The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-02-20
ny WESTBROOK PEGLER

serve the good purpose of making people
| thipk.)
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
Downright, 1915, by King Features Syndicate)
The simplest way to smash the secrecy
which has been imposed on the American
press in matters which do not involve the safe
ty of fighting forces or the President, is 10
violate the censorship defiantly and challenge
President Roosevelt to do his worst. The
White House correspondents being at dis
advantage and in a false, semi-social posi-
ton will shrink from such conduct and may
be pardored for continuing to conceal from the
people harmless news which is entrusted to
vhem under the seal of confidence. But there
is nothing to prevent individuals from With
drawing from the circle formally with warn
inc that henceforth they will obey their own
Judgment Such reporters would be barred
from the Roosevelt press conferences, but that
would be no loss either to the individual or to
the public.
knv good reporter can pick up outside the
press conferences and outside the intimacy OF
the White House as much information as he
can get by maintaining his standing in the
bund and feel free to use it according to his
discretion The majority, continuing to adhere,
subject to the restrictions, would be able to
continue their routine recountals OF slfted and
adulterated news and Roosevelts suited and
one sided repartee, for what 1t is worth to
the public if anything.
White House news has, to large extent.
been made a commodity and perquislte sold
through a racket The regular reporters get
the routine stuff but favored individuals,
notably Harry Hopkins SO long guest OF the
nation, are allowed to sell for their personal
profit more important bits which the whole
press deserves by reason OF its position 10
be sure, the newspapers and press associations
are governed by the profit motive. But 1t is not
news which they sell but their unique and Pc
culiar talents in learning news and their ser
vice in disseminating the same.
Their position has been recognized IN the
very custom Of holding press conferences Tor
if their function were not legitimate and
public service, the conferences would not be
held. This being their position, they have
responsibility to the public not to accept I'M
necessary and unreasonable restraints and to
withdraw from agreements which hamper
them in the fulfillment of their legitimate obi
cations. IT, then, all independent members of
the conference were to decide, tomorrow, to
boycott these meetings and rely on their own
resourcefulness and discretion, always mind
full Of the requirement to check facts, Roose-
welt would be more at loss than the press For
it is fact that, far more hagrantly than
Herbert Hoover, who was accused OF loading
his conferences with questions which he could
answer for his benefit, Roosevelt has
conducted his classes as a propagandlst by
methods which rarely have permitted him to
be shown at a disadvantage. He has his ldeo-
logical and political claque always on hand
to feed him easy questions, to laugh at his
pedagogical humor and to snap it off when the
going gets rough. And on the few occasions
when he HIS come out of these encounters
wearing long, fuzzy ears he was the author OF
his own embarrassmen through the fault OF
his own patronizing over-confidence. One such
occasion was his unguarded remark that tne
colunnist was an excrescence wherein MS
own spouse the conductor OF not one column
but two, fielded her due share OF sprlgs from
the bouquet
In the recent situation, when Hopkins and
Ed Stettinius were interviewed and photo
graphed IN Europe, Washington reporters, not
members of the White House circle, would
have been justified in writing that these two
were overseas and bound on another plgrl-
mage to Stain. Hopkins, certainly, is not a
national treasure deserving the precautions
which are conceded to the President Tor the
sake Of his personal safety. Stettinius, al
though he is Secretary of State, already had
been placed in Europe by dispatches from
overseas Therefore no American reporter,
knowing that they were abroad and why, and
having obtained the information without obi
CATION, could have been blamed, much less
punished, for telling the news in defiance OF
the censorship which has no legal support.
The standard American press, as distinguish
ed from our relatively few totalitarian papers,
most OF them published in New York, is noted
among the journalism of the entire world for
its respect for confidence. This is at once
great virtue and serious weakness, often
imposed upon by Roosevelt to the injury OF
not only the papers, themselves, but OF their
readers and to the danger of the freedom OF
the press. For if this American press, enjoy
ing this freedom shall enter secret agree
ments to withhold news where there is no
justfic alton for the secrecy, then it is default
ing duty which that freedom imposes.
IT, the next time Roosevelt goes to Hyde
Park, some reporter learning of this, subject
to no confidential obligation, should file the
story, allowing him time to arrive, that would
be a helpful challenge to system of censor
ship which has imposed on the press and its
readers unreasonably. intend to do it myself.
At Hyde Park he is guarded by royal
danger than he is in the White House. More
over, during the autumn campaign he not
only rode through the streets of eastern cities
openly seeking votes, but made tail-board ora
tons to unsolicited crowds in Connecticut in
his futile attempt to elect the candidate of the
Communists for Congress. 1t would be fair,
also, to state the number of Pullman cars
used in such travels strictly for the recreation
of public servant whose task is no more try
ing for all our emotional propaganda, than
the labors of many others, unofficial workers