Evening star., 1944-12-05
Government Suit
AGAINST A. p. Enters
Final Phase Today
By the Associated Press.

dSolLAcu CA1C 11CSoNeSIhOSo 1Coc oPSAAS
today in the Supreme Court.
Counsel for the AP contend the
civil antitrust action as it now stands
would require the nonprof1t news
cooperative to admit to member
ship all comers, thus-in violation
of the constitutional guarantee o1
freedom of the press-making it q
public utility subject to Govern
ment regulations.
In reply, the Government asserts
that the AP would not be converted
into a public utility and freedom OF
the press would be furthered. II
says the antitrust laws do not af-
feet the editorial policies of the
press, but do deal with the relations
of AP and its members to other
newspaper enterprises.
Three Hours for Arguments.
The Supreme Court granted a
total of three hours for oral argu-
ments on the case, beginning with
hearing AP counsel probably in mid
afternoon. Justice Department at
torneys were to begin their argu-
ment late today, or tomorrow after
noon.
The AP appealed to the high
tribunal from a decision by a spe-
cial three-judge Federal court in
the southern district of New York.
That court found that the AP did
not monopolize or dominate the
gathering or distribution of news.
It ruled, however, that the A. P.
should be restrained from observing
bylaws under which members might
consider the competitive ability Of
an applicant for membership. The
court decreed that If AP modified
these bylaws it could continue to
provide it's news report exclusively
to AP members, to demand the local
news of members exclusively for AP
use and retain its contract with the
Canadian press for exchange Of
news.
Government Also Appealed.
The Justice Department also ap-
pealed the special court findings.
1t asked that the Supreme Court
require a more explicit" provision
against exclusion of newspapers
from A. P. membership for COM
petitive reasons. This should not
be left to depend upon a gamble
on the members willingness to con-
form their conduct to the spirit and
intent of the courts decree" the de-
partment said.
The New York court based its de-
cree on a finding that news is sub
ject to public policy requiring its
dissemination from as many diff
ferent sources and with as many
different facets and colors as is
possible"
The AP in brief filed with the
Supreme Court said the lower court
took the position that even If the
operative-under the courts de-
cree-became the only news-gath-
ering agency, no public injury could
result.
This position" the AP brief said,
sis completely inconsistent with the
entire basis of the decision. If every
paper published the same dispatches
from the same agency there would
then be no multiplicity of facets"
Sees One Change Only Decreed.
The Justice Department likewise
presented a brief in which it said the
only change in the bylaws required
by the decree-apart from news ex-
change requirements-is the elm
ination of the right to exclude news
papers from membership for COM
petitive reasons.
with this change made, the judg-
ment leaves AP free to operate pre-
cisely as it has operated in the past"
the Government argued. 'The ap-
prehension that difficult questions of
supervision of the affairs of AP will
be required is unfounded. - . Moth
ing in the decree will require AP to
alter it's classification or treatment
Of members once they are admitted.
nor indeed will 1t affect standards of
admission other than those based on
the competitive position of an ap-
plicant. The judgment does not di-
rectly or indirectly touch upon the
quantity or quality of service to be
furnished by AP."
Intimidation" Felt.
The A. P. told the Supreme Court
that the case-'involving no ques-
ton of monopoly, domination, in
dispersal bility, power over others, or
inadequacy of competition
because Marshall Fields Chicago
Sun was not admitted to member
ship. The object of the suit, the
A. P. said, obviously was to force
the cooperative to admit that paper.
A squad of rs FBI agents was sent
to interview A. P. members in va
rious parts of the country regarding
the Suns application, A. P. said. The
result was that many members felt
that the Justice Department was
being used to intimidate them into
voting in favor of the Field applica-
ton, and their vote (rejecting the
application was principally a vote
against such coercion; otherwise
they might have voted for the ap-
plication."
The A. P. stated. however, its in
terest in the case was not with re-
spect to the situation in any particu-
lar city, but rather with the pres
ervation of its fundamental right to
manage it's own affairs as a private
cooperative news-g gath erin G
agency"