Evening star., 1942-12-04
New Book by Cooper
OF A. P. Tells Of Iona
News Monopoly Fight
Barriers Down Reveals
Twenty-Yeor Crusade
| For Free Press
~ the Associated Press.

" oooaC WillCil pkOkc up Ollt Ol tilc
most powerful world monopolies
and opened news sources of the
world to all news agencies. was
revealed today in the publication
of Barriers Down." the first book
written by Kent Cotp per, general
manager OF the Associated Press.
when, in 1914, Mr.. Cooper be-
came acquainted with the .-amifica-
tions and strength of the world
news monopoly held by certain
European news agencies, struggle
to correct the situation began which
continued for two decades. Tie
associated Press, in order to get
the news of the foreign monopoly,
vas itself under contract to furnish
the news of the United States to
the. foreign pool.
aMr. Cooper interested the direc-
tors of the Associated Press in en-
deavoring to break the control of
International news held by the
three great European news agencies
--Reuters of London, Havas of Paris
and Wolff of Berlin. At a critical
time in the effort, Mr.. Cooper pro-
posed to the United Press ASsocia-
lions of New York that the Asso-
dated Press and the United Press
sign an agreement that neither
would make nor maintain any eX-
cilsive contracts with any Euro
pean news agency. Such con-
tract was signed.
Hitler's Rise Aided.
AT an earlier date, Barriers
Down" discloses, Mr. Cooper ad-
vsnced the idea of the Versailles
treaty providing for a free press
and freedom of international news
exchange. His efforts, backed only
BY his own voice, were unsuccessful.
The news barriers placed around
Germany by Havas and Reuters
after the World War, the book
points out, contributed to Hitler's
rise to power and the eventual out
break of the present war.
The crusade had its birth in
little cable message Mr.. Cooper ac-
cidentally discovered unanswered In
the general Offices Of the Associated
Press in September, 1914. That doc
urnent was from the Argentine news
paper La Nacion of Buenos Aires,
asking for the text of German COM
nuniques and all official news con-
cerning the World War.
Mr.. Cooper, then chief OF the
A.P. traffic department, saw here
caal from continent in which the
Associated Press never had served
any newspaper. He went to the
then general manager, Melville E.
Stone, and offered to handle it, only
to learn that the Associated Press
could not serve La Nacion.
His query, But why?" brought
from Mr.. Stone an explanation that
shocked him but made him more
interested. more determined.
There had been crusades before
there could be another one" he
wrote.
Continent Kept in Dark.
When La Nacion's cablegram was
turned over to Havas 1t refused to
make the German reports available
to- South America on the ground
that they came from an enemy ma
ton
''We are French; we cannot do II"
they told Mr.. Stone.
"As the French Havas agency |
owned the news rights to South |
America" Mr.. Cooper wrote, "the |
whole continent was, treated as
French vaSsal state in a news way. |
And as it kept an enemy commu-
nioue from being read in South !
America, it could inStill French fla |
vor in all the Havas news that was |
read in that continent. All South !
America could be blanked out on |
anything not o-French-the only
entire continent that could be treat
ed thus by any single news agency"
When he learned of this situation,
Mr.. Cooper felt that the Associated
Press by it's contact was party TO
this suppression of legitimate news
In many countries, and that 1t was
not desirable to continue a contact
guaranteeing any agency monop-
oily of nation outside its own ter
ritory, or even in its home territory
If by so doing it kept the people of
that nation in the dark.
Out of this conviction came my
Idea that the Associated Press news
standards should prevail every
where" he wrote. Later I realized
this would be impossible unless ac-
cess at the source to the news of all
nations should be denied to no one"
Struggle Lasted 20 Years.
The 20-year struggle to make news
available at its source to every one
and to permit the Associated Press
to tell the news of the world in its
own way and without influence by
governments ended successfully on
February II. 1884, when Sir Rod
erick Jones, head of Reuters, signed
an agreement with Mr. Cooper in
New York. The head of Reuters
did not do this however, until after
he had tried unsuccessfully to in
terest the United Press in taking
the place in the combine which the
Associated Press had of its own vo-
lition decided to vacate.
ITO the Associated Press" Mr..
Cooper says, Il give credit for the
creation of what has turned out to
be the finest moral concept ever de-
veloped in America and given the
world. That concept is that news
must be truthful and unbiased"
The book discloSeS the interest in
the movement started by Mr.. Cooper
by leaders of American journalism,
including Frank B. Noyes of The
Washington Star, the late Adolph
s. Ochs of the New York Times,
William Randolph Heart of the
Hearst newspapers and owner of the
International News Service; Roy
Howard of the Scripps Howard
Newspapers and once president of
the United Press; the late V. S. Nc
Clatchy of the Sacramento Bee,
Col. Robert r. Mccormick of the
Chicago Tribune, and Oswald Gar
rison Willard, formerly publisher of
the New York Post and once men,
her of the Board of Directors of the