Evening star., 1946-01-21
Europeans Suspicious
Of Government News
Writer Suggests Education
Through Embassy Channels

Writer Suggests Education
Through Embassy Channels
BY Dauid Laurence
The war has left some strange resi-
dues in the minds of our public officials
but none more fallacious than the be-
lief 1t Is Americas duty to educate"
foreign peoples by means Of a propa-
ganda controlled by the Washington
Government
In time of war there was warrant for
1t, just as there was warrant for lying
and deception in military pronounce
ments calculated to mislead the enemy.
When lives are at stake, ethics in such
matters as news isued by government
seem to go by the board as a part of
the whole horrible business of killing
or protecting ones own troops from
getting killed. The weapons vary all
the way from atomic bombs to short
wave broadcasting.
Now an issue has arisen as to what
the United States Government shall do
IN peacetime. 1t will be conceded that
In many areas of the world American
news does not penetrate. It will be
conceded that many foreign newspapers
have in the past been, in effect, sub
sidized by being given gratis a daily
copy OF news report issued by the
propaganda department of some Euro
pean government anxious to slant the
news to fit its own political aims. 1t
will be conceded, too, that the United
States Government never engaged in
such maneuvers. directly or indirectly,
except during the World War and World
War II.
Free From Government.
A controversy has Just arisen about
1t between Assistant Secretary William
Benton Of the State Department and
the Associated Press Mr.. Benton wants
the AP to continue to furnish the de-
partment with its regular news report
SO 1t may be transmitted by Govern
ment-owned short-wave broadcasting
system to the far corners of the world.
The United Press and International
News Service also are involved, because
the State Department wants some news
service to use on its propaganda pro-
grams.
The viewpoint OF the press associa-
tlons Is that they are engaged in the
business OF selling news to foreign news
papers and that their chief virtue
abroad Is their ability to say there Is
absolutely no connection between them
and the American Government. The
fear now is expressed that II our press
associations begin giving the Ameri-
can Government free copies in peace
time or If they sell their news for trans
mission by our Government, which can
make it a part of propaganda broad
cast, intelligent foreigners will suspect
that the press associations are not i'm
partial but somehow subject to the in
huence Of the State Department.
Right to Suspicious.
Mr.. Benton Indignantly denies he will
color the AP report or that he will use
any propaganda" in the sense Of po-
litical misuse Of news, but his problem
is that nobody abroad will believe him.
The moment a government issues q
news distributing service of any kind
which purports to be anything but its
own announcements, the public has q
right to assume that governments do
not spend millions of dollars for any
thing except for political purpose or.
to put it more gently, to form an edu-
cational background for the attainment
OF the aims OF its foreign policies.
There is a proper function for gov
ernment in all this. The State Depart
ment should be given ample funds by
Congress to transmit, by its own broad
casting station or otherwise, to all en-
bassies and legations abroad, for is
suance to the press there, all statements
OF our officials here in full text. For
this, however, the State Department
doesn't need any press association serv-
ice. because it has ready access to the
texts of all pronouncements by our
Government itself.
Have Another Task.
As for the rest OF the news, this Is
something which, along with books,
magazines and movies, whether in the
field of politics, education, science or
culture generally, had better be left to
the American producers and distribu-
tors of such material The demand
abroad everywhere now for American
news will stimulate an adequate flow
Of written and spoken material to the
four corners of the earth. Also, the in
stinct of competition, plus the desire
for prestige, will motivate the American
press associations to cover the world
What the State Department ought
to be doing is seeing to it that no for
eign government enters into arrange
ments, clandestine or otherwise, with
their own news agencies to pollute the
news sent out to the world or to fur
nish subsidies to newspapers in the
other countries of the world as a part
Of a system of political propaganda.
AS for education" by the American
| Government it ought to issue its
| thoughts always within quotation
marks so everybody can know the can
dor of our governments position. Then,
If the press associations do not carry
| full texts to the rest of the world, as
often they don't, the State Depart
ment has every right to transmit these
texts to our outposts for free distribu-
ton to the press of foreign countries
And Congress ought willingly to sup
ply the money for such a legitimate