Evening star., 1942-04-22
Check Floods OF Laws
Al The Beginning,
Publishers Are Urged
Pressure for Stututes
Without porolIeI Soon
To Come, Deer Worms
- ,hs Associated Press.

for publishers 10 do somethig in
the beginning about the food Of
new laws coming from various
branches OF the Government was
made today at the first general seS-
sion Of the seth annual convention
Of the American Newspaper Pub
iishers Association at the Waldorf =
Astoria Hotel
Speaking In a closed session TO
several hundred editors and pub
hshers, President Walter M. Dear
Of the A. N p A. said that news
papers must be more vigilant at
an early date against "a pressure
for the writing Of bills and the
enactment OF statutes without par
sllel"
Mr.. Dear, general manager OF
the Jersey City IN. j. Journal.
emphasized that the large amount
Of legislation TO which he referred
was "of the broadest comprehension
and the most drastic innovation"
and that the laws were both nu-
merous and important.
lawmakers themselves to digest or
10 understand fully the effect and
wide implication OF even a small
fraction of what they have enacted. 4"
he said Innovation in the law
Is a most ominous thing. The law
is organic. but its power of fecundity
and growth was never so great as
nov. More than ever in this re-
spect Is the wisdom of the adage,
Resist the beginnings, to be close
y needed.
Fears Sudden Awakening.
we must. therefore. be abreast
Of this long continuing spate Of laws,
as abreast OF it as we can be. or
we shall be subject to the likeli-
hood OF finding all too suddenly
that onerous rules, regulations and
demands are upon US. with nothing
10 be done about it; OF finding that
ell desirable contest has been con-
Quoted by others and with regret
table conclusion. The rules, regu-
lations and demands I speak of are
such as the most submissive among
LIS would regard as grievously and
un1ustly oppressive TO our indus
try.
Wnen later developments are
reached IL is often too late for s,lc-
eessful controversy. And that is the
time When there Is such woeful
meaning in the -belated and
useless advice that we should have
cone something about it in the
beginning"
Mr.. Dear told the publishers that
the Government should use paid sd-
Verlsing to promote the sale of
war bonds. just as it paid for other
war material.
1t has been suggested that real
effort TO induce payment for Gov
eminent advertising would indicate
oef1cient patriotism and a failure
10 subordinate personal interest tn
the national interest" he said. The
fallacy OF that objection seems OBJ
vious. Advertising is professional In
It's skill and execution; and the
equipment for newspaper advertising
represents, in addition. very sub
stantial industrial and business IN
Vestment, including extensive en-
pioyment OF skilled labor and large
consumption of commodity goods.
Other Services Paid For.
These considerations should of
themselves be enough to place the
principle upon which Government
advertising should be paid for on
moral and rational par with that
upon which other Government serv-
ices and goods are paid for II
is prudent to realize that for some
time II has been obvious that certain
Government departments and mem
oers OF Congress are inclined to dis
courage by one means or another.
the use of advertising. and thus
through i'll will or utter Needless
resS 10 injure the main source OF
newspaper income.
Particularly, l refer to the oripi-
nal suggestion that advertising ex-
pense be not allowed as deductible
oy nrmS engaged in war work. Ger
tain officers of the Treasury Depart
ment are presently suggesting that
this principle of non n-deductibility
as applied TO war contracts. be given
general application to all forms of
business. II this is established II
VIII 90 hard with every commercial
line
Newsprint Conserved,
After praising the work of the
Federal once of Censorship and
the selection of Byron Price as its
head, Mr.. Dear said that the pub
fishers had co-operated equally well
with the Office of Price Administra-
uon in working out methods of con-
serving newSprint.
He explained that Washington
ofhcislS had indicated that &c.
unless the newspapers of their own
initiative curtailed the consump-
ton Of newsprint, the Government
might be obliged 10 accomplish this
by oficisl mandate"
Our calling as disseminators of
that whereof public opinion and
public conscience are formed bv
communities of free people, he said
bears deep and vital relation to the
things that are at stake in our strue-
sic. Out Of that relation arise the
rights and duties of our calling. We
are charged with the trust Of per.
petusting that without which liberty.
IN the common experience of man
KIND, can never be secure"
Miss Anne Diamond of Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, q Journalism student
at Syracuse University. was ad-
Judged winner Of the A. n. P. A.
monograph contest. She traced the
history Of the press from its earliest
GAYS to the present Her theme was
that readers. casually tossing their
pennies on newSstands for Is pages
OF print, seldom realized the bargain
they purchased. The award was
$1,000 cash and gold medal.