Evening star., 1953-08-22
BY the A.soeiatsd Press

Oc11dCOI MCNdrLuy, ISpuU-
lican, of Wisconsin, has brought
the issue of newspaper postage
rates into his quarrel with the
Washington Post-and the Post
has retorted that the Senator
has not shown "he is qualified
to become chief censor of what
news may be sent in the mail"
In letter to seven newspaper
editors, Senator Mccarthy last
night repeated a charge that
managing Editor j. Russell Wig
gins was responsible for pub
fishing a deliberate falsehood
about him.
He referred to an editorial in
the Washington Post which said
that James A. WechSler, editor
of the New York Post, when he
was under questioning at a
closed session of the Senate IN
vestigations Subcommittee Sen
ator Mccarthy heads, was SUBJ
jected to intensive interrogation
about editorials in his newspaper
critical of Senator Mccarthy"
Not in Transcript.
Senator Mccarthy has denied
this. And one of the editors to
whom he wrote, James S. Pope
of the Louisville Courier-Journal
and Times, said last night he
could not find in the transcript
of the Wechsler hearing any
questions about editorials critical
of the Senator, though there were
questions about Mr.. Weschler'S
attitude toward the heads of
other congressional investigative
groups. .
Senator Mccarthy said in his
letter to the editors:
This subject becomes of more
than academic interest when it
is remembered that the postal
department requested $240 mil
lion for the current year to make
up the difference between what
was paid by newspapers. maga-
zines, etc., for postage and the
actual cost of handling such
publications by the Post Office.
II am sure you will agree that
the Congress . D.. and the tax
payers would be strongly
opposed to having this money
used to disseminate falsehoods. :"
Statement by Publisher.
Philip L. Graham, publisher of
the Washington Post, said last
night:
1--WE do not agree with Sena-
tor Mccarthy that newspapers
should be compliant to a Sena-
tors demands just because the
Congress has voted mail rates
that may provide a subsidy to
newspapers. We have consistently
stated in our editorials that
newspapers should be charged
the full cost of mail service. .
Senator Mccarthy has given no
evidence that he is qualified to
become chief censor of what news
may be sent in the mail"
Mr.. Graham said, 1--WE con-
tinue to believe our editorial was
fair"
No Conclusion by Committee.
Senator McCarthy's letter
went to seven members of an
11-man committee of the Amer
ican Society of Newspaper Edi-
tors which studied the question
whether Senator McCarthy's
interrogation of Mr.. Wechsler
last April "a and May consti-
tuted a danger to the freedom of
the American press.
The committee as q whole
reached no conclusion. Mr..
Virgins, chairman of the COM
mittee, and three other members
filed separate statement con-
tending the Mccarthy -Wechsler
hearings did pose serious
threat to American liberties.
Senator Mccarthy in an earlier
letter to the same seven editors,
who did not sign the minority
statement, urged them to investi-
gate whether Mr.. Virgins had
"prostituted and endangered
freedom of the press. No such
investigation developed, though
Mr.. Virgins said he would well
come it.
The editors are Paul Block,
jr., of the Toledo Blade; Ray
mond L. Crowley of the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch; William H
Fitzpatrick of the Wall Street
Journal; George w. Healy. jr.,
of the New Orleans Times-Pica-
yune; L. D. Hotchkiss of the Los
Angeles Times; Joseph w. Lee of
the Topeka (Kans.) State Jour-
nal and Mr.. Pope.
Text of Statement.
The tert of the Senator's
letter to the editors made
public last night tollo1DS:
Gentlemen:
AS you will recall on August IA
sent you a copy of an editorial
| from the WASHINGTON Post. whose