Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-12-31
owl Official Asserts
Foreign Radio Files
Are Open 10 Reporters

Are Open 10 Reporters
Office of War Information files of
monitored foreign broadcasts are
open to newSpapermen at all times
while the major news services and
some of the larger newspapers are
supplied directly by wire with the
important material the Axis and our
Russian ally send over the air, Mat
thew Gordon, chief of Owls for
eign service division, said today.
Mr.. Gordon emphatically denied a
statement made yesterday by Mrs.
Helen Lombard, in story in The
Star, to the effect that the Federal
communications Commission and
owl "expurgate" foreign broad
casts because the material con-
tanned in the broadcasts from our
Russian war associate and from our
Axis enemies is not to be divulged
to American legislators or reporters"
ANY reporter in the Owl press
room or anywhere else working for
any news organization of any kind"
Mr.. Gordon said, can come in and
We will make available to him or
her whatever we have. In fact,
many reporters in Washington and
elsewhere have done just that"
Mr.. Gordon said the FEC, the
American monitoring agency, either
picks off the short-Wave air or re-
celves from the British and other
sources some 100000 words a day
in foreign propaganda material. He
said obviously all of this, much of
1t duplicate material, could not be
printed and distributed to news
agencies. Owl does receive, how
ever, several hundred thousand
words day of the better material. |
Mrs. Lombard pointed out that
reporters in London receive I'M
expurgated copies of the broadcasts
and can use extracts from the ma
terial after submission to the censor.
Mr.. Gordon emphasized that Owl
permits use of the material with
no such strings attached He also
pointed out that Reuters, the British
agency, finds it useful to subscribe
to the Owl service though it GER
tainlv receives all the London ma
terial.
MIR. Fly Explains Setup.
James L. Fly, chairman Of the
Federal Communications Commits
sion, sent The Star the following
statement:
the early edition of The Star Thurs
day, Helen Lombard, feature writer
for the Bell Syndicate, made a
heavy-handeo attempt to smear the
Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Serv-
ice of the Federal Communications
Commission. l am glad to provide
the correct facts which were equally |
made no attempt whatsoever to
obtain them.
The Foreign Broadcast Intelli-
gence Service of the commission has
the primary job of monitoring,
translating and reporting in intel
ested Government Offices all of the
enemy radio propaganda which can
be obtained, as we'll as substantial
portions of radio propaganda of our
Allies. The material forwarded to
the interested Government depart
ments and agencies is classified as
restricted" The reason for this
must be apparent. This Govern
ment cannot afford to operate a
mechanism to forward the cause of
enemy propaganda.
The commission itself does not
undertake to pass judgment on the
portions of this propaganda which
can properly be made public. The
material, however, is forwarded to
the Office of War Information which
itself makes available to the press
under its own policies such portions
of the foreign propaganda as will
be consistent with the national in
terests. The commission exercises
no discretion as to the material
selected and distributed to the
public.
Work With Legislators.
Far from considering that broad
casts from the foreign countries are
greSS,' the commission for con-
siderable time has been operating
under a cooperative arrangement
made with the chairman of the
Foreign Relations Committees of
the Senate and of the House, respec
lively. Comprehensive daily sum-
maries are turned over to the chair
they exercise an unfettered discre
ton in making them available to
the members of the Congress.
congressman who are interested in
the material are consistently re-
ferred to the chairman of their own
committee as matter of routine.
This arrangement has worked out
most satisfactorily.
quite apart from the wisdom of
making a broad and indiscriminate
circulation of enemy propaganda, as
a matter of practical mechanics it
would be extremely burdensome and
wasteful for the commission to run
off and deliver daily an additional 7
53l mimeographed copies of the
bulky documents. I need hardly
add, however, where any congress
sional groups in the performance of
their duties show real need for addi-
tional copies of the material, they
will be made available without
delay"
18-Pound Baby, i
Fifth Henvieef