Evening star., 1939-02-11
Ickes Calls on Press
To Free Itself From
voluntary Servitude'
Says Idea Of Federal \
Control Is Abhorrent
To Him
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
CHICAGO, Feb. 1.-THE Nation
has a right to know more about It's
newspapers because of the "tremen-
dous role" they play in its political
life. Secretary Ickes told the Ma
tionaI LAWYERS Guild last night in a
broadcast speech.
The Interior Secretary suggested
that the press voluntarily divulge its
financial relationships, welcome
criticism and keep itself under con-
slant surveillance.
II want it to free itself from its
own voluntary servitude,' he said.
This. he asserted, should be done
not by Government control but by
the press itself Government con-
troll. he added, would be calamity
and the very idea is abhorrent to
me-"
Il hold that we must do everything
to defend the freedom of the press
for the sake of our general liberties
and our democratic institutions"
MIR. 1ckes declared.
Says News in Colored.
He termed American newspapers
the best and freest in the world but
contended that owing to economic
tieups our press is not as free as 1t
should be in democracy"
Generally speaking" he said,
"they print much misleading propa-
ganda, they color the news to suit
themselves, they distort the news,
they suppress the news, they even
invent news, but they also carry
much news that is vital to the public
veal"
Mr.. Ickes said it was his opinion
that newspapers need not neces-
sarily be the tools and servants OF
their economic interests" and ad-
ded: Advertisers cannot live with
out newspapers and it is pity that
newspapers have become so servile
to advertising"
"It is even more pity" he de-
clared, that so many of them per-
sist in representing a class interest,
money interest, instead of the pub
lie interest: that the Bill Of Rights,
excepting only the right of press
free from Government interference
or control, means little to them.
"That they oppose and misrepre-
sent the workingman; that they
ignore the rights of the underprivi-
legged to justice and equality of op-
portunity; that they color news,
distort news, suppress news and in
vent news in favor of those with
whom they are allied financially and
socially, and with whose objectives
they are in sympathy"
Lists Fair" Newspapers.
"Although they are swimming
against the current there are, in
this country, a number of excellent
and honest newspapers, which serve
the public welfare sincerely and
effectively. Instantly, there springs
to mind William Allen Whites En-
poria (Kans) Gazette. Many of
you will think of others where the
editors and publishers have had the
courage and character not to sue
cumb to the insidious property sense
and are, therefore, free to serve
their fellow citizens. Even some of
our big metropolitan newspapers like
the New York Times, the New York
Daily News, The Washington Star,
the Christian Science Monitor, the
st. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Phila-
delphia Record and others, come
we'll within the limits of what a
fair and objective newspaper ought
to be.
Mr.. Ickes charged newspapers had
emphasized two "overstatements" he
made in q recent radio debate on
freedom of the press "in order to
discredit an entire position" De-
claring he would admit having erred
in two statements, Mr.. Ickes said
he would be interested Ito see
whether the newspapers will be as
candid in admitting their errors of
overstatement with reference to my
slip on these two items as I have
peen.'
Discussing the "overstatements,"
made in a debate with Frank Gan
nett, New York publisher, Mr.. 1ckes
said:
Il stated that, as far as I knew,
no newspaper had carried the story
of the findings of scientist to the
effect that tobacco was short cut
to heaven. Since I am trying to
build truthful record, it is my
duty to admit that this was an
exaggeration. should have said
that the majority of the newspapers
had suppressed this story ="
His Second Overstatement.
my second overstatement was in
connection with certain accident
that occurred in Boston. said
that the sensational story of the
killing of two men by the chauffeur
of department store did not appear
in any Boston newspaper, except
one. Frankly, I should have phrased
my statement in different terms so
as to make the point I wanted to
bring out, namely, that department
stores. being heavy advertisers, are
sacred cows to newspapers.
Mr.. Ickes said he was admitting
the "overstatements" on "as promi-
nent an occasion as that on which
the errors were uttered. y . do
not publish my retraction in an in
conspicuous paragraph buried back
of the want ads. as newspapers
sometimes do on those rare occasions
when they admit one of their
errors"
As to the press reaction to his de-
bate on the whole, Mr.. 1ckes said
that to his knowledge "only very
few papers, in their editorials tried
to hold the scales evenly balanced"
"This was notably true of the
Philadelphia Record The
New York Times and Herald-Trib
une were among the papers that
gave q fair rendering of the speech.