The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-12-08
TODAY and TOMORROW
by WALTER LIPPMANN

A minority, chiefly but not en-.
tirely composed of Republicans,
has been holding up the appropria-
tons for U. N. R. R. A., alleging
that American funds should not be
used in any foreign country which
does not give American newspaper
correspondents full opportunity to
report how the funds are used.
Any expef ienced journalist who
has worked in foreign countries
will tell Congress that this method
Of promoting freedom Of the press
| is a piece Of plausible nonsense.
1t is one Of those proposals which
seem sensible enough when first
they are looked at and quite sense
less when they are looked into.
For it is a proposal to have
American reporters perform the
duties of American officials. 1t
supposes that American newspap-
ers have enough foreign CORE
spondents to cover regularly and
continuously the distribution Of
relief in all the cities of Greece,
Poland, Yugoslavia, Austria, Czech
oslovakia, Albania, Italy, the Uk-
raine, Byelorussia, Korea, Formosa
and China. 1t supposes that this
army Of American correspondents
which of course does not exist,
which could not be recruited,
which American newspapers could
not afford to maintain, whose re-
ports our papers would not have
space to publish-that this army
of newspaper men can make more
accurate reports on the operation
of relief than our embassies and
Legations and consulates, our mill
tary missions and our intelligence
services, not to say the Americans
who serve in U. N. R. R. A. itself.
The proposal, assuming it to be
sincere, is plainly the work Of men
who do not know how correspon-
dents get most of their informa-
ton in foreign countries where for
the most part they do not speak
the language, and where there are
no free and Independent local
newspapers. They get it from
American officials and the officials
of friendly governments, and from
persons with whom they make
contact largely through American
and other officials. The amount
of first-hand direct reporting that
can be done independently of the
regular American official observers
is much smaller than most laymen
seem to realize. In the countries
where U. N. R. R. A. operates 1t
would be the exception rather than
the rule that a foreign correspon-
dent obtained significant news
that officials do not already know.
He cannot have anything like the
same opportunity to find out what
is going on:
It is, therefore, quite misleading
for Congressman to tell our people
that they must depend on the for
eign correspondents to see to it
that money given for relief is hon
estly administered. That is the
business of our officials abroad.
Where the press comes into it is
to report to the people what the
officials are reporting, and to
watch. which they can do, whether
these officials are making compe-
tent reports. 80,
It never was, and never could be,
the function Of the press to be in
spector, accountant, auditor, de-
ltective OF a widespread, compli-
Gated operation like the admins
tration OF relief in some thirteen
or fourteen foreign countries.
These gentlemen in Congress may
think they are paying a compli-
ment to the press but in fact they
are trying to burden the press
with a responsibility which it can
not discharge.
The obstruction which the U. N.
In. r, A. appropriations have en-