Montana labor news., 1935-01-17
Wings Over Washington
By LEN DE CAUX

WASHINGTON.-(FP)-It' a good
joke that the newspaper publishers-of
all people-should be making a fuss
about freedom Of the press. The joke
becomes richer when we know they're
fussing about their freedom to inter
fere with their employees freedom to
organize. 1t becomes uproarious,
when we know that they're using the
freedom Of press talk against their
own editorial workers, who know all
about this freedom.
1t was just too much for the newspa-
permen organized in the American
Newspaper Guild. Led by Haywood
Broun, who has been granted more
freedom of the press than most, they
had to walk clean out of a newspaper
code hearing to give this practical joke
the public horse-laugh it merits.
Dean S. Jennings, a newswriter, lost
his job on account of union activity.
The National Labor Relations Board
ordered him reinstated. The publish
ers beloved about freedom of the
press. Donald Richberg had the NRA
intervene and persuade the board to
change its mind. No wonder the
Giuldsmen walked out.
To the newspaper publishers, free
dom OF the press is something they can
Measure in dollars and cents. 1t means
their freedom to hire and fire as they
please. 1t means their freedom to
monopolize the most important chan
mel of written information. 1t won
them a code with which they do not
have to comply unless they assent to
it. 1t won them NRA backing in their
fight against the Guild.
To the rest Of us, this freedom of the
press means having our news Gas much
Of a public utility nowadays as the water
supply siphoned to us by a few select
representatives OF the big-money inter
ests. 1t means the freedom Of the
poor to read whatever the rich think
is good for them-to have their news
censored by people like William Ran
dolph Hearst, by Wall Street financial
hackers of newspaper chains and press
associations, and by big business adver-
tisers.
OF course, this freedom also means
that we can try to get in on the racket
ourselves. With majestic impartiality
as between rich and poor, the law tells
the penniless freedom, of-speecher to
go hire a hall" So too, this freedom
of the press gives the worker the same
right as his employers to start a mil
l~ion-dollar paper or a billion dollar
chain.
What freedom OF the press is for the
newspaper publishers, patriotism, peace
and even disarmament are for the mu-
nitioneers. They love to talk about
them, but they'd be put out Of business
if such solgans were ever placed in eff
feet.
Nobel is a name now associated in
the public mind with International
peace prizes awarded to undeserving
politicians. But the Senate munitions
hearings remind us that the founder Of
the peace awards was also the founder
Of the British munitions firm, Nobel
Ltd. This company is now the I'm
perial Chemical Industries Ltd, which
enjoys the closest connections with the
American +. |. Du Pont de Nemours
Company.
Irenee Du Pont was indignant when
the Senate committee razzed the Nobel
company for not trying to check Ger
man rearmament efforts Of which they
knew efforts which were booming the
munitions business in all %neighboring
countries). Certainly the British gov
eminent knew all about this situation"
he said. ut seems to me that you should
question them about whey they didn't
act"
That the Du Pont boys certainly
know their governments has also been