The Wilmington morning star., 1947-05-10
A Time That Is Past
By ANNE o'HARE MCCORMICK

It would be pleasant 10 live in the world
envlsioned by the Appropriations Committee
of the House of Representatives when it elimi-
mated from the budget the funds for the State
Department foreign cultural relations pro-
gram, including the "Voice of America
broadcasts. "a Government : sponsored pro-
gram is slightly out of tune with American
precedents and American principles" said the
committee report. "Our forebears planted on
this soil the seed of liberty a n d freedom
which, if properly nurtured, should outgrow
our boundaries and reach out into the rest
of the world, not through a centralized dis
seminating agency but through the force of
its own d%ynamics.'
These nostalgia sentiments are wholly admit
rable. They appeal to every American. The
idea OF acknowledgements information is
repugnant to the citizens of free country.
1t smacks of totalitarianism, of Goebbels, of
all those ministries of propaganda which one
man and cne-party regimes have exploited to
twist facts to their own purposes. Instructive
ly Americans recognize the danger of putting
the power to disseminate news into hands
that weld political power. The instinct is
sound, and so is the judgment that the world
that even straight news is suspect if it comes
through Government channels.
Moreover, we are not good at foreign prop
agarda. Commercial advertising as developed
at home had no runner-up in the best Of
times in any other country, but this unparal-
leleo ability to sell goods by argument. per-
suasion and reiteration does not extend to
the business of selling ideas. Our war propa-
ganda In Europe, for instance, was not worth
the money spent on it-not because it FOL
lowed an official line too closely but because
1t did not seem to stick to any line. It was
full of contradictions and poorly keyed to the
countries it reached. Judged by results OBJ
served at the receiving end, it failed to con-
vey any true picture of the United States
at war, its aims, efforts, sacrifices and ideals.
The response in unexpected quarters to the
present widespread anti-American propagan-
da, mostly Communist-inspired, is partly due
to this failure.
Maybe the peacetime cultural relations pro-
gram designed for foreign consumption is not
worth the s31, 900, 900 the State Department
asks for it. Some of the exhibits deserve the
criticism they have received, in Congress and
outside. The Voice of America broadcasts,
which are beamed to many countries besides
Russia. are an experiment-and according to
reports of those who follow them not always
successful. 1t goes without saying that the
example of democracy would be more inn
presslve than precepts or Illustrations; and
news distributed by normal competitive agen-
cies would be more effective than selected
items issuing from official sources. 1t would
be infinitely better If "the seed of liberty and
freedom reached out into the rest of the world
through the force of its own dynamics."
But that isn't the kind of world we live in.
facllltles for communication were never so
easy as in 1947 and facilities for reception
were never so restricted. How are ordinary
news agencies to get their news into countries
where Governments control the press? How
are facts, not to speak of democratic ideas
to penetrate the thick walls erected to keep
them out? A group OF radio executives met
with Secretary Marshall on Monday to dis
cuss the problem of communication as an
instrument of foreign policy. Like the news
agencies. no doubt they would prefer to dc
the job themselves, and they would probably
do 1t better; our system is based on the as
sumption that private enterprise in this field.
at least, is more competent, more creative
and safer for the citizen than Government
control. But the radio executives told Con-
gfess that If international broadcasting is to
be made on the scale required by the national
interests, the funds for this purpose must be
provided by the Government"
The national interests require that the voice
OF America be heard where at present it can
not be heard. The question is not whether
we like Government : disseminated infor-
nation. OF course it is out of tune with the
American tradition. The question is not
wnether the programs are good. If thew are
not We nave to learn how to make them
better. This is not a task for amateurs. It
cans to1 the best professional experience in
eValuatlng news and presenting it straight
and the best available knowledge and iudg-
H1ent OF conditions in the countries concerned.
The point is that in the world as it is.
a world Of competitive systems and competi-
1--WE propaganda, the United States has to
compete in every way it can. To win in this
competition, nothing is SO important as to
make our system work, politically, socially.
economically. Retreat on any of these fronts
IS fatal to the cause of democracy every.
where. The next important thing is to let
people know that it works. Money has to
be spent to tell the story, to give the pop1-
lation of the Soviet Union and eastern En-.
rope Some idea of America other than the
image etched on their minds by incessant
false propaganda. If a thousand listeners in
the upper ranks of the Communist party hear
the voice of America it is worth the invest.
ment. Congress takes a grave responsih;1it,,
in silencinE a whisper that has already hesnn
to echo as far away as Siberia AMI ~.
New York Times. ~o o"A"