Evening star., 1941-08-02
Court Cites StahIman
On Failure 10 Appear
In Press-Radio Quiz
Publisher Is Summoned
To Show Couse Why He
Should Not Testify
Nv CARTER BROOKE JONES.


the American Newspaper Publishers
Association, was cited today by JUS
tice James w. Morris to appear in
District Court August IL and show
rause why he should not be COM
PEELED to testify before the Federal
Communications Commission at it's
Inquiry into newspaper ownership
of radio stations.
Mr.. Stahlman and three other
itnesses-publishers or newspaper
EXecutives-were advised by Elisha
Hanson. general counsel for the
publishers association, to ignore
their subpoenas, and the Nashville
publisher was one of two witnesses
who failed to appear when their
names were called at the commits
sion's hearing yesterday. A court
test fight is promised in his case.
Mr.. Hanson told the commission
that he had advised his clients, all
connected with the A. N P. A, that
they should refuse to testify because
the F. G. c. was without jurisdiction
to investigate the newspaper pub
fishing business. Counsel for the
commission applied for the court
order today.
Hearings Adjourned.
Mr.. Stahlman, a reserve lieuten-
ant commander in the Navy, at
present is on duty at the Navy De-
partment.
The commissions hearings on the
newspaper radio situation have
been recessed until September II.
Chairman James Lawrence Fly
adjourned hearings late yesterday
for the rest of the summer after
a day of delving into the troubled
past and more tranquil present of
news as a broadcasting commodity.
He expressed hope that when the
hearings are resumed, they may be
continued without interruption.
The commission learned yesterday
from minutes, files and reports of
, organizations concerned of the one
time rivalry and later commercial
truce and final cooperation be-
tween the press associations and the
radio networks and individual sta
tions.
Paul White Testifies.
Paul w. White, news director of
the Columbia Broadcasting System,
told the commission how that net
work dealt with the news situation
between 1880 and the present time.
Some time between election day,
1882, and the meeting of the pub
fishers in 1888, he recalled, 'it be-
came impossible for us to obtain
news from any of the large existing
news services"
Mr.. White said he was particu-
1arly anxious to dispose of the
charge that Columbia at that time
engaged in outlaw" practices or
was guilty of news piracy" 1t built
up the Columbia News Service, with
correspondent in London, who had
access to reports from all over Eu-
rope, and its own correspondents in
key cities of the United States, with
part-time correspondents elsewhere,
he related.
What was the reaction of the
newspaper publishers to your news
service?" asked L. D. Lloyd, special
counsel for the F. c. c.
1T was bad" said Mr.. White.
"They were very much distressed"
Says Countermeasures Taken.
Asked whether countermeasures
were taken against Columbia for
gathering its own news, Mr.. White
said in some instances they were.
In certain cities" he added,
Columbia hstings we're eliminated
from the newspapers, while those
OF our rivals were carried
Mr.. White said Columbia's news
service was started only because
there was no way we could get
the news from press association"
and it was dropped when the three
leading press associations and the
broadcasting companies formed the
Press Radio Bureau, combining in
furnishing radio news at intervals
and supplementing this with bull
letins Of extraordinary events. Ma
tional Broadcasting Co. agreed not
to enter the news field when Co
lumbia withdrew from it, he said
He described how in recent years
Columbia, in complete agreement
with the press services, had built
UP its extensive European and do
meStic news services. Today, under
this harmonious arrangement, Co.
lurnbia has leased wires from all
the services and, for it's part, makes
available to the press association
foreign news picked up from its
powerful short-wave sets and re-
ports broadcast or cabled by its for
eign correspondents.
SOC, 900 Word Intake Daily.
Mr.. White estimated that the Co
Iumbia newsroom in New York to-
day receives around 100000 words
of news a day from all sources
more news, he guessed, than any
institution in the world. With the
dark ages" of radio news past. he
added, and the exchange of news
between newspapers and press as
sociation and the radio fully estab-
hshed, the American public receives
the largest and more comprehen-
eive volume of news in history.
The rise and decline of the Press
Radio Bureau as an interim institu-
ton was described by its organizer
and president. James w. Barrett.
During the middle 1905. he pointed
out, the press associations obtained
q more or less rigid restriction of
the use of their news over the air
in return for providing a limited
amount of news-and, at the same
time, they rendered public service.
Further background of the news
radio situation was given by Joseph
V. Connolly, president of King Fea-
lures Syndicates. of which Interna-
tional News Service is department,
and Lloyd Stratton, assistant gen.
eral manager of the Associated
Press. representatives of the Ma
tional Broadcasting Co. and the
United Press Associations will testify
later.