Evening star., 1945-02-24
Soviet Delay on visos
For Editors AssuiIed
Writer Says Group Fails to Get
Action Despite Plea to Embassy
By David Laurence

DV DUVSU x<UtRS GUCt
Though the impression sought to be
given in official communicates Is that the
Soviet and American governments are
on the closest terms of intimacy, 1t
doesn't appear that freedom of infor-
nation" has as yet gained recognition
by Moscow
News comes that the three members
of the American Society of Newspaper
Editors who were appointed to visit
various capitals have been waiting .
long time at Cairo for passport visas
admitting them to Russia.
Before they left Washington, they
asked the Soviet Embassy to facilitate
their entry into Russia. They did not
ask the Department of State at that
time for aid, because they preferred to
travel without the sponsorship of any
Government department here, so as to
keep their mission nongovernmental
and private.
The long delay, however, In consider
ing the passport visas has led the De-
partment of State to make request in
the last few days that the committee be
admitted and be given every courtesy
possible.
The purpose of the mission is to dis
cuss with Russian officials and news
papermen plans for the handling Of
news in the postwar world. The mission
has nothing to do with wartime censor
ship or the handling of news prior to
the time when peace conditions shall be
established.
Represents Principal Dailies.
The American Society of Newspaper
Editors represents the principal daily
| newspapers of the United States with
many millions of readers. 1t would be
most unfortunate if the Soviet govern
ment did not find it convenient to allow
the American committee to visit Mos
COW. Such a step would be disappoint-
ing because it might give the impression
that Soviet-American relations are not
as firmly established as recent reports
from the Yalta conference indicated.
This same committee has been re-
ceived in London and Paris and its mis-
sion has received enthusiastic indorse-
ment. The committee hopes to go to
India, China and Australia, and later
to South America. 1t is laying the foun-
dation for worldwide exchange of
news on basis of the utmost freedom.
There is no commercial interest rep
resented because the committee is in no
way connected with rival press associa-
tions or news agencies. 1t will make its
report to the full membership of the
| American Society of Newspaper Editors,
| after which further steps to carry on the
| work begun by the pioneer committee
will be considered.
The expenses of the committee are
being borne by the American Society of
Newspaper Editors. The three travel
ing editors are: Chairman Wilbur For
rest, assistant editor of the New York
| Herald Tribune and formerly foreign
correspondent; Ralph McGill, editor of
the Atlanta Constitution, and Carl w.
| Ackerman, dean of the graduate school
of journalism at Columbia University.
Carries Letter From Roosevelt.
The committee carries with 1t letters
| from President Roosevelt and chairmen
of the Senate Foreign Relations Com
mittee and House Foreign Affairs Com
mittee, respectively, expressing enthu-
| siasm for the mission.
1t would, of course, have been a great
help If Mr.. Roosevelt, while he was in
Cairo, could have assisted the editors in
getting into Russia. A word from him
to Marshal Stain at Yalta might have
gone long way toward bringing about
that freedom of interchange of informa-
ton which the postwar world must have
If peace is to be built on a firm basis.
1t may be that Mr.. Roosevelt didn't
know about the editors being in Cairo
till he came back from Yalta and it is
possible that he has since interested
himself in their mission by instructing
Ambassador Hartman to take the mat
ter up with the Soviet government.
The American people will be much in
terested in the Soviet governments atti-
tude toward the friendly mission which
the American press has sent to Russia
When committee sets out to get the
Russian view as to how news shall be
handled in the postwar world and does
not seek to impose its own view, it would
seem that there should not have been
this long delay.
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