Evening star., 1948-09-02
Probers May Suggest
FEC Withdraw Radio
Ruling on Atheists

NoiiuS VII HtuClSIS
The House committee that
conducted two-day investiga-
ton into the Federal Communi-
cations Commissions ruling on
the rights of atheists to radio
time was ready today to suggest
the FEC withdraw its decision.
NO formal committee action is
expected for some time, but as the
nearing ended yesterday, Chairman
Harness called the ruling most un-
fortunate and declared the agency
lar exceeded its power in making
the decision. He suggested with
oraWal of the ruling, and his two
colleagues indicated they probably
will agree in formal committee
report later.
Although the FEC ruling, in the
so-called Scott decision, did not
order radio stations to give time
10 atheists, many stations SO inter-
preted the ruling, the committee
was told during the hearing. The
FEC had ruled that no station
should refuse to broadcast opinions
of any group or individual, simply
because the station disagreed with
the opinions or felt they were un-
popular in the stations area.
The FEC ruling was both attacked
and defended at the closing day of
the hearing yesterday.
The Rev Edmund JHa1cb yioo
president of Georgetown University
and regent of the School of Foreign
Service, said the ruling had, by
innuendo," favored the claim of an
atheist, Robert H. Scott of Palo
Alto, Calf, that the existence of
God is controversial subject and
hence atheism should be admitted
70 the radio on parity in rebuttal of
Christianity and other religions"
Father Walsh said the FEC had |
embarked on a definitely Sympa-
thetic argument which logically |
should have terminated in revoking |
the license as requested" The FEC |
had been asked by Mr.. Scott to re-
woke licenses of several California !
stations, which refused to grant |
him radio time, but the commission |
refused to do so. Along with its re-
fusal, however, the FEC issued a |
lengthy discussion on freedom of
speech on the air which was the
basis of the present controversy
over atheism on the radio.
Father Walsh declared that the
American Government has un-
equivocally accepted the existence |
of Supreme Being" He said he
suspected that certain long range
hopes of the drafters of this opin-
ION of the FEC were stronger than
their present prepossessions."
1t was brought out at the hear
ing that the opinion was largely
the work of Commissioner Clifford |
J. Durr, who has since left the FEC. |
Father Walsh said that, if athe-
ism, under the Constitutional guar
antee of freedom of speech, should /
have the right to equal radio time
with religious programs, then the
Government would have to take
the inscription, TN God We Trust"
from our coins. erect atheist chapels |
at West Point and Annapolis and |
abolish chaplains in the armed serv-
ices and in the House and Senate, |
or else add the fourth denomina-f
ton Of atheism" :sssazaII
In defense of the FEC ruling, |
Commissioner Rosel H. Hyde said
the Scott decision held one thing,
and one thing only: That preserva-
ton of freedom of speech in the pub
lie domain of the radio precluded
a licensee from absolutely barring |
subjects of discussion over the radio, |
including atheism, on the ground
that any presentation, whether its
nature, would be contrary to the
public interest"
Mr.. Hyde told the committee any
Interpretation of the opinion to the
effect that broadcaster must fear |
he will lose his license if he denies
the air to atheists to answer re-
liglous broadcasts is not a correct
Interpretation. He said nothing in
the decision supports the conclusion
reached by some that the decision |
DEGREES that time must be afforded
to reply to every religious broadcast.
Mr.. Hyde said that license re-
neWal had been granted station
WHAM at Rochester, NY. after
that station had told the FEC it
was not denying radio time to any
one because it disagreed with his
point of view.
Granting of the license had been
held up, however, after an atheist
had complained the station refused
to grant him time to answer what
he called an attack on atheism by
the Rev. Ignatius Smith of Catholic
University.
The station did not promise 10
give radio time to the atheist, Ar
thur Cromwell, president of the
Rochester Society of Free Thinkers,
however. FEC was satisfied, Mr.
Hyde said, with the stations asser-
tion it was not keeping him off the
air simply because it disagreed with
him.