Evening star., 1945-01-07

10 kenf cooper on
Freedom Of Press
By the Associated Press.
= MOSCOW, Jan. 6.-The magazine
War and the Working Glass said
Today that ideas presented by Kent
Cooper for worldwide freedom Of the
press deserve wide support, but as
serted Mr.. Cooper was misinformed
about press freedom in Soviet Rus
Ma.
s1 A 6,00o-word article referred to an
address made by Mr.. Cooper, execu-
tive director of the Associated Press,
In his campaign to break down bar
riers against free interchange Of
news among nations.
a The Soviet magazines article
was titled About Freedom of the
Press-a heart to heart talk with
Mr.. e. Cooper by N. Baltisky." It
declared the American press was
business-controlled and compared it
nnfavorsbly with that Of the Soviet
Union.
Cooper's Power Cited.
"The Soviet people will never con-
sent to replace its freedom of the
press for the American one" the
article said. 1t added:
v "Mr. Cooper is the director of one
of the biggest American telegraphic
agencies, the Associated Press. AS
is well known, this agency serves
as source of information for the
press of the United States. In
America, rumor has it that this Is
an apparatus compelling 10000, 900
people simultaneously to think the
same way Therefore the words
of the director of such an influential
agency naturally cannot pass un-
noticed.
mot long ago tMr. Cooper, at a
meeting of the National Editorial
Association, spoke about the i'm
portance Of providing freedom of
the press throughout the world, es-
pecially from the point of view of
the future organization of inter-
national security.
This idea by itself deserves sup
port, for Mr.. Cooper was correct to
look first of all after the guarantees
OF freedom of the press in the ag-
gressor countries where it has not
existed.
Postwar Issue Cited.
"But suddenly Mr.. Cooper con-
fused this actually important issue
by declaring that after the present
war nire-tenths of the countries of
the world, excepting the Soviet
Union and China would uphold the
principles of freedom of the press.
However, concerning the Soviet
Union, Mr.. Cooper should not wor-
ry-our country will infaIlibly sup
port the widest freedom of the
press.
Russia as Mr.. Cooper said,
has never known freedom Of the
press as we understand it.
"If Mr.. Cooper wants to prove
that freedom Of the press In our
country substantially differs from
freedom of the press as practiced |
IN America, we won't object.
But then Mr.. Cooper refers to
the system Of freedom OF the press
which is familiar to him, and does
not conceal the fact he would like
to impose such system upon other
countries-good sense whispered to
him that such an attempt is not to
be made in regard to the Soviet |
Union because it Is most difficult
to obtain It.
Press Freedom Protected.
docs Mr.. Cooper really believe
the Soviet people are the opponents
Of freedom Of the press? No. He
does not seriously believe this non
sense. In the above-mentioned
speech Of his he cited examples Of d
quite different order-the known
declaration Of the Moscow three
power conference in Italy, a dec.
laration which proved the necessity
Of freedom Of the press in Italy.
Referring to this example, Mr..
Cooper recognized that the Soviet
government protected freedom Of
the press.
"It does not mean, however, that
we want to impose our Soviet form
Of freedom Of the press upon the
other countries of the world. No.
"In 1918 in Russia $50 newspapers
with q circulation of 2,700, 900 were
issued. In 1889 1000 newspapers
with q circulation of over $4,000, 900
copies were issued in the USSR. AS
to magazines, in 1899 1892 were
published all over the country.
"The principal thing is that in
prerevolutionary Russia all the legal
press served the interests of the ex-
ploiters of the people, but in the
Soviet Union the press serves the
interests Of the masses"
In New York Mr.. Cooper made
this statement:
'Mr. Baltisky has made q well
come contribution to the interna-
tional discussion on the proposal OF
freedom Of information by making
clear the Soviet conception Of free
dom Of the press which, as I have
always said, and repeated in the
address referred to, differs from the
American conception which in turn
he does not describe as would an
American.
THE most promising note in Mr..
Baltisky's article is that he is in
complete agreement with what has
become the American view; namely,
that with victory, freedom Of the
press shall be established in the
aggressor countries. That is the
matter Of immediate, transcendent