Evening star., 1950-02-14
Amvets Oppose Plan
ToAdmitU!.5. .5.Agencie,
Ito Press Galleries


ment press representatives into
congressional press galleries.
At the same time, he asked for
the expulsion of Tass. the Rus
sian news agency, and the New
York Daily Worker from the
galleries.
Mr.. Russell took. the position
that any inf1ltration by Govern
ment into the realm of the free
press in whatever guise is an
entering wedge that must be re-
garded as threat to our cher
ished constitutional guarantees.
His letter to the Standing Com
mittee of Correspondents in
charge of the press galleries was
prompted by the application of
the State Department to place
two news gatherers for it's Over
seas Information Service in the
press galleries.
Hearing Is Postponed.
The public hearing on the
State Department request set for
Wednesday night was postponed
yesterday at the request Of the
State Department to an indefi-
mite date. A member of the
Standing Committee said today
it probably will be held early in
March If the department Is ready
by then.
The Amvets official said 'if
strict line is not drawn. where can
the line be drawn at all with
equity? We ask you to draw that
line now and put an end to this
huffing and putting Of Federal
press agents seeking entry into
the house of the Fourth Estate"
At the same time, the letter ar
gued:
"Amvets further believes that
logic also demands the immediate
and summary revocation of the
credentials of Tass, the Soviet
news agency, and the Daily Work.
er of New York, now that the
whole issue is under discussion.
It is outrageous that these pipe
lines to the Kremlin should be
shown preferential treatment in
coverage of news often vitality af-
fecting our defense and our Sc
curity.
Tass, Daily Worker Hit.
Certainly Tass and Daily Work
er representatives fall into the
same category exactly as the
propagandists of any government,
including our own. = If-and
properly so-you refuse to seat the
propagandists of our own Gov
ernment how, in the name of logic
and common sense. can you coun-
tenance privileges for the propa-
gandists of an alien and potential
enemy government?"
The State Department has Of
fered no objections to the member
ship of Tass representatives in the
press galleries. The Standing
Committee elected from time to
time to supervise the press gal
leries have followed a practice of
consulting the State Department
when foreign news agencies apply
for admission.
Mr.. Russell took the position
that exclusion of -Tass and the
Daily Worker would not deprive
them of the vast budgets of news
available through the press itself
and from commercial sources.
Nor in the case of the Soviet
agency, would the question of
censorship be involved, a point
we might well consider as q
weapon of counter-reprisal if the
Russian government chose to ex-
pei the corporal's guard of Amer
lean newsmen presently sitting
1t out in Moscow. The existing
news vacuum there, however,
could hardly be intensified; for
the rigid curbs on American
newsmen behind the iron curtain
cast serious doubt on the justi-
fication of their continued pres
ence in the first place. They
have been reduced to something
less than effective reporters,
transmitting only what the Com
munists want known, and then
in a form which the Kremlin
q lima onnrovoc