Evening star., 1939-01-14
Article Cited by |ckes
As Suppressed Was
Carried in Press
:: Column Dealing With
+ Tobocco's Use Printed
In Star March 29

An article cited by Secretary Ickes
IN a radio debate as an example of
"Aews suppression for business pur-
poses was shown today to have been
widely published in the American
press.
A search of files of The Evening
Star disclosed that the article in
question-dealing with the use of
tobacco-was treated at length on
March %, last, in the column on
scientific matters, Stars, Men and
Atoms" by Thomas R. Henry.
The article, designed to show that
smoking is harmful. was prepared
Wy DR.. Raymond Pearl, professor of
biology at the Johns Hopkins Medi-
cal School and School Of Hygiene
and Public Health. 1t was first re-
ported in an Associated Press dis
patch from New York on February
"a, 1898, and also appeared in the
Science News Letter. 1t was on the
basis of the latter account that Mr.
Henry's column was written.
Made in Radio Debate.
In his radio debate with Frank
Gannett, president of the Gannett
newspapers, in the New York Town
Hall Thursday night, Secretary
1ckes said:
II understand that at Johns Hop
kins University there is very SEN
sational finding resulting from study
of the effect of cigarette smoking
that has not appeared, so far as I
know, in any newspaper in the
United States. I wonder if that is
because the tobacco companies and
the cigarette companies are such
large advertisers
MY publication in Science was
of life tables of smokers" DR.. Pearl
stated. There was no specific men
ton of cigarettes. 1t showed that
smoking was harmful: it dealt gen.
orally with all smokers.
But so far from not having been
given publicity, the matter has been
printed in every crossroads news
paper in the country and the clip
pings have been delivered to me by
the pailful.
Inquiry by George Seldes.
IA man named George Seldes,
who runs newspaper column, wrote
TO me some time ago saying that he
wanted to give publicity to my ar
ticle, which he thought had been
suppressed. I wrote to him in reply
that if he had had to pay for the
newspaper clippings which had been
delivered to me by clipping bureaus,
. he would not be under that impress
sion.
I'm spite of my letter to him.
Seldes wrote to me again to the
same effect. He has written me sew
eral times and in spite of my assur-
ance that the article was given wide
publicity, has persisted in taking the
view that it has been suppressed.
Within the last two weeks Seldes
has published book The book is
in the general vein that all news
papers are owned by capitalists and
that, therefore, the people don't get
the news they should get. that the
newspapers suppress news because
Of the advertisers.
Attacked by Weadock.
Secretary Ickes speech drew an
attack from another direction, the
Associated Press reporting from New
York that Bernard F. Weadock,
managing director of the Edison
Electric Institute. said the cabinet
officer didn't tell half the truth"
when he brought the electric utility
industry into his criticism of the
American press.
In written statement Mr.
Weadock took Secretary Ickes to
task for citing a Federal Trade
Commission report contending that
power interests used a $25,O0O0OO
propaganda fund in 1923 to oppose
Government ownership of utilities
Secretary 1ckes said Merlin H.
Aylesworth, publisher of the New
York World-Telegram, managed the
fund"
Says Fund Didn't Exist.
Citing the Trade Commission re-
port, Mr.. Weadock said "Aylesworth
never had charge of any such fund"
end that the fund was never used
for propaganda purposes because it
did not exist"
The report cited by Mr. Weadock
quoted Bernard J. Mullaney, form
erly an official of the Peoples Gas
Light & Coke Co. of Chicago, as
saying that the S25 100000 figure
was only rough estimate" and
that it was used to advertise "elec-
trio washing machines, ranges, ex-
cursions on street cars and use of
/. more gas and electricity"
Mr.. Weadock said Secretary Ickes
ignored another Trade Commission
report which showed that all elec-
trio light and power companies used
only $685. 1920 for advertising in
1928.
He also stated that Mr.. Ayles-
worth was president of the National
Broadcasting Co. in 1923 and was