Evening star., 1946-05-15
Russiu's Lid on Press
Seen Causing Friction
N. Y. Times Reports Difficulty
Getting News Out OF Soviet
By Daud La,orence.

N. I. INES Reports Difhculty
Getting News Out Of Soviet
BY David Lawrence.
Many are the observers Of the pass
ing scene who write in and say that
the Russian viewpoint isn't being ade-
quately presented in world affairs or
that the American press is emphasizing
friction between Russia and the United
States. But these friends of Russia do
not know how difficult it is for the
newspapers of the United States to get
information out of Moscow.
Admittedly the New York Times, for
instance, is a great newspaper and a
fair and objective publication. Yet the
publisher of the Times, Arthur Hays
Sulzberger, in a report in the current
issue of Editor and Publisher, makes
this significant revelation:
We've striven and are constantly
striving to get more correspondents into
Russia. Brooks Atkinson, present Mos
COW correspondent for the Times, took
six months and personal cable to
Stain to get in. Drew Middleton, who
is about to replace him, had his appli-
cation for visa for his passport pend
ing more than year.
Sine Qua Non of Peace.
why there should be so much diff
Guilty, don't know. We sought to have
more than one man in Moscow. 1t was
forbidden. We were recently told we
were unfriendly and certain news stories
were quoted as a sample of this We
were told there was a news bureau
where stories could be checked for ac-
curacy. The first story that was sub
mitted was neither confirmed nor
denied
Il think that Russia, the great coun-
try that it is, is the most important
news story in the world I wish we
could put half dozen men there and
give you all the news
L still believe that freedom of access
to the news is the sine qua non of peace
because peace will come only with
understanding, and somehow or other
we've got to raise that iron curtain.
Go not think it can be done by force.
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on the other side with propaganda, but
instead it can be done by the normal
flow of news which is established by our
sending correspondents there and their
sending correspondents here and the
normal wire service"
The New York Times isn't the onlv
newspaper that has difficulty getting
ty,S~
cago Sun, owned by Marshall Field and
a publication which is known to be
friendly to Russia, has had several
months delay in trying to get CORES
pondent into Moscow Other newspapers
report the same kind of difficulty.
What is the answer? Nobody in WASH
lngton seems to know. Our Government
tries to use its good Offices to get cor
respondents into Russia but without
avail. The United States Government
has been urged to limit the number of
Russian officials or agents who are COM
ing into the United States until some
understanding is reached with respect to
the sending in of Americans to Russia.
Usual Explanations.
Plainly there is wide gulf between
the two governments. The usual ex-
PLANTATION made is that the governments
are suspicious of one another or that
communism doesn't trust capitalism or
vice versa. But the American people
and the Russian people, no matter what
their economic systems may be, have a
friendly feeling for one another. Gen.
Eisenhower, for example, has told cor
respondents here of the fraternal con.
versations he has with Russian officers
and there is no question in his mind
about the desire of the Russian Army
men to develop closer relations with the
Americans.
Yet in spite Of these trends, there
are difficulties There are cleavages
which actually make some people here
talk in terms of possible war with Rus
sla some day. There would not be the
slightest basis for such speculative Cos
sip except for the constant clashes in
conferences between the governments
and the refusal of the Russians to let
the American people get closer to them,
which would be the case if restrictions
on the entry of the press into Russia
and censorship were removed.
One explanation of the Russian pol
icy OF secrecy sometimes advanced here
is that the Russians really are afraid to
let the outside world know the true con-
ditlons under which the Russian pop
ulace lives for fear that communism
would be hurt in the eyes of the outside
world. Whether or not this is true. the
Russians could meet such criticism
readily by allowing more correspondents
into their country to report the great
progress which has been made since the
days Of the Cars regime.
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