Evening star., 1945-06-19

the original sources Of the news.
brisk rivalry with the United Press
and the International News Serv.
ice is recognized in these matters
Associated Press thus has nc
power, through the use of its by.
laws or because of its size, to ex-
clude nonmembers from receiving
or obtaining news reports. In this
respect there is no basis for con.
cluding that the bylaws will "nec.
essarily" restrain trade. ~
If 1t were shown that the Asso-
ciated Press, through its bylaws
has stifled or is inevitably bound
to stif1e competition by nonmem-
Der newspapers in an unreasonable
manner, SO as to injure the public
interest, violation of the Sherman
Act would be beyond dispute.
This appears to be the primary
basis for the result reached by the
court today for 1t states that in
ability to buy news from the Asso-
ciated Press "can have" most seri-
ous effects on competing newspapers
and that they are more than likely"
to be at competitive disadvantage.
But even If competitive disadvan-
tage, under some circumstances, is
sufficient to prove an unreasonable
sitting Of competition, the Gov
ernment has as yet produced no evi-
dence to support the existence or
the likelihood of such a disadvan-
tage.
Nor does 1t appear from the rec
ord that any appreciable segment
OF the public has been unduly de-
prived of access to world news
through inability to read Associated
Press dispatches in nonmember
newspapers. Indeed, the very pres
ence Of Associated Press newspapers
in cities where there are competing
nonmembers would seem to assure
the public Of Associated Press news
at small cost. The widespread
service Of the Associated Press, COW
ering both towns with and without
competing services, is to that ex-
tent a guarantee of adequate ac-
cess to its dispatches.
If 1t were shown that the As
sociated Press was using its by
laws to fix prices for news reports or
to coerce nonmember newspapers in
some way, clear violation of the
Sherman Act would be proved.
Under certain circumstances these
bylaws conceivably might be en-
ployed for the purpose Of coercing
the nonmembers to join the Asso-
ciated Press. to refrain from obtain
ing news from other sources or to
cease operations. But no attempt
has been made by the Government
to auege or prove such facts and
their existence cannot be assumed
any more than we can presuppose
unfair destruction of competition in
order to justify the decree of the
court below.
There is thus no direct or au-
thoritative precedent guiding oul
decision in this case.
stand At Unopened Door.
We stand at the threshold of a
previously unopened door. We
should pause long before opening
it. lest the path be made clear foI
dangerous governmental interfer-
ence in the future. A decree of the
type present in this case is not OF
necessity an undue interference by
the Government.
If it were supported by facts, it
would be reasonable and iustifi-
able method Of liberating non
member newspapers from the al
legged coercive yoke of the Associated
Press and of assuring the public
Of full access to the news of the
world. But the danger lies in ap-
proving such q decree without in
sisting upon more proof than yet
produced by the Government.
If unsupported assumptions and
conjectures as to the public inter
est and competition among news.
papers are to warrant a relatively
mild decree such as this one, they
will also sustain unjust and more
drastic measures. The blueprint viii
then have been drawn for the use
If the deSDof of TOMORROW