Evening star., 1947-10-27
Editors Hit Directive
On Security Prepared
By Advisory Board
BY The Asse<iotsd Press

~ TNvAS" NV"O
BY The Assesisssd Press
CLEVELAND, Oct. 27.-Directors
of the American Society OF News
paper Editors yesterday denounced
an attempt to implement President
Truman's loyalty order of last
March with directives which the
editors said would place even the
ordinary affairs of Federal civilian
agencies beyond public scrutiny"
Concluding two-day meeting,
the ASNE board passed a resolu-
ton opposing security regulations
prepared by the Security Advisory
Board of the State, War and Navy
Department Co-ordinating Com
mittee.
These regulations, the resolution
said, already are embodied in a
directive for guidance of the Vet
erans' Administration and that di-
rective evidently Is pattern for
directives to be issued to other Fed
eral agencies"
Directive Is Cited.
The editors resolution said the
VA directive "classifies as conf
Dental all information the unau-
thorized disclosure of which, al
though not endangering the ma
tional security, would be prejudiciaI
to the interests or prestige OF the
Nation, any governmental activity
or an individual, or would cause
administrative embarrassment OF
dificulty.'
THE broad nature of this Ian
guage could be used to deprive the
public of informal ton to which il
is entitled. While the announced
purpose of the Presidents loyalty
order Is to protect the Nation in
the difficult international situation
which now exists, the VA directive
classes as confidential information
which does not affect the national
security"
Without questioning the purpose
of the Presidents loyalty order, the
board said 1t felt the committee i'm
plementing the order had gone far
beyond any reasonable exercise of its
authority" and urged the President
ito nullify the VA gag rule and to
strike any such rule out of the regu-
lations for other departments
Congress even In wartime refused
to adopt a similar proposal" the
resolution declared, and maintained
that under the directive ANY ads
ministrative officer could shield him.
self from public scrutiny or criticism
by simply labelling the information
as confidential
IF the VA directive is made ef-
fective to all Federal agencies, no
person In the Federal Government
could give information to the press
without fear Of grave reprisals from
his superiors," the resolution con-
tinued.
The board met In Cleveland for
the first time in tribute to the So
ciety's president. N. r. Howard, edi-
tor of the Cleveland News, to dis
cuss plans for the annual meeting
Of the ASNE In Washington, D. c.,
next April.
The directors today elected to
ASNE membership under the dis
tinguished service to journalism
clause in the society's constitution,
Roscoe Drummond, Washington
correspondent of the Christian
Science Monitor; Arthur Krock,
New York Times Washington cor
respondent, and Walter Lippman OF
the New York Herald Tribune. :.
Resolution Adopted. a2.
Yesterday the directors adopted
a resolution authorizing the society
to cooperate with the State De-
partment in the work of the Amer
lean delegation to the General Con-
ference on Freedom Of Information
to be held in Geneva, Switzerland,
next year under United Nations
sponsorship.
In addition to Mr.. Howard, those
attending the board meeting were
B. M. McKelway. editor Of The
Washington Star; Dwight Young,
editor of the Dayton (Ohio) Journal
Herald; Alexander r. Jones. assistant
to the publisher Of the Washington
Post; Virginius Dabney, editor of the
Richmond (Va.) Times Dispatch;
Ralph Coghlan, editor of the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch: Wright Bryan,
managing editor of the Atlanta Jour-
nal; Hamilton Owens, editor of the
Baltimore Sun; John s. Knight,
publisher of the Knight newspapers;
David Lawrence, editor of the United
States News; Dwight Perrin, manag-
ing editor of the Philadelphia Bull
letin; Oveta Culp Hobby. editor and
publisher Of the Houston Post, and
Erwin D. Canham, editor of the
Christian Science Monitor.