Evening star., 1952-03-12
First Of . Series

First Of Series
,commentS"-rather than the di-
rect .'don't print that" of totali-
tartan countries.
But, the effect Is the same in
providing a secrecy cloak for areas
of Government on the Federal,
State and local levels.
Newspapers across the country
are fighting-often successfully
to remove these blackoutS so the
people can know what their off,
Gals are doing.
Officials of one town knew for
,-15 years that the Federal Public
Health Service had condemned its
drinking water.
The newspapers didn't know.
Neither did the people.
Theft Is Concealed.
A county employe handling pub
lie money stole marriage license
fees. County officials went into
secret session, decided he wouldn't
do it again and kept him on the
job. The matter was kept quiet.
Taxpayers learned of it six years
later when the thefts mounted to
$4,000 and they had to make up
the loss.
A burglar robbed a filling sta
ton and escaped-but residents
of the community took no pre-
cautions to protect their homes.
Police simply did not report the
robbery because it would inter
fere with our investigation"
These examples show that Of
fetal secrecy is not a remote mat
ter involving only high Govern
mental circles, but something that
can affect your health, your
money and your protection.
High diplomats may meet in
private. but so does many a State
agency, local school board and
town council.
Public Loses Touch.
The newspapers fight to smoke
out tendencies toward censorship
except on matters involving the
Nations security-is commonly
known as a battle for freedom
of the press" 1t is far more.
1t is a fight for freedom of in
formation for every individual
American.
James S. Pope. executive edi-
tor Of the Louisville Courier Jour-
nal and Louisville Times and
chairman of the American Society
of Newspaper Editors Committee
on Freedom, put it this way: /.
when news is suppressed, all
the newspapers lose is a story. But
the people lose touch with and
control of their Government"
The right to know is denied
more often than you might real
ize. 4
The Associated Press conducted
q nationwide survey of official
suppression of news and what is
being done about it.
It found instances Of conceal
ment. and determined newspaper
fights against it, from coast to
coast and from the Canadian bor-
der to the Gull Of Mexico.
Fights On Local Levels.
Some Of the newspaper expo
sures, like the st. Louis Post-Dis-
patch revelation Of public officials
taking fees from private firms, at
tract wide attention.
Many Of the news blackouts-l
and fights against them-are
local. But added together they
form broad picture.
The survey showed:
/. There is some degree of news
suppression at every governmental
level. from Washington to the
towns.
2. The suppression almost al
ways can be beaten when there is
a determined challenge by spirited
newspapers, especially when they
are backed by the people.
The pattern is reflected in Wis
conSin, where the Milwaukee
Journal conducted detailed
study Of official efforts to smother
news.
Edwin r. Bayley, the Journals
State political reporter, toured
every city of more than $4,000
population and found that in most
there are some governmental
bodies which met behind CLOSED
DOORS" hidden from press and
public.
Police News Concealed.
He found, too. that:
I'm some cities, reporters are
denied access to police and sher-
IFS reports, and news of this kind
is carefully filtered through the
chief officer.
Newspapers suspect, and some
times are able to prove, that news
of crime and accidents is censored
to conceal circumstances embar-
RAISING to the department or to
protect prominent persons or
political friends from unfavorable
publicity"
The water incident shows how
q vigilant press can break through
the secrecy veil.
A reporter for the Lacrosse
(Wis.) Tribune learned that rail-
road trains did not take on water
at Lacrosse. He found that the
United States Public Health Serv-
ice had reported it had a high
bacterial count Is years previously.
Instances Of suppression can be
found in the North and South,
East and West.
In North Carolina, editors found
that in some local courts judg-
mentS were changed after regular
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