The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1942-10-01
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER WEEK

Our first thought about National Newspaper Week is this
In any one of a dozen other countries, this editorial column, il
its present form, wouldn't even be here. For statements thai
appear in it almost every week, the publisher editor and mos
of the rest of the staff would long ago have been marched of
to a concentration camp or the firing squad.
This illustrates the point that the American press has as much
or more, to fight for than any other group in America. Like
other groups and individuals, it has had a hard fight to win
and retain its rights and privileges. And, like others, if it abuses
them, it may expect to lose them.
We know and believe that today SO percent of the newspapers
of this country are not operating under a Republican or a
Democratic or any primarily political policy. Their news and
editorial columns are shaped toward one end, winning the war.
Their criticisms of high political and administrative figures gen
orally are made because they wish to see that war effort fur
thered. In many other countries, official laundering and COM
placency are hidden by a veil of secrecy and censorship. In a
democracy, we cannot have good government without know
ledge by the people, without ceaseless investigation and COM
ment by the press, without some vehicle whereby the people
can express their needs, their troubles, their wants.
AS a homely illustration, we will remind our readers of a
story that appeared on our front page a few weeks ago. One of
our beetgrowers, Charlie Mag, found himself strictly up
against it, Ever since last spring he had heard promises and
statements that he would have plenty of labor for his beet
acreage. Come harvest time and no such labor was apparent,
nor did it appear that it would be. Charlie composed a letter,
setting out in pihy language his predicament. The letter received
wide publicity. A few days after it was printed, it became the
keynote, the theme of statewide emergency labor meeting in
Helena. 1t gave the governor, our senators and other officials
a clear picture of the situation and provided them a basis for
action. Today, Charlie has nine workers from a relocation
center on his farm and many other beetgrowers have benefited.
Do you honestly believe that, in Germany, Charles letter
would ever have appeared in the press, even if he had had
the s~uperhuman courage to write it? Do you think he or we
would have dared to question the policies of any high official?
And, even, if by some miracle, we had printed it, what would
have happened? Charlie and some assorted newspapermen
would have quickly found themselves guests of the Gestapo in
not very pleasant surroundings.
Not all stories have such happy endings, even in this country.
There are many officials who resent and would like to limit the
public weddings given them by the press. In wartime, all
NEWSPAPERS operate under a voluntary code of censorship
They have been told that they are doing an admirable job in
keeping information from our enemies. But they do not propose
to relinquish their right to honest criticism, under the lmlta-
tions laid down bv the law and ethics. Their responsibility is
the same as that of every citizen to do his best to see that
nothing is left undone at home by anyone to give our men
every possible advantage and aid in combat.