The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-03-12
Freedom
OF
Information

HllUl Hldl1UH
.-..-.H can happen hers--spd II has.
YsU don't have to go TO die
later nations TO find csnscrship.
Fren coast to coast, newspa-
pers are fighting road blocks to
freedom Of information on fed.
ars., state and local levels.
Are governmental bodies meet.
Ina In .eSref session 10 spend
your moEsy? Do police and
courts favor prominent per-
sons" by covering yp records
when they are arrestsd7 Does
the military smother legitimate
news under HE svise Of "seeur-
ify"?
The Associated PTe.s conduct.
ed J nationwide survey and
found censorship in ti,is free-est
land Of them 81 far more Wide
spread Than yov may realize.
Read about II In series Of
three articles starting in tn,
newspaper March ".
BY JAMES DEvLIk
NEW YORK LR--You don't have
10 90 to dictate nation 10 find
public officials shrouding their &C.
tiviiies behind an Iron Curtain al
censorship.
You can find the same thing
here-perhaps in your home town
II Is a censorship by closed meet
ings, buried records and mo com.
inents" rather Than the direct
dent print that" Of the total
tartan countries.
But the effect is the same in
providing secrecy cloak for areas
=-gf government on the federal, state
and local levels.
Newspapers across the country
are fighting--0ften successfully
f6 remove these blackouts so the
..-pe0ple can know what their eff
Gals are doing.
Officials of one town knew for
Is years that the Federal Public
Health Service had condemned its
drinking water.
The newspapers didn't know.
Eeffher did the people.
"A county employee handling pub
He money stole marriage license
fees. County officials went into Sc
eret sessif.i, decided he wouldn't
20 IL again and kept him on the
Job. The matter was kept quiet.
Taxpayers learned of II six years
later when The thefts mounted to
$4,000 and they were called upon
10 make up The loss.
"A burglar robbed filling sta.
ti0n and escaped---hut residents of
the community took no precautions
IA protect their homes, Police sim
ply did not report the robbery be-
cause il would interfere with our
investigation.
These examples show that off
cial secrecy Is not d remote mat
ters involving only high govern
mental circles. Tut something that
can affect your health. your money
and year protection.
High diplomats may meet In
.~pFiuate, but so does many q state
agency. local school board and
town council.
The newspaper fight 10 smoke
out tendencies toward censorship
except on matters involving the
nations security--is commonly
known as the battle for freedom
Of the, press" II is far more.
1t Is fight for freedom az In
..-formaiion for every Individual
american.
James S. Pope, executive editor
--ufe the Louisville Courier Journal
and. Louisville Times and chair.
ssian Of the American Society ;oi
: Newspaper Editors Committee on
Freedom, puts il this way:
when news is suppressed, all
the newspapers lose is a story.
But the people lose touch with and
contri. cf their government.
The right, 10 know is denied more
often than you might realize,
The. Associated Press conducted
nationwide survey az Official
suppression Of news and what Ii
hAing daae about ID.
~s-it found Instances oi ce.aceal
mRfi. ana determined newspaper
fights against Il. from coast d
coast and from the Canadian bor
der to the Gulf 0f Mexico.
Some of the newspaper expo
siires. like the st. Louis Post. Dis
patch revelation d. public official.
taking fees from private firms, at
tract wide attention.
. Many of The news hlackouts--
and fights against thena--are local
but added together they form ,
broad picture.
The survey showed:
|. There Is some degree az new.
impression AZ every government
4sI level. from Washington to ii.
towns
2. The suppression almost al
.laays can be beaten when ther,
rs determined challenge by spirit
. ed newspapers. especially whes
] they are backed BY the people.
The pattern Is reflected in wis
-consin. where the Milwaukee Joir
nal conducted a detailed study d
official efforts 10 smother news.