Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-20
DISCUSSES
NEWS AS PROPERTY
Danger to Society Seen if 1t
Is Accorded That Status
-
Legally.

A warning against the establishment
Of any property right in news was
sounded this morning at the closing
business session of the seventh annual
convention of the American Society of
Newspaper Editors at the Press Club, by
M. Koenigsberg, president of the Kay
News Service.
Quoting from the Supreme Court and
the Geneva Conference in 1927, Mr..
Koenigsberg declared emphatically that
despite news reports to the contrary, the
Geneva Conference did not recognize
any property right in news. He warned
that establishment of news as COM
modify might place in the hands Of mo-
nopolies power inestimable. The estab-
lishment of a property right in news, he
observed, would allow the owner of the
property wherein news originated or the
original writer Of news the privilege of
suppressing it, distortjng it or destroy
ing it.
Governments might be overthrown,
the world kept entirely in the dark as
to what Is going on, stock markets and
all other news-producing agencies might
be muzzled to produce an effect of
havoc" he declared.
The Sunday paper was described as
department store of literature and
evergrowing as the interests Of man
expand by w. G. Vorpe of the Cleve-
land Plain Dealer. He addressed the
editors this morning on the subject
What Shall We Do With Our Sunday
Papers? Are We Ready for Changer"
Tribute to Stone.
At the close Of this mornings session
the resolution committee presented a
resolution expressing the society'S Sor-
row at the loss from journalism of Mel
vile A. Stone.
In another resolution the society de-
nounced the Minnesota newspaper gag
law and empowered the board of di-
rectorS to take what steps might be
necessary, even to the extent of retain
ing counSl, to aid the Minnesota news
their fight against the law.
Another resolution authorized the
president of the society to appoint a
committee to make q study of the
British Institute of Journalists, partic-
ularly with reference to the old-age
pension question.
President Hoover had as luncheon
guests today at the White House a
number of the editors.
They included: Walter Harrison of
the Daily Oklahoman, Oklahoma City;
T. j. Dillon of the Minneapolis Trib-
une; E. S. Beck of the Chicago Tribune,
Paul Bellamy Of the Cleveland Plain
Dealer, William Allen White of the En-
porta (Kans) Gazette, Clarence Dickey
OF the Kansas City Journal-Post,
Charles D. Segner of the Chicago Eve
ming Post, Henry T. Claus of the Bos-
ton Transcript, Casper Yost of the ST.
Louis Globe Democrat, Sam Williamson
OF the st Paul Dispatch.
Chain Systems Approved.
Chain systems of directly owned
newspapers were discussed fayorably bv
Frank Knox, general manager of the
Hearst newspapers. and Roy w. How
ard. chairman of the board of the
Scripps- Howard newspapers, at yester-
day afternoons session. They declared
they saw no menace to American
journalism in the growth of chain sys-
TENS of directly owned papers.
The, news department of a newspa-
per has no obligation except that
which it first owes to the reader
that. the news shall be complete, ac-
curate and impartial" Louis B. Wilev
business manager of the New York
Times, told the editors.
He declared that only weak news
papers are dominated by their business
offices and that such a situation gen
orally prevails when their news de-
partments do not produce q well
rounded aspect of the news of the day.
The old-age benefit plan of the Brit
ish Institute of Journalists was out
lined by Percy S. Bullen, American
correspondent Of the London Daily Tel
egraph. The talk drew a barrage of
questions and there was considerable
discussion of the adoption of such a
plan in America. The discussion was
led by Casper Yost Of the st. Louis
Globe-D Democrat.