began to reflect upon the circumstances
attending the publication OF that story, and
the more they reflected the madder they
got For hours the press galleries at the
Capitol buzzed with animated comments.
1t was recalled that some newspap pers
had contented themselves with publishing
the official version of the incident, given
out from the White House, while others
had printed the accounts of eye witnesses
and that there was wide divergence be-
tween these two stories The ofnclal YER
sion was very much more unfavoraole TO
the victim of the incident and more In de-
Tense of the action of the White House
employees.
The correspondents who discussed the sub
tect took the ground that criticism OF a
news story by the White House officials was
all the more offensive, as an invasion OF the
rights of a free press, when that news
story was a fair-statement OF the case ana
the official version was, to say the least,
not complete in detail.
Sensitive on Newspaper Articles.
Then It was recalled that the White
House has been very sensitive about news
paper articles and frequently disposed to
haul up newspaper correspondents who
wrote articles which. however correct IN
substance, were not pleasing to the ad-
rooalled where