Evening star., 1943-12-02
Brucken
Continued From First Page, J

Brucken
Continued From First Page.)
on Reuters News Service dispatch
from Lisbon.
(The Reuters dispatch, issued
Tuesday, 80 hours before official
announcement of the conference.
said it had been held and that
President Roosevelt and Prime
Minister Churchill had proceeded
to Iran to talk with Premier
Marshal Stain. Reuters, how
ever, did not disclose decisions
reached at the Cairo conference)
Elmer Davis, OWL director at
Washington, already has protested
the Reuters dispatches.
THE United States Government
have made the strongest possible
representations about Reuters con-
duct in Lisbon" Mr.. Bracken told
Commons.
I'VE have no responsibility for
Lisbon nor for Reuters. I could only
say the British government could
not take any responsibility for it.
Il think it unfortunate that all
these leakages occurred.
Il have seen four or five confer
ences, and am absolutely certain
publicity arrangements will always
break down because they depend on
| three or four nations. There is
absolutely clear understanding be-
| tween our Allies and ourselves.
| There is time program laid out
but on several occasions it has not
been fulfilled.
Il will do all that I can to get
the absolute concurrence of author
tiles in Washington, but in fairness
10 them they, too, complained Bit
terly that we in Britain are con-
stantly scooping them with the
news q.
Uniform Treatment Suggested.
Arthur Greenwood. Laborite and
former minister without portfolio,
remarked that conference news
leaked out of Washington 10 days
ago, and asked if the British gov
ernment should not endeavor to
obtain uniform British American
treatment of such news.
OF course, there has been a good
deal of speculation in the United
States" Mr.. Bracken said.
L am quite certain there has
been no bad faith in this matter
but SO many people are in on this
secret and somebody falls down.
You must not blame the Ameri-
can authorities because they some
times protest, because they say
sometimes the British press scoops
the American press"
Mr.. Bracken was asked why the
Reuters Lisbon report was allowed
to pass through Britain to Wash
1ngton through channels under con-
troll of the British government.
Anything published in a foreign
capital is not censored when pass
ing through London" he replied
That is censorship rule. And
whether it is a wise rule or not
do not know"
Press Assails "Inept" Censorship.
Even before the Commons ses-
sions the British press had blazed
with indignant protests against
'lnept" censorship and vehement
denunciations of muddled handling
in the way the conference news
was released.
The Worlds Press News, a neWspa-
per trades paper, said The first
news of one of the most important
stories of the year was broken with
out the correspondents on the spot
being able to send one word and
termed press arrangements for the
conference IAN incredible farce"
Alone of all the peoples of the
world" said the London Daily Mail.
the British public Tuesday was not
trusted with news of the meeting.
Every radio station in the world
friendly, enemy, neutral and Allied
with the sole exception of BIC told
the story Every newspaper in the
world carried great front-page head
lines with the exception of the
British.
why? Because the British press
and radio were forbidden by the
British Ministry of Information to
so much as hint at what the whole
world knew.
Favoritism Charges Mentioned.
In spite of these astonishing
facts, official complaints have been
made in America that the British
were favored on the ground that
Reuters, acting correctly and with
the enterprise to be expected of
great news organization, had OBJ
tanned the news in neutral Lisbon
and cabled it to America. Reuters
was forbidden to distribute the news
IN this country and respected that
BAN"
The Daily Mail added that the
United States Office of War In
formation appeared to be attempt
Ing to shift responsibility for joint
Anglo United States official muddle
onto the Reuters agency"
II Is slgnlHcapt, the paper add
ed, that a large section of the
American press last night was sup
porting Reuters on this issue"
The News Chronicle Clipped in
with a declaration by its Cairo cor
| respondent that when the full story
is published, the name of the British
Ministry of Information is going to
stink from one end OF the United
! States to the oher."
I'VE not only were begged to
make bricks without straw and act
as stooges for policies which were