The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-04-01
FREE WORLD PRESS
GAINING IN FAVOR

WASHINGTON, March 31.-tR-
The principle of world freedom OF
news exchange probably will be
endorsed by the United Nations
San Francisco, and, going beyond
lip service. there appears strong
likelihood that the nations formal
ly will give their proposed world
security organization the job of do
ing something about it.
The way was paved by strong
declaration of principle by the
American nations at Mexico City
last month. What happened there.
directly under the leadership OF
United States Secretary of State
Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., marks
thehig h spot thus far in an Amer
lean campaign in behalf OF an
American idea and ideal.
The chances now are that the
statesmen converting at San Fran
cisco April Is not only will en-
dorse the principle, but will as
sign the job of promoting world
news freedom to the economic and
social council Of the world organ
ization. State Department advisors
to the American delegation regard
the council as the place to fix
responsibility for developing a
worldwide free exchange of infor-
nation as an essential step in pr
serving futucre peace.
Secretary Stettinius has said he
earnestly hopes" tn e general
subject may tAected upon favor
ably at San <ncisco, after the
'long step Rward'' at Mexico
City, where he and Assistant Sec
rotary N elson A. Rockefeller,
achieved the first formal interna-
tional acceptance of this principle.
That acceptance was unani-
NOUS declaration by the inter-
American conference of foreign
ministers calling for the tearing
down of all artificial barriers of
censorship and government con-
troll. 1t enunciated this principles:
"Freedom of communication of
thought, oral as well as written,
is the essential condition to the
development of watchful public
opinion throughout the world to
guard against any attempt of ag-
gression.
In this campaign, men have for
gotten all differences, political and
otherwise. 1t is a campaign start
ed and built up and kept going
with many ends in view, and all
good. Chief of these, simply stat
ed, is as follows:
I'm the next postwar era free
press and freedom of inter-nation-
al news exchange everywhere
must be guaranteed. There can be
no permanent peace unless men
of all lands can have truthful, I'm
biased news of each other which
shall be freely available at the
source to all who seek it there,
wherever that may be-"
This particular summation is
from Kant Cooper, executive di'
rector of the Associated Press, but
the same thoughts have been ex'
pressed by many.
In any eve t, the concept
snubbed at Versailles (Coope.
tried unsuccessfully to get it con
sidered in the last peace has pro
ponents by legion today. The mos
spectacular phase of the current
U. S. efforts finds three American
newspapermen flying around the
world seeking support in the drive
to bring home the importance o.
the subject to heads of state
everywhere. These men are Ralph
McGill of the Atlanta Constitution
Dean Carl Alderman of Columbia
university: and Wilbur Forrest o
the New York Herald-Tribune,
committee of the American Socie
ty of Newspaper Editors.
Of course, the United Nation!
conference at SIN Francisco is no
going to write a peace treaty. The
conference has been called to form
a world organization aimed at pre-
serving future peace. The peac:
conference, at which the victor ma
tons will deal with the van
pushed, probably will not conn
until long after San Francisco.
What is hoped for at San Fran
cisco, by newspaper and radi'
L rfN