Evening star., 1939-06-15
Southern Newsprint
Mill Nearly Ready,
Publishers Told
Report to Association
Says Average Wage
Scale Tops 1929

BN the Associated Press.
OLD POINT COMFORT. Va,
June 15.-President John D. Ewing
of the Shreveport 0.aD Times re-
ported to the Southern Newspaper
Publishers Association today that
the long -dreamed-of and worked-for
Southern neWsprint mill is now al
most an actuality
Too much praise, he said. cannot
be given to Ted Dealey of the Dali
las News, E. K. Gaylord of the Okla
homa City Oklahman and Times,
and other Texas and Southwestern
publishers for practical and financial
support which made the pioneer mill
possible. They finished we'll. he
added, the years of effort by Chair
man James G. Stahlman of the
Nashville Banner and his NeWsprint
Committee.
Tom Tanner, labor commissioner
for the S. N. P. A., reported that
the average wage scales in all news
paper trades are higher today than
they were in 1929 in spite of the
fact that business conditions and
newspaper revenues are below 1929
levels. In the great majority of
contract renewals during the past
year he said wage scales remained
unchanged, but that some were in
creased. The Editorial Affairs Com
mittee of the association told the
publishers they must guard against
violation of the rights of citizen
ship in any of its manifold phases
if they wish to keep America free.
Fight for Freedom Urged.
Nor should We be content merely
to maintain a defensive position in
this great battle for fundamental
Americanism,' the committee said
in its report. Eternal vigilance is
still the price of liberty and if we
are to continue free we must ever
be on the alert, positive in our con-
vlctionS and militant in our efforts
to safeguard our freedoms"
The committee said the last few
years have proved a greater threat
to the freedom of the press in this
country than has been encountered
since the days of Peter Zenger in
colonial times or the alien and sedi-
ton laws during the Adams admin
istration."
The report of the committee. of
which Harry M. Ayres of the Annis-
ton tAlao Star is chairman. de-
clared that in countries of Europe
and Asia controlled by dictatorial
authority there are approximately
a billion persons who have been de-
prlved of free speech and a free
press.
The Committee on Schools of
Journalism. headed by Mark Eth
ridge, general manager of the Louis
VILE Courier-Journal and Times. rec
commended that the association CO.
operate and participate in the estab-
hShment OF a national council for
improvement of professional educa-
ton for journalism.
Would Recommend Changes.
The council would study present
standards in Journalism schools and
recommend needed changes and ad-
dltions; seek aid from a foundation
for educational purposes in survey
ing different methods of teaching
prevailing in the country, and pre-
pare a statement of general prin-
clples on education for Journalism
which could be presented to the
major newspaper organizations.
OTIS Peabody Swift of Life Maga-
zine told the publishers it is impera-
tive that those engaged in journalism
give thought to the social impact of
the dynamic new device, the news
photograph.
We must consider the respon-
Slolllty inherent in presenting the
news picture, and how it may be
utilized better to fulfill our journal
lstlc junction, in the tradition of
accurate, objective, impartial Jour-
nalism-built up, defined and clar-
lfled by the individual struggles of
hundreds of thousands of honest
editors throughout the past 400 years
Of the printed word, MI. Swift said
He said pictorial journalism. far
from being new development. has
been a fundamental method'of the
transmission of ideas from man to
man throughout history Tracing