Evening star., 1942-09-03

Because, more David Lawrence.
over, the suit, If the Justice De-
partment wins, will benefit pri-
marily a big newspaper which is
staunch supporter of the Admins
tration in party politics while at
the same time injuring It's COM
petitor, a critic of the New Deal,
it will be widely assumed that the
action was brought as part of
political battle. In fact, it has been
freely reported for several months
that the law suit would not be filed
If the Associated Press admitted
into its membership a certain pro-
administration newspaper.
The issues in this particular anti
trust suit have been kicking around
for decades. The fact that an ad-
ninistration which has picked its
own Supreme Court and picked on
the newspapers because they have
seen through the hypocrisies and
ineptitudes of the New Deal has
ventured to file the suit should fur
nish the acid test of that part of
the Atlantic Charter which says We
are fighting this war for freedom of
the press.
1t was inevitable that sooner or
later the issue should be carried to
the highest court and though there
are vastly more important things
for both the press and the admins
tration to do, since the President
has decided that the law suit must
be tried and tried now, it is desir-
able that the merits of the suit
rather than the motivating reason
for the Attorney Generals action,
should be canvassed
Three Large Services.
On its face, it would appear that
publishers operate Nation wide
news service by exchanging news
with each other from coast to coast
and that they share In the costs of
overseas news service. There are
three big news services-Athe Asso-
ciated Press. United Press and IN
ternational News Service. The first
is cooperative and owned by the
newspapers themselves. The second
Is owned by the Scripps- Howard in
terests and the third by the Hearst
organization. ... ... .....
1t used to be said that a news
paper could not be started or any
newspaper successfully maintained
without the Associated Press service
But the excellence of both the
United Press and the International
News Service have been attested in
recent years so that many success
ful newspapers now are published
which never have had the Associ-
ated Press service.
The Associated Press case cannot
be considered on. all fours with a
commodity because spontaneous
news itself is not product inacces-
siole to anybody who wants to gath
er it. The Associated Press has no
proprietary rights over the sources
OF news and neither the A. P. nor
any other news association has ever
asserted a right to bottle up news
at the source. Since spontaneously
developing news is, like the free air
accessible to anybody who cares to
go to the expense of gathering it
the issue arises whether the news
when gathered, transmitted and put
in printable form, loses all it's arts.
tic or literary value and must be
sold to any publisher who wants tt
resell it to the public for profit.
Protection Vanishes.
If this is to be the rule of Law
under the New Deal, then the pro.
lection which the Constitution ha,
heretofore specifically given tt
works of art, patents and the sale
of literary effort may be said t.
have vanished.
If this is to be the rule of law
then the CIO and AFL are unlaw
fully selling memberships servic'
and collecting dues and assessment
in the same cities by any agreement
tacit or otherwise as to Jurisdictions
Likewise, any merger of the TIVE
now would seem to be of question
able legality.
If this is to be the rule of Law
fraternal organizations with fl
nancial or insurance benefits TO
their members must open their roll
to everybody and become com
mercial, and every association, or
ganization or corporation with an
"know-how" patents, management
skill or marketing ability of an
kind must share it with any com
petitor in the same line of business
Under communism, there is n
private endeavor at all but a shar
ing of everything on commune
basis through the state. Maybe
communal press. regulated as t
every detail of its operation by til
Government, is in prospect. Some
thing important Is UP or the Ac
ministration wouldn't file law su
in the midst of war against tn
principal newspapers Of the Unite
States just for the fun of tn
thing.
oh tx Rex