New-York tribune., 1922-04-28
Publishers Will
Fight to Retain
Press Freedom
American Newspaper Asso.
citation Votes Unanimous
ly 10 Resist All Efforts
to Curiail Their Rights
Recent Attempts Cited
No Anxiety Felt Over Possi-
bility of Strike of the
Printing Trades Unions

UncQuivocal determination TO rca st
all interference with the right Of the
press to free expression under consti-
tutionai guarantees was declared unan
imously by yesterdays annual meeting
Of the American Newspaper Publishers
Association in convention at the Wal
dorf
The liberty Of freedom Of speech
and Of the press is the most recent Of
modern liberties secured TO the peo-
pie, says the resolution adopted by the
convention on that subject, and conse-
quently is the most frequently threat
ened, particularly at the present time,
when "a an aftermath OF the extraordi
nary executive and judicial powers
exercised during the war efforts have
hecn made recently to pass restrictive
legislation in Congress and in state
Legislatures and to throttle criticism
by unprecedented legal and judicial
proceedings
Cites Efforts AT Censorship
"A bill was recently introduced in
the House which was fathered by a
group Of New York clcrgymen and
which would have made it illegal to
send racing odds through the mail"
said s. E. Thomason, Of "Thc Chicago
Tribune" who proposed the resolution.
"Thc same group intended, if they had
succeeded. to introduce nine other
measures, among which, for example,
was one designed to prevent papers
printing news about the marriage Of
chorus girls to wealthy young men.
Another attack Vas the $150O0.000
cago Tribune by the city Of Chicago,
which we won on n general plea of
freedom Of the press.
IF these restrictive laws were TO be
passed the newspapers might as well
60 out Of business. Recently n paper
was prohibited from sending notice Of
n window dressing contest. staged by q
chain of stores, through the mail. on
the ground that it was violation Of
the lottery law. jnasmuch as Judgment
would have to be exercised in awarding &
The prize. which would bring an Gle
ment Of chance into the contest.
"A calculation made the other day
with copy of The New York Times
in an attempt to see what proportion
Of the news would be excluded il the
proposed law were to be passed showed
that thirteen columns of the issue con
sisted o. matter which the censors
would have had to cut out. The public
is amply protected now by the protec-
tion afforded by the Constitution, which
holds newspapers responsible for what
they print. from the publishing of
harmful news, and nothing further is
needed.
AS q result Of the discussion the
association directed its committee on
Federal laws to exercise fts utmost
efforts to maintain the liberty Of the
press whenever and wherever it may
be threatened.
Labor Problems Discussed
Labor problems occupied much of
the conventional time yesterday. The
agreements between the printing
trades unions and the publishers ex-
pirc on Monday, but 1t was said that
no anxiety over a possible strike is
felt, since the agreements nov in force
provide for continuance OF any alA-
tration proceedings that are under
way when the contracts end. A large
number of papers, moreover. have come
to terms with their local unions. so that
they would not be affected in case the
association should be unable to reach
an agreement with the national unions.
For more than year, it was stated