Evening star., 1946-04-23
ia Publishers Vote
To Ask Amendment
OF Antitrust Act
BY the Associated Press

NEW YORK, April 23.-One hun
dred fourteen newspaper publishers
voted yesterday to petition Congress
to amend the Sherman Antitrust Act
SO it shall not be construed to pro-
hibit any press service company
from exercising its own discretion in
! the selection of its customers
Col. Robert r Mccormick. pub
Usher of the Chicago Tribune, sum-
moned the publishers to the meet
ing and told them: Our petition
is to Congress to restore the freedom
Of the press abridged by a bare
ma jority of the courts without an
adequate trial"
He referred to the So Supreme
Court ruling upholding lower court
decision that Associated Press by
laws violate the Sherman Antitrust
Act. The Associated Press SubSe-
quently complied with the court S
order that the bylaws must be
amended in respect to the admission
of new members.
30 Vote Against Resolution.
Thirty publishers voted against
Col. Mccormick resolution and a
few of the nearly 200 who attended
remained in their seats when a
standing vote was taken
Decisions on the Interpretation
of statutes may be changed by the
passage of other statutes" Col Nc
Cormick told the publishers in an
opening statement. This is what
We propose-indeed the idea has
been suggested in both minority and
majority opinions"
If the duty to serve all applica-
tions without discrimination is to be
imposed on the Associated Press,
Col. Mccormick quoted Federal
Judge Thomas E. Swan, it should
be legislative rather than judicial.
From now on, AP is to operate
under the tutelage of the court" Col.
Mccormick continued. 1T is Ger
tain that every refusal to deal with
any newspaper will evoke a fresh
exercise of the judicial guardianship.
Right to Ask Redress Cited.
ALREADY the conclusion of the
taken but the court is poWerless to
recall its error,
That can be done only by Con-
gress.
If We are ever going to stand up
it must be here and now We are
10 Of
bill of rights which guarantees our
right to peaceably assemble and
petition for redress of grievances. "
The resolution would add a sec
ton to present antitrust laws, read
ing:
The antitrust laws shall not be
construed to prohibit any press serv-
ice company from exercising it's own
discretion in the selection of its
customers or from furnishing its
press services on the express or i'm
piled condition. agreement or under
standing not to furnish the press
services which it is furnishing to a
customer to any other newspaper
or newspapers in the community of
the customer
Some Express Opposition.
Some publishers expressed oppo-
sition to a paragraph in the resolu-
ton which pledged them to use
their best efforts to achieve the
passage of the amendment.
Members of the Associated Press
will be credited with whatever action
comes out of this meeting" said
Mark Ethridge, publisher of the
Louisville Courier journal, asking
why the resolution was not brought
| before an Associated Press member
ship meeting.
Frank B. Moves, president of the
Washington Evening Star News
paper Co. and honorary president
of the Associated Press. explained
that for over so years the Associ-
ated Press has served to our men,
bers unbiased news. The Associated
Press neither has favored nor op-
posed any movement. The board
of directors has held almost unani-
mously that this is no time to make
a departure for the benefit of its
members
Marion Berger, business manager
of the New York Post, objected to
the form of Col. Mccormick reso-
luton. Mr.. Berger walked out of
the meeting before the vote was
taken, saying he did not want to
be bound by whatever action was
taken.
Mr.. Ethridge said any mass pres
sure brought on Congress by pub
fishers would have a. sour effect
on public opinion and put us in the
class of privilege seekers
I'VE have editorially criticized the