Evening star., 1948-04-19
APP Directors Warned
WishfuI Neutrality
By Lord Rothermere
BY the Asseeiofsd Press

BY the Asseeiotsd Press
NEW YORK, April 10. Lore
Rothermere, Brisish newspaper pub.
Usher, said today "a cloud of wish.
full neutrality" is forming in Europe
and can grow to such proportions
at to endanger the safety OF the
United States.
Lord Rothermer, who is publisher
of the London Daily Mail, Evening
News and Sunday Dispatch, spoke at
a luncheon in connection with the
Tooth anniversary meeting Of the
members Of the Associated Press at
the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. He
urged more newsprint for Europe
SO that the battle for freedom can
be fully reported.
THE news must be reported" he
said. Ignorance, as you know better
than anybody, breeds isolationism
Isolationism breeds neutrality. Look
eastwards across the Atlantic and
you will see forming on the horizon
a cloud of wishful neutrality. To-day
no bigger than mans hand per-
haps, but capable tomorrow Of as
suming menacing proportions.
Warns of Danger.
"A serious movement for West
ern European neutrality, particu-
larly British neutrality, could un-
dermine the whole conception of
American strength and swiftly i'm
peril the present safety of your
precarious peace and freedom.
THE new American desire to Sc
cure peace through strength has
been stigmatized as imperialism I
say that If this is imperialism, then
let's have more of it, We are be-
hind you and we will do our best
to expound to our people all that
you are seeking to do for the future
of your children and of free peoples
everywhere"
He called passage of the Mar
shall Plan one of the greatest acts
of craftsmanship in modern his
tory" and "all western civilization
should be eternally grateful to the
people of this country"
He noted, however, that the pro-
gram for European recovery made
no provision for newsprint aid and
said:
The light of a free press can be
snuffed out just as easily by the lack
of paper as by too much censorship.
A tyrannical government which
wanted to suppress opinion might
hesitate to attack news at its source,
and yet be bold enough to attack
neWsprint."
Newsprint Situation Worse.
He said the neWsprint situation i'll
Britain is getting worse and there
is "a possibility of reduction from
four pages daily to two pages"
Lord Rothermere was introduced
by Robert Mclean, president of the
Associated Press and president Of
the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin,
who said a democratic government
envisages an informed people.
And it is an essential OF this
process" Mr.. Mclean said, that
the stream of this news shall not
come under the dominance OF any
having a special interest.
"Other dangers threaten at this
time. One of them is the, growing
activity of governments in this field
either in the creation of official
agencies of information or in some
countries in the subsidizing OF
national agencies of information"
Not Always the Blade of Truth.
1--WE cannot overlook the fact that
with the best intentions in the world
an agency of government is serving
nationalistic interest and as such
has an ak to grind and the blade
of such an AK is not always the
bright blade of truth. And it is
to the truth we must look to make
men free"
The AP board of directors said
in an anniversary statement that
'in this land of fought-for freedom,
the Associated Press knows but one
master-truth in news
Greetings Sent to Frank Noyes.
The AP membership voted to send
special greetings to Frank Noyes, OF
The Washington Evening Star, who
was president of the news co-opera-
tive for 38 years. Mr.. Noyes, who
was unable to attend todays meet
ing, retired from the Board of Dl-
rectors last year.
J. Hale Steinman of the Lancaster
(PaD Intelligencer-Journal, who
presented the motion to send greet
ings to Mr.. Noyes, said that the
former AP president had been i'll.
Messages of congratulation on the
ape Tooth anniversary were sent to
the melting by Pupert Henderson,
chairman of the Australian Assocl-
ated Press, Sir Keith Murdoch OF
the Melbourne Herald; Edward w.
Davies, general manager OF Press
Association, Ltd, in Great Britain,
and the memberships OF the Call
fornia- Nevada AP Association.
In a separate annual report to the
membership, the directors said that
''in a world gripped by tension and
conflicting political ideologies, the
associations responsibility for its
news coverage becomes ever
greater"
Progress during the year not only
was made in membership, better
coverage on news and picture fronts,
but in improving the presentation.
Steps were taken to make Associated
Press news more readable that
an even greater circle of readers can
better understand history in the
making"
The board noted that 36 domestic
members joined the association in
the newspaper field in l947 and that
service was extended outside the
United States to six more countries,
increasing to 81 the number served.
A major pioneering step, the
board said. was the election OF 688
radio stations to membership.
Radio station members, in many
instances, are affording the associa-
ton quick access to news in local.
tiles in which we had no dependable
&C age in the past" the board
ca:I