The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1949-09-15
Gallery Committee
Stands By Rule
Admitting LPA
BY DONALD WOODS

| ing committee OF Correspondents
which governs admissions to the
Congressional Press Galleries, was
standing firm this week for the
new rule which would permit mem
bership by Labor Press Associa-
tion despite a last minute revolt
/ by ill-informed and questionable
members of the galleries and hard
she'll reactionaries who tried to
force reconsideration.
The Committee, headed by Will.
lam S. White of the New York
Times, did reconsider as requested
by the petitioning reactionaries in
the gallery, but voted to stand by
the new rule with phrase design
ed to reassure any honest misap-
prehensions about maintaining the
high standards of the galleries.
Only action by the Senate Rules
Committee is now needed to put
the new rule on the books and per-
NIT Labor Press Association to
cover proceedings of Congress for
it's 1876 subscribing newspapers and
their 100000 readers. Chairman
Hayden Cd, Ariz.) is expected to
call a meeting of the committee
this week to act.
The new rule governing admis-
sion to the galleries was recon-
mended by the Standing Commit
tee two weeks ago after Labor
Press Association appealed for
some action to remedy the obvious
injustice done by the Committees
previous decision that LPA did not
qualify under the present rules. A
completely new rule was recon-
mended to Speaker Sam Rayburn
and the Senate Rules Committee to
replace the old rule which has been
on the books for more than 80
years, and was written prior to the
time when there were such things
as radio correspondents, weekly
news magazines, and press associ-
ations for big labor and Negro
newspapers.
The old rule was written at
time when virtually all legitimate
Washington newspapermen were
working for daily newspapers
and therefore the major standard
governing admission was whether
or not the applicant worked for
daily newspapers. Under the new
rule the Standing Committee will
be able to determine whether or
not an applicant is a legitimate cor
regardless of whether
he works for dailies, weeklies or
even monthlies.
In the face of the petition for
reconsideration, the Committee
added a phrase to block admission
of lobbyists, prosecutors of special
claims, publicity or promotion seek
ers, or those whose major income
is derived from other than report
ing. 1t had planned this all along,
bat in face of the misunderstanding
decided to put these prohibitions
into the rule instead of into regu |
lations.
Chairman White. said this addi-
ton to the rule should placate all
and honest misappre-
tensions about the committees de-
sire to keep the galleries clean and
free from special interests, but
would permit the committee to ad-
nit Labor Press Association and
other legitimate news services
which had a right to cover the pro-
of Congress.
About 60 members of the CALLER
es had signed the petitions for re- !,
circulated by Samuel
Bell, of the New York Herald Tri-
pune and Lacey Reynolds, of the
3ascom Timmons Bureau, which /
serves Texas and other Southern
papers. But most of the 800 mem
,ers of the galleries had refrained
rom signing the petition. Some Of
he leading members of the gallery
lad actively supported the rule
by the Standing Commit
ee, not only because it would per- =
nit LPA to get in, but because it
vas a long needed reform, which
,ast committees had recognized
,ut done nothing about. II
Meanwhile, as the reconsidera-
ion petition threatened to post
zone LPA's. admission, LPA had
'een advised by attorneys that II
omission was not speedily granted
he labor press service might Sc
ure relief from the courts under
he constitutional guarantee OF
reedom of the press. Labor lawy-
rs noted that attorneys for the
publishers now enjoying the pri-
'ilege of the galleries, had cited I
his clause of the constitution in
enying the right of Congress to
iscriminate between various kinds
f newspapers in deciding which
apers were to enjoy second class y
Mailing privileges.