Evening star., 1935-02-10
BY OWEN L. SCOTT.

Criticism is being directed at Presi-
dent RooSevelt's meetings with news
paper men These meetings, so the
critics contend in magazine articles,
IN newspaper columns and on the
platform, are a subtle means of guild
ing public sentiment in the United
States.
They profess to see in "of the
record" remarks made by Mr.. Roose-
velt, and by his chief aides. vehicle
for news censorship that can be ap-
piled at will. This present criticism
fits in with other recent charges that
the New Deal has established a huge
propaganda machine. devoted to SELL
ing the Governments program to the
people at their own expense.
What of it? Is President Roosevelt
doing something new? Are there real
signs Of censorship? How effective
is the propaganda?
The newspaper reader can answer
in part for himself. He probably has
observed that on Wednesday nights
or Saturday mornings his paper will
carry one or more stories to the effect
that the President believes this or
that thing Is going to happen. or that
the White House has plans to do
something or other.
Back of that observation Is re-
mark made by Mr.. Roosevelt in the
conferences that he holds with
newspaper men wednesday mornings
at 1920 and Friday afternoons at
4 o'clock.
But are meetings between Presi-
dents and newspaper men something
new? Not at all. They run back to
the DAYS of President Wilson. Yet
not until President Roosevelt made
them into one of Washington's in
teresting events have they become
famous.
The problem Of handling White
House information has long been con-
sidered delicate Theodore Roosevelt
met that problem by having few
trained seals" among newspaper men
These writer's were given an inside
track. President Wilson brought out
the regular press conference at which
newspaper men met with the Chief
Executive and asked questions. The
| war interrupted this practice.
President Harding revived the con-
ferences. but after one answer had
produced a vigorous backfire when
published, Mr.. Harding required that
all questions be submitted in writing
President Coolidge required that
questions be written and submitted
! in advance. He answered those that
he wanted to answer. A white House
spokesman" was created to take re-
sponsibility for the Presidents OBJ
servations.
Under President Hoover, confer
ences were continued, but the White
House spokesman" passed away, Mr.
Hoover offered prepared handouts
to the newspaper men, and toward
the end of his term discontinued
conferences.
Then came President Roosevelt and
a Towering Of the conference idea.
Mr. Roosevelt permits direct question
ing by the newspaper men. He
answers questions that he feels he
properly can answer and skillfully
avoids answering others.
~ -
More than $50 of these conferences
have been held. None has been can
celed when the President was in
| Washington. Even when i'll he has
met with a committee of correspond
ents, who then reported back to their
colleagues. The value of this type OF
| meeting is best atteSted by the fact
that attendance after two years
swamps the White House and Is
growing, rather than falling off
Rather strict attendance rules are
needed to keep the crowd from ex-
panding to unmanageable proper
| tions.
At this point, several charges are
being made by critics OF the press
conference.
One is that rules accepted by cor
| respondents when they enter the
Presidents Office open the way to
censorship. Another Is that doors
are locked behind the writers. Still
another is that the President skillfully
uses this opportunity to influence the
writer's.
The rules, laid down in the first
conference and adhered to since, are
| three.
First, on general questions and
answers, the views expressed can be
attributed by the newspaper men to
the President or to the White House
/ but they cannot be placed within
quotation marks.
Second, there is the matter oi
background material. At times q
question is asked that the President
| feels cannot be answered if attributed
| to him. So he agrees to outline his
| own attitude on condition that the
newspaper men, u using the material