Evening star., 1934-06-18
EDITOR REFUSES
TO AIR CHARGES
Ogden Reid Declines Re-
quest by u. S. Radio
Commission.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK June 18.-Ogden
Reid, editor of the New York Herald
Tribune. declined last night in let
ter to the Federal Radio Commits
sion to render you an account con-
corning the papers editorial assertion
that the radio was largely restricted
to Government propaganda.
The letter replied to resolution
adopted by the commission on May
18 in which the Herald Tribune was
asked to submit amy facts or other
material" in support of editorial COM
ment on May II that "the radio
controlled by the administration
through its licensing power, was
made the spokesman of the new deal
and largely restricted to Government
propaganda
Text of Letter.
The text of the letter, aside from
the first two paragraphs reviewing
the request, follows:
MY first inclination was, and in
deed. my preference would be, to
disregard the manifest impropriety
ana lLCQ Nllli eiSSSA Va NAAN
resolution and the attempted indirect
press censorship involved; to furnlsh
the facts supporting our opinion (but,
of course, without disclosing names
of confidential informantS) and to
begin the recital of the proofs by
reminding the Federal Radio Com
mission of its warning to those within
reach of its licensing power"
On August IA, 1888, the commits
sion issued a statement which began
as follows:
at is the patriotic, if not the
bounden and legal duty of all licensees
of radio broadcaSting stations, to deny
their facilities to advertisers who are
disposed TO defy, ignore, or modify the
codes established by the N r. A,
Commissioner Harold A. La Fount de-
clared today in a statement"
La FOunt Is Quoted.
The statement then quoted Com
missioner La Fount as follows:
Under the radio act the commits
sion has no right of censorship. How
ever, the commission has the right to
take into consideration the kind OF
programs broadcast when licensees ap-
ply for renewals y. 1t is to be
hoped that radio stations. using valu-
able facilities loaned to them tempo
rarily by the Government, will not
unwittingly be placed in an embar-
RAISING position because of the greed
or lack of patriotism on the part OF
unscrupulous advertisers"
On further consideration, I have
concluded that preference should yield
to principle.
One of the principles involved is eX-
pressed-and 1t may serve a useful
purpose to quote it to the Federal Ra-
dio Commission herein the first
amendment to the Constitution of the
United States as follows:
Congress shall make no law re-
specting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise there
of; or abridging the freedom of speech.
or of the press: or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress
of grievances"
Right to Opinion Inherent.
Another of those principles is that
inherent in the freedom of speech or
of the press is the right of all citi-
zens, including even those who wish
to use radio communications, to eX-
press opinions upon matters of public
concern. 1t is his own opinion that
a citizen has a right to express; he is
not bound to hold or express opinions
favorable to the policies of the Gov
ernment or acceptable to those for
the time being in Office, and is not,
or should not be, accountable to the
Government, or any of its agencies, il
he ventures to express adverse senti-
ments. Those rights, as we believe,
were among those which Congress in
tended to preserve when it forbade
the Federal Radio Commission to
"interfere with the right of free
speech"
I am we'll aware that your resolu-
ton is phrased as a request" that
the requests of licensing power are
likely to be viewed as commands by
those within reach of the power and
periodically in need of renewals of
licenses and that, fortunately for the
public, no licensing or other censoring
jurisdiction over the press IS or can
be constitutionally vested in any Gov
ernment commission.
Moreover, the most important time
to stand upon such principles is when
they are, on the one hand. being sub
jected to attempts at direct and indi-
rect invasion and are, on the other
hand, being made the subject of de-
mails of invasion and disclaimers of
intentional invasion.
Accordingly, I respectfully decline