Evening star., 1943-06-21

SAA ASSSA@ASAS 3oAA Ooo DOANdAos dlC
the Brooklyn Eagle; Walter A
Schmitz of the Quincy Mass.) Pa
triot Ledger, w. B. Chilsen, pub
Usher of the Merrill (Wis0 Herald;
Curtis G. Small, editor and manager
of the Daily Register, Harrisburg
ILL.,; o. M. Kinnison. publisher of
the News Democrat, Goshen, Ind
Alfred G. Hill, publisher and
partner of the Chester (Pa) Times
Publishing Co.; Norman r. Baker
editor of the Journal-News, Nyack
N. Y; John j. Mead, jr., editor and
co-publisher Of the Erie (Pa) Daily
Times; M. G. Fitzpatrick, publisher
OF the Olean IN. " Times s-Herald;
w. F. Prisk. publisher of the Long
Beach (Calif) Sun and president OF
the Pasadena (Calif) Post; D. N.
Slep, publisher Of the Altoona CPa.)
Mirror.
Aids Small Papers.
Charles E. Koons, publisher and
general manager of the Middletown
IN. " Times Herald; Roscoe H.
| Alcorn, editor of the Rawlins (Wyo)
Republican, Bulletin; Ralph o. Nus
baum, editor of the Warsaw Qnd.)
Union; Joseph F. Mcdonald, edi-
tor and manager of the Nevada
State Journal, Reno, New, and Allen
T. Witter, managing editor of the
! Brawling (CalifD News; j. H.
Crothers. president of the Eureka
(Calif) Newspapers, Inc.
The following submitted afidavits
declaring in general that A. p. men,
bership was benefit to small pa
pers and described how the CO.
operative feature contributed to the
development of local news: c. H.
Helntzelman, editor and owner of
the Coatesville PaD Record; Earl
E. Hanway. co-publisher of the Cas-
per (WyoD Tribune-Herald; F. w.
Brlnkerhoff, editor Of the Pittsburp
tkanso Headlight and the Pitts
burg Sun, and r. A. Clymer, editor
and manager Of the Ell Dorado
(Kans) Times.
An affidavit by Harris Ellsworth.
editor and manager OF the Rose
burg (Oreg) News declared
A. P. was not restraint of free COM
petition.
William Mapel, professor of Jour-
nallsln at Washington and Lee Uni
versity, opposed an af1idavit for the
Government by Virginia M. Marino
giving a comparison of news beats
scored by A. P. and U. P.
On the basis of the A. P. log for
the period May l, 1910, to Decem-
Der ID, 1912, the Marino affidavit
indicated that the A. P. scored 13,473
such beats" or 7l9 per cent, for
the period over U. P.
Mr.. Mapel asserted that "the docu-
ment is misleading and of little
value because the conclusion reached
Is predicated on an A. P. log which
Is by no means confined to beats or
scoops and because it seeks to ap-
ply a mathematical formula to fac
tors not susceptible to such a con-
clusion and consequently reaches a
meaningless conclusion"
The Mapel affidavit declared that
U. F. did not keep an extensive news
log.
Mccormick Assails Suit.
Col. Robert r. Mccormick, editor
and publisher of the Chicago Tribune
who filed two af1idavits, contended
the suit constituted a threat to a
free press and that the action was
on a line leading to plain violation
of the first amendment.
The whole tenor and object of
this suit is by indirection to force
A. P. to render its service to all ap-
plicants conforming to standards
deemed reasonable by the Govern
ment, thus Transforming A. P. from
private enterprise into a public
utility or quasi-public utility" he
stated.
An order by judicial legislative
or administrative department of
Government directly or indirectly
forcing A. P. Cor any other news
agency, author, writer, compiler
syndicate or gatherer of news or
information) to publish its informa-
ton to all indifferently on equal
terms would - be a plain viola
ton Of the first amendment"
Col. Mccormick held some method
of joint collection of news was es-
sential to modern newspapers and
that any governmental interference
with such a function was contrary
to the first amendment.
Fears Operation IS Utility.
Should A. P. become the sole oc-
cupant of the news-agency field, OF
should it become greatly dominant
In that field, it is probable that
sooner or later efforts will be made
to transform it into a strict public
utility, required not only to serve
all indifferently, but also required
by governmental fiat to serve all at
reasonable rates and to furnish rea-
sonable service" ne said. ITO SUBJ
ject an integral part of the press to
the probability of such regulation
is in violation of the first
amendment"
The Tribune publishers affidavit,
filed in answer to one made by Al
fred McClung Lee, maintained that
the first amendment was intended
solely as protection of the press
against governmental encroach-
ments. He added:
S. E. Thomson, publisher of the
Chicago Daily illustrated Times and
the Tampa Fla) Tribune, submit
ted an AFFIDAVIT outlining the back
ground Of changes in the A. p. by
laws approved by the members in
April, 1912. At that time regula-
tions were amended to provide for
admission Of new members by a
simply majority vote instead of a
four-fifth vote of those voting at a
general meeting. It also was de-
cided an applicant publishing In the
same field as an existing member
should pay, for the benefit of the
member or members already oper-