Evening star., 1934-02-21
A Free Press.

President Roosevelt's acceptance of
the code of fair competition for the
daily newspaper publishing business
lacks, to phrase the matter mildly,
somewhat in graciousness and urban
1ty. Studying it as whole, one can
not fail to conclude that the insist
ence of the publishers of the Nation
that the code should specifically re-
affirm the freedom of the press clause
originally set forth in the bill of rights
touched him upon a decidedly sensi-
tive spot.
The recitation of the freedom of
the press clause, says the President,
has no more place in the code than
would the recitation of the whole
Constitution or the Ten Command
n1entS. He concludes with the state
ment that the freedom of the press
guaranteed by the Constitution is that
Of freedom of expression, and that it
Is not freedom to work children or do
business in a fire trap or violate the
laws against obscenity, libel and lewd-
ness.
Without going into the matter of
whether it might not, after all, be
pretty good idea to reaffirm the whole
of the Constitution in the light of GER
tain governmental trends, the Presi-
dent, 1t would seem, has missed the
point. 1t is to be doubted if he seri-
ously believes that the publishers Of
America were seeking freedom to be
obscene, or libelous, or lewd, in their
columns, or improperly to work chill
dren or to do business in fire traps
So it must be that he merely regarded
the inclusion Of freedom of the press
In It's proper connotation in the code
as useless redundancy.
And that is where the publishers
differ from him. Events have been
moving fast since March 4, a year
ago. Government has undergone some
radical changes. Much that was
deemed wise and sound and honest
and basic by very many Americans
has been discarded In the new deal
Government by code and license and
bearing down" and ukase has been
substituted. Many men, including
many publishers, still hoping sin
cerely that the startling steps taken
by Congress and the administration
in their quest for recovery may prove
efflcacious, have watched the kaleido-
sCOplc and OppOrtuniStlC events OF the
past months with serious concern.
And that is why the publishers
insisted upon, and obtained, the free
dom of the press clause in their code.
The President himself, in his COM
Y1ents on the code, refers with but
slight ambiguity to his compulsory
licensing power under the national in
6ustr1al recovery act. 1t was precisely
that power which the publishers re-
garded with such dubiety and concern
as to make wise, in their judgment, at
this time q reaffirmation of at least
this section of the Constitution. For
licensed press-dependent upon the
continuance of its license for per-
mission to print at all and to a GER
tain degree upon the favorable dis
position Of potentially, If not &C
tually, arbitrary administration for
the continuance of Icenses-could
not be a free press.
The press of America insists and
will continue to insist that its funda-
mental duty to the Nation, and its
fundamental right under the Consti-
tuition, is to report without fear or
favor the truth of events, and COM
ment, again without fear or favor,
upon the significance Of that news as
1t develops.