Evening star., 1951-09-26
Editors Urge Break
With Czechs il All Else
Fails in 0atis Case
BY the Associated Press

BY the Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. ga
special investigating committee of
the Associated Press Managing
Editors Association today urged a
full break in diplomatic relations
with Communist CzechoSlovakia
If all other means fail to win re-
lease of imprisoned A. P. Core
spondent William N. Oats.
The committees report was pre-
pared for $50 top-fiight American
editors meeting in their four-day
annual appraisal of domestic and
foreign news problems.
L. r. Blanchard, managing
editor of the Rochester Democrat
and Chronicle, and president of
the association, pointed up the
Importance of the Oats case, be-
cause Of its bearing on the free
gathering of news. to editors
throughout the Nation.
Mr.. Blanchard told interviewers
81 think we should get tough with
the Czechs."
Committee Goes Farther.
The Oatis committee report
went farther.
Signed by j. R. Virgins. Wash
ington Post; George Cornish of
the New York Herald Tribune who
was unable to attend, and John
Stempel of the University of In
diana Daily Student, it said:
If those who retain William
Oats in prison continue in their
disregard of every plea of human
tty, in their indifference to every
consideration of justice and in
their defiance of every demand for
the protection of the citizen of a
friendly power, the most serious
measures must be contemplated.
If all else fails, we must ask
ourselves and our Government if
it is wise to maintain interna-
tional relations with a power that
is unable or unwilling to fulfill its
obligations"
Charge Called Outrageous.
The report pointed out that Mr..
Oatis. the Associated Press CORE
spondent at Prague, has been i'm
prisoned by CZechoslovakia since
July 10 ION the outrageous
charge that the routine reporting
OF events in that Iron Curtain
country constituted espionage"
1t added that not since the days
of the Barbary pirates have
civilized nations had to cope with
crimes of abduction and false i'm
, prisonment against an individual
as irresponsible and lawless as this
offense."
The committee reported it was
convinced the State Department
was profoundly disturbed" by the
incident. and that the United
States Government was deter
mined to do everything that is
consistent with the national
interest"
FINDS Little Good.
Referring to press conference
Czech Ambassador VLADIMIR Pro-
zazka held yesterday in Washing
ton, the report, read by Mr.
Virgins, found good news only of
national indignation in the United
States created by the case.
The editors, however, were not
inclined to link the Oats case.
with current proposals to expel
correspondents of Tass, the Soviet
news agency, from the press gal
leries of Congress.
President Blanchard in his open
Ing remarks said "if the Tass men
are not newspapermen they should
have been kicked out. If they are
newsmen I think they should keep
their cards. They'll never learn
much at a press conference any.
way
Opposes Retaliation.
The Oats Committee report
said it would be unfortunate" if
the United States used retalia-
tory principle against legitimate
newspapermen.
1t said that newspaper people
should be the last to suggest that
punishment, imprisonment or ex-
pulsion of reporters is a redress
for wrongs that another govern
ment commits against the United
States.
1t reminded that even if the
last Communist journalist were
expelled Communist rulers would
not be much pained-Since the
less information their people have
about us, the better they like it.
The editors through a continu-
ing study group of II committees
have sought to improve every
field Of Associated Press news pro-
duction over fve-year period.
Another Special Report.
Another special report to be
heard at an afternoon session to-
day dealt with news production
in 1951-noted as year of big
stories-topped by the Korean
war, the Macarthur story, charges
of scandals involving Government
officials, and the Senate Crime
Committee Investigations.
v. N. Newton, jr., Tampa Tri-
bune managing editor, is chair
man of the News Production Com
mittee. w. w. Reynolds, Cleve-
land Plain Dealer, was to report
on the Macarthur story.
A report on sports by Walter
Lister, managing editor of the
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin,
proposed that the AP all-America
football selections be recognized
as the official all-America team
:zAx Il L.