The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1938-02-03
John Temple Graves, End, De-
Iivered Interesting Address
AT Press Meeting.

Picturing the South as the coun-
try's last great economic frontier
and calling for the press Of the re-
gion to measure up to its response
bility of power during new era
of unprecedented southern develop
ment, John Temple Graves, II,
widely known journalist, mem
Der of the staff of the Birmingham
Age-Herald, spoke recently at the
dinner meeting of the. mid-winter
institute of the state press associa-
ton, with Duke univensity serving
as host.
Mr.. Graves declared that fair, pa
triotic, and forward looking editors
and publishers in the South are
contributing greatly to the lifting
of their part of the country to bet
ter levels.
Speaking on "The Southern
Press" Mr.. Graves said:
Maybe we newspaper people
recommend ourselves too highly
but it seems to me there never was
time when the press was more
powerful, that the radio and NOV
ing picture and other means of
communication, far from destroying
any of that power, have made it the
greater by making communication a
more important thing in every life.
It is what it put into peoples minds
that makes them and their destinies
today more than ever in history,
and the putting of things into their
minds is still the job of the news
papers. What's more, people are
becoming aware. of it, conscious of
the power of the press and of a
problem in that power. One of our
most distinguished American edit
ors, Grove Patterson, of The Toledo
Blade, gave it as his opinion the
other day that a dangerously large
proportion of the American people
would be perfectly willing to see
newspapers cencored by the gov
eminent
He know, of course, and 1 know
and you know, and all of us with
sense of America know that when
and if such a censorship comes
there'll be an end to what we call
America The freedom Of the press
was never so precious IS today when
it is being denied in countries with
out democracy ana aepend upon in
democratic ce ~nt5sss 70 keep them
SO.
1T means much that the editors
and publ - o. o..l c ..ii:"y
are defending with I'll their wit
and power tC-.ay cf.,s .---~,. to
free press. It means -qually much
that they-the rest u t7@rl-are
examining thems~ Ives and their
press with a view / making sure
of their freedom by beng worthy of
it. Arthur Sulzberger, the enlight-
ened young American who publish
es the New York Times and who
spoke to you Thursday, is remind
ing MS fellow newspaper people eV-
erywhere that the freedom of the
press is not a thing given the peo-
pie. He is saying and President
Jimmie Stahlman, of the American
Newspaper Publishers Association,
is saying, that free press is not a
publishers right; it is his response
bility. It is his duty to the public
to keep his press free, not only
from external interference but from
internal as well. It is his duty to
look upon his paper not only as
business but also as profession. It
is his duty to acknowledge in his
conduct of his paper that it is a
public trust, a trust so delicate and
profound that even the government,
which controls and regulates other
public trusts or utilities dares not
and must not touch this one. I for
one, disagree with Mr.. Patterson.
I do not believe the people of this
country will ever permit censorship
of the press unless and until the