Evening star., 1943-04-21
Federal Ad Program
'Smacks Of Subsidy,'
|ANPA Head Warns
Dear Says Move Would
Prove Disastrous to
Newspapers of Nation
BY the Associated Press.

bS VIC ASSUClALeu TEeSs
NEW YORK. April 21-Walter
M. Dear. president Of the American
Newspaper Publishers Association
and co-publisher OF the Jersey City
journal. declared today that the
ANPA believes Government-f1 financed
advertising "smacks Of subsidy" and
would be disastrous" to newspa pers
In his annual address prepared
for delivery before the convention,
Mr. Dear said:
Some newspaper groups have
publicly acclaimed approval OF the
idea and through over-enthusiasm
OF because Of economic pressure
have expressed advocacy on the
ground that such expenditure, par
ticularly in the case of the small
newspape would serve as stop
gap for the economic depression
which endangers the continual ton
of such publications.
Sees Disaster in Program.
while we have the deepest SYM
pathy for any of our fellow publish
ers who may find the going difficult,
and realize the value and import
snce Of the weekly press. we cannot
subscribe to the wisdom of accept
ing a subsidy. Such program
would prove disastrous"
Referring to bill to be intro
duced in Congress which would au-
thorize the appropria ton of $25 ,000,-
900 to s30,000.000 for advertising of
Treasury bonds sales. the appropria-
tion to be divided equally between
daily and weekly newspapers Mr..
Dear said:
This provision smacks of sub
sidy."
Mr.. Dear declared that there may
be demand for further cut in
neWsprint. adding. L warn you that
1t will be followed shortly by de-
mand for a further increase in
price Neither will be quiescently
accepted in the absence of impressive
| factual data
Refers to A. p. Suit.
He referred to the Justice Depart
ment suit against the Associated
Press, saying. I'VE wish to empha-
size that your officers were duly ap-
preciative of the implications in
volved in the suit and the danger to
| the principles for which this asso-
iation has always stood.
We rendered our services to the
| Associated Press in opposition to
what we felt was a direct attack
upon the integrity Of free press
and an adroit attempt to regiment
| under Government control all
sources of news.
We are prepared to appear in
this action if. in our opinion. such
an appearance will help preserve the
right of publishers to gather their
news in their own way and free
from governmental control
A too literal" Interpretation OF
| the war manpower order applying a
minimum work week to 36 critical
areas, Mr.. Dear said. might force the
! discontinuance OF numerous news
! papers.
Report On NeWSpTlnt.
| In newsprint report submitted
| to the convention, committee
stated that the fate of many news
papers in months to come may well
depend upon how newsprint con-
scious they become and how alert
they are to ways Of conserving news
| print -, -,
Besides an increase Of 81 a ton in
the direct price of newsprint, the
report said, 3 per cent transporta-
| ton tax was passed on to publishers
| because OPA included newsprint on
the list Of exceptions to its order
! providing that the tax generally be
! paid by sellers.
Monograph Prizes Awarded.
| Frederick C. Irion. Is, selected in
| l94l as the New York State Publish
ers' Association fellow in the School
! of Journalism at Syracuse Univer-
sity, won the first prize of $500 and
gold medal in the association S
monograph contest on the subject
of The Achievements of the News
paper in Public Service During
! War"
Mr.. Irion is at present a member