The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-08-03
EUROPEAN NEWS
COMBINE SHOWN
BY CONFERENCE
Allied Agencies Operate
Hand in Hand With For
eign Diplomats.
BY ED L. KEEN


General European Manager United Press
LONDON, Aug. 3.-If any proof
were needed that the allied news
agencies-the European news COM
bine of official, semi official and
other agencies-are the recognized
mouthpiece of European ! govern
ments, it was generously supplied at
the recent Warsaw conference of
that organization.
The meeting was held at the invi-
tation of the Polish government, eX-
tended through the official Polish
Telegraph Agency, a member Of the
combine. Between sessions the dele
gates, who were all principal eXecu-
tives Of member agencies, were en-
tertained by the government with
dinners, garden parties, excursions
on the historic Vistula and with
visit to Cracow.
Propaganda Chairman
The first action of the conference
was to elect unanimously as it's pre-
siding officer M. GrzybowSki, head
of the Polish governments propa-
ganda department. Grzybowski is
the government official to whom is
generally attributed responsibility for
the drastic domestic press decree
recently promulgated in Poland, and
which is patterned after Mussolinis
famous restrictions.
The governmental affiliations of
the organization were repeatedly
emphasized, one of the most signif1-
cant features being a speech to the
delegates by the Polish foreign minx
lister, Auguste zaleski, in which he
characterized the allied news agen-
cies as organs which supplement the
ministries of foreign affairs of Eu-
ropean governments which without
your efficacious aid would be deaf
instruments, devoid of resonance and
echo"
Special attention had been at
tracted to this Warsaw meeting,
among European editors, in view OF
the general press conference which
is to begin in Geneva, on Aug. "a,
under auspices of the League of
Nations.
Question Exclusiveness s,
The leading newspapers Of the
world, news agencies and press as
sociations-both allied and indie
pendent-and the official press bu-
reaus of various governments will
be represented at the Geneva con-
ference, which will discuss the reso-
lutions adopted at the preliminary
meeting of news agencies and press
associations at Geneva last summer.
The most important of these resolu-
lions was the one in which it was
declared that official news ena-
mating from governments of State
institutions cannot be made the
subject of any exclusiveness."
There was considerable specula-
ton among European editors as to
whether any attempt would be made
at the recent Warsaw conference of
the allied agencies to upset what
their members had agreed to at last
years Geneva meeting.
Secret Conference
The conference at Warsaw was
held in secret; none of the proceed /
ings was published, and the only
information divulged was that OBJ
tanned by methods more or less sue
cessfully employed in reporting ex-
ecutive sessions of the United States
Senate. In this way it was learned
that nothing was formally done by
the delegates to interfere with the
resolutions to which their colleagues
had assented at Geneva. However,
there was much private discussion
and not a little dissatisfaction ex-
pressed by delegates who felt that
If deprived of eXclusiveness of Off
cial news, the efficiency of their Or
carnations might be jeopardized.
Since the Warsaw meeting, quite
movement has developed among the
allied agencies against the ratif1ca-
ton OF this resolution by the forth
coming general press conference at
Geneva-or, if it is not found posi-
bic or eXpedient to kill the resolu-
ton at least to have the conference
place such an Interpretation upon
it as would render it innocuous.
Fear Competition
Although most of the time of the
Warsaw conference was devoted to
routine matters, the inroads made
in the past two years, since the last
allied conference which was held
at Rome, by the independent news
agencies and press associations in
the territories parceled out among
the allies as their special fields came
in for considerable attention.
In this discussion the United Press,
which is now delivering a COM
prehensive worldwide news service
direct to leading newspapers in thir-
teen European countries, was sin
gled out for particular comment.
It was left, however, to the or
CARNATIONS central committee of
seven, on which Reuters, Wolff, Ha-
vas, and the Szecho- Slovakian and
Swiss Telegraph agencies are per-
manent members, to devise ways
and means of combating this new
menace of competition.
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