4 Tho Newi-Rtvlew, Roseburg, Ore Mon., Nov. 28, 1949
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Published 0 illy Exoept Sunday ! y tha
Newt-Revie Company, Inc.
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CHARLES V. STANTON .-jSTSto EDWIN L. KNAPP
Editor ' UUP" Manager
'" Mmbr of tha Auoolated Prua, Oreoon Newspaper Publishers
Association, tho Audit Bureau of Circulation
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BARRIERS TO NEWS
By CHARLES V. STANTON
Serious study of a repprt on 'Barriers to News" was
given at a recent meeting of representatives from Oregon,
Washington and Northern Idaho newspapers, all members
of the Associated Press. The report, prepared by Wash
ington members, was concerned chiefly with the tendency
of bureaus, agencies, courts, military-departments, and cer
tain persons prominent in public affairs to limit, curtail
or censor news, withhold information rightfully due the
public and otherwise erect barriers to free and open pubh
cation of news. ..... V
Because this study has been so thoroughly made in the
State of Washington, it is particularly interesting to note
action in the superior court at Pasco, where, the presiding
judge dissolved a desist order against' the Tn-City Herald,
published at Kennewick, -. ; f ... j .
The court previously had ordered the newspaper to cease
publication of articles criticizing the work of a company
engaged on a housing project near the Hanford atomic
energy plant. ' ' . . .
The construction company, it seems, had brought suit
against a war veteran school teacher for recovery of de
linquent payments on a house purchase contract. The .news
paper at the same time was publishing installments of a
series of articles, illustrated with photographs, alleging poor
workmanship and quality in the housing project buildings.
The contractors filed suit against the newspaper for
$100,000 damages, simultaneously obtaining a restraining
order requiring the newspaper to cease publishing the ar
ticles on the grounds that they were untrue and damaging
and, furthermore, that they constituted "an obstruction of
justice and contempt of court" because they would make
it impossible to obtain a fair and unprejudiced jury to try
the action against the contract purchaser.
The decision by the superior judge again affirms consti
tutional freedom of the press, while upholding the con
stitutional right foe redress of grievences. .
His decision, in effect,' established the privilege of the
newspaper to publish news and comment without abridge
ment. -If the construction, company feels it hns been dam
aged and that the published articles are untrue,' then it
has ample law under 'which' it may, by proving its case,
recover damages. : . 1 V
The 'superior judge,' however, made one ruling we wish
were true, ' but our skepticism forbids concurrence. .
He agreed that articles published in the newspaper would
make it impossible to try the collection case in the county
without prejudice, which, doubtless, will require the trial
to be held in some other'county where the matter has re
ceived less publicity.
This ruling would indicate the judge to be of the opinion
that people are prejudiced , by what they read in news
papers. We newspapermen try to kid ourselves into that be
lief, but the frequency with which we get our ears pinned
back by election results or other events, arouses skepticism.
Attorneys examining a prospective juror seldom fail to
ask the venireman whether he has read of the case at issue
in the newspaper and whether he has formed an opinion
from what he has read. Answers usually puncture the news
paperman's ego, for seldom does the person examined ad
mit that he has formed conclusions, even though the mat
ter may have had considerable publication and comment.
American people, we believe, are inherently fair-minded.
Even though they may have read news and comment con
cerning a case in court they will, with, but few exceptions,
hold no prejudice when called upon to perform the serious
duties, of jurymen.
While we have seen none of the articles published in
the Tri-City Herald and know nothing of the intimate fac
tors of the issue, yet we have sufficient faith in the inherent
fair-mindedness of the American people to believe that it
would not be difficult to find a" qualified, impartial jury
in the area served by the newspaper.
It would flatter our ego to believe that people agreed
with everything published in their newspapers, but we
would have a poor life indeed if our people as a whole
did not exercise independent thought, using their news
papers and other media for purposes of gathering informa
tion from which to form original conclusions and opinions.
The Washington case, we believe, has had a satisfactory
ending. It would have been unfortunate had tho court es
tablished a precedent of muzzling the press so that juries
be unaffected. !
If the newspaper has published untruths and has caused
damage through negligent or malicious conduct, then the
offended person should be protected in his right to appear
in court and present his case.
But, in the meantime, there should be no invasion of the
constitutional right of the press to inform the public of
what it is convinced are the true facts. No barriers to news
should be tolerated.
: . By Viahnttt S. Martin f
Douglas-Coos Tret Farm Gets Prominent Notict
PORTLAND W Seven new
Oregon-Washlngfon tree arms
have been certified, boosting to
tal tree farm acreage in tne
Douglas Fir region to 3,370.69.
E. P. Stamm, Portland, chair
man of the forest conservation
committee of the Pacific North--t
Forest industries, said one
of tha new farms, Milllcoma, in
Coos and Douglas counties of Or
egon, had particular significance.
Its certiliratlon represents tha
first time in the history of the
Northwest, he said, that "a major
forest holding has had Its fores
try ail laid out before a tree was
felled. It . Is owned h Weyer
haeuser Timber company.
Oregon now has 1,166.914 acres
In Douglas Kir tree farms and
Washington has 2,103,278 acres.
When I caught a glimpse of a
window In Eugene the other
morning I stopped with delight
to enjoy the display. There were
Babylonian tablets dating back
to 2350 B. C, and Bibles of many
editions, all arranged and owned
by the North West Christian Col
lege there. I do hope the collec
tion will travel a bit and find
welcome in other, windows (It
was J. C. Penney's in Eugene)
where children especially may be
given a view In so convenient
a way.
There was a Cothollc New
Testament; a Biblia Saora In La
tin, of course; a big Bible printed
in Nuremberg by Anthony Ko
berger in 1479 think of It, be
fore Columbus set out on his
memorable voyage! There was a
great Bible, the first King James
Version with marginal notes"
having a "perspective" of the
City of London on the title-page
as London must have looked 250
years ago. There were many other
lntersting volumes.
If I had been wondering what
to be especially thankful for dur
ing the holiday season that win
dow would have supplied the an
swer: for freedom to - worship
where and how we please; and
for tolerance of others' ideas;
and for the blessing of the art
of printing which so enriches
our lives by giving to each one
his own books.
We do not have to hide our
Bible; nor do we have to depend
upon one read to us, a big tome
chained to ' the pulpit; oh, the
thoughts that window, so unex
pectedly come upon, brought
flooding our minds with grati
tude and , reverence. We think
gratefully of the ones who la
bored so persistently that print
ing mlghU.be of benefit to all;
and reverently of the ' Word of
God which the books have
brought through the ages.
Who can say this world has
not progressed upward when one
looks back even a few centuries
to the days when there were only
hand-illuminated manuscripts, ex
quisitely colored and executed,
but not for the everyday use of
the common people. Looking at
the ancient Babylonian tablets,
too, stirred up many thoughts. . .
What a lovely thing It was for
the college and the store to do,
to make It possible for the passer
by to stop a few minutes and be
refreshed.
In the Day's News
(Continued from Page One)
Guerrilla Threat
To Greece Erased,
Truman Reports
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2S-)
President.' Truman reported to
day that the Greek government,
with American military help,
has substantially eliminated" the
communist guerrilla , threat to
Greece.
The president warned In a re
port for Congress, however, that
"persistent vigilance and pa
tience" will be required to pre
vent 'he communist-led rcbe.s
from again .threatening to over
throw the Greek government.
The report said most of the
communist revolutionaries have
now fled into Albania, Bulgaria,
and Yugoslavia, abandoning most
of their artillery and other wea
pons and equipment.
"The ruthless minority which
has been seeking forcibly to im
pose a comunmist dictatorship
upon the Greek people can re
cover from this decisive defeat,"
it added, "only if its foreign spon
sors are prepared to supply an
even greater volume of assis
tance than previously was pro
vided to sustain the guerrilla
inovecmnt.
The report disclosed that In
order to crush the communist re
bellion; the United States sup
plied a total of $472,461,000 in
military and economic aid. Of
this total $345,335,000 went for
military supplies.
Greek Courage Praised
In telling Congress of the ap
parent success of the program,
Mr. Truman said the main rea
son for victory Is the "courage
of the people and fighting men
of Greece.
Without the Greek will to re
sist," he said, "It is unlikely that
foreign aid, or International di
plomacy, or fortuitous develop
ment could have halted the drive
of communism toward the Medi
terranean.
He said the Greek government
armed forces still must mop up
isolated bands of guerrillas and
seal the border against possible
new Incursions.
The president's report made
plain the United States has to
Intention of abandoning Greece
now that the lmedlat threat
posed by the comunmlsts is over.
Both Greece and Turkey, the re
port noted, are due to get addi
tional military help under the
new military assistance program
which also is to help rearm the
Atlantic pact counlAes of west
ern Europe.
In reporting on the American
military aid program for Turkey
the report disclosed that a total
of $152,000,000 has been allocated
to bolster the Turkish armed
forces.
Argentina Seizes
Press Services
BUENOS AIRES, Nov.
An opposition member of the
congressional committee on anti
Argentine activities condemned
today as "unauthorized" the sei
zure of business offices of news
papers and news agencies in
Buenos Aires.
Acting in the name of the full
committee, a two-man subcom
mittee of Peronlst deputies. Jose
Emillo Vlsca and Rodolfo P.
Decker, took over the account
books of the Associated Press,
the United Press and seven Bue
nos Aires newspapers.
The subcommittee announced
Its purpose was to ascertain the
source of funds supporting the
coalition which tried to defeat
Juan D. Peron for the presidency
of 1946.
J. Anlbal Davlla, member of
the opposition radical party in
Congress and one of the three
majority members of the anti
Argentine activities committee,
said the raids by the two Pero
nlst deputies were carried out
without consultation with the full
committee for authorization.
ahead and print what it pleases
AT ITS OWN RISK.
a a
THIS is the point:
WHENEVER 8 NEWSPAPER
CAN BE FORBIDDEN, IN AD
VANCE, TO PRINT WHATEVER
IT CHOOSES TO PRINT, FREE
DOM OF THE PRESS WILL BE
DEAD.
a e
FOR example:
Suppose It became known that
this newspaper was preparing to
print a story, or an editorial, or a
letter to the editor that would be
DISPLEASING to government
city government, county govern
ment, state government, federal
government ANY GOVERN
MENT. Suppose government could
legally order this newspaper NOT
TO PRINT the article. Suppose
had to obey the order or gr
to jail.
In that event, there would be
no such thing as freedom of the
press.
LET'S keep this thing clear and
straight In our minds.
Freedom of the press is not LI
CENSE to the press to print that
which is false and libelous and
damaging to the rights of others.
The newspaper is RESPONSIBLE
for what it prints. If It prints un
truths that are damaging to you
and you can prove that you have
been damaged, you can COL
LECT FOR THE DAMAGE. If a
newspaper prints a criminal libel '
and the libel can be proved. Its
editor or editors can be sent to
jail.
That. Is as it should be. The
right to speak or print what you
think ought to be spoken or
printed is like other rights guar
anteed to us by our constitution.
It must be exercised WITHIN
THE LIMITS OF THE RIGHTS
OF OTHERS.
The right to print what It con
ceives to be the truth is not a
PRIVILIGE granted to the news
paper as a special concession.
Freedom of the press Is based
soundly and wisely upon RIGHT
OF THE PEOPLE TO KNOW
WHAT IS GOING ON. j
a
IF the time ever comes when a
newspaper can be forbidden IN
ADVANCE to print something'
that It thinks ought to be printed,
the right of the people to know
what is going on will have been '
taken away and the road to cor- J
ruption In government, as a pres
ent development, and DICTA-
Conspiracy Suit
Hits Medics Co-Op
SEATTLE, Nov. 26. UP)
King county medical organiza
tions and a number of Individuals,
defendants in a $79,500 suit charg
ing conspiracy, must snow cause
Dec. 12 why they should not be
enjoined from continuing their
operations.
i ne buu was Drougnt in su
perior court yesterday by the
Group Health cooperative of
Paget Sound, a nonprofit cor
poratlon providing prepaid medi
cal and hospital service to about
27,uuu persons, it has zu luu-ume
pnysicians unaer contract.
Defendants are the King Coun
ty Medical society, the King
County Medical Service Corp.,
tne Swedish hospitals ana several
individuals.
The cooperative accused officers
oi tne medical society with con
spiring to eliminate competition,
lorcmg tne cooperative to bring
in doctors rrom otner parts oi tne
country. The complaint also said
the co-op had been required to
ouna a $ii3,uuu addition to its
hospital because the county s ma
jor hospitals were restricted to
members of the medical society.
Dr. Charles E. Watts, president
of the King county Medical So
ciety, flatly denied the allegations,
and Charles F. Riddel, society at
torney, added that "the same com
plaint was made once before, but
ii was aoannonea.
Hobby-Art Show Opens Tomorrow
HOW TO EAT MILK
BERKELEY. Calif. UP)
Some people need milk for nutri
tion but for various reasons rnn't
or won't drink It. A Universliy of
Laiuornia researcn project icund
that powdered milk mixed Into
the dough of whole-wheat bread,
makes the broad more nourishing,
stay fresh longer, less crumbly,
and better for toast.
TORSHIP AND DESPOTISM IN
GOVERNMENT, as an ultimate
development, will be left wide
open.
That is why the decision of the
court up in Pasco this morning is
so important.
NEWEST DESIGNS
in
wallpaper
NOW AT
CARSTENS
117 W. CASS 8T.
I
I
YULE DECOR BANNED
SALEM State liquor
stores can't display Christmas
decorations this year. The stores'
liquor will provide enough Christ
mas cheer.
Governor Douglas McKay said
that Budget Director Harry Dor
man is ending the tradition of
giving each liquor store $10 for
Christmas decorations. He said
it is an "unnecessary expense"
and the Governor agreed.
"Sentimentally, it is a fine
Idea." Governor McKay said. "It
would seem to me. though, that
the liquor stores have plenty of
Christmas cheer already.'
Check your Daily
Office Needs . . .
Ink
... Staples
Paper Clips
Steno Pads
t$;"-;.:; Pencils
D & L Stationer
325 S. Stephens
Phone 173Y
T 3k.
How you Know!
Th answen to everyday
Insurance problem!--
By KEN BAILEY
QUESTION: Some friends of
ours had a fairly small roof
fire but the firemen had to use
a lot of water to put It out.
Their furniture wasn't damag
ed at all by the fire but some
of It was completely ruined by
the water. They haven't settled
up with their Insurance com
pany but I just wondered if
they would be paid for their
furniture.
ANSWER: Yes, so long as the
water damage is a result of ef
forts to extinguish a fire, the
damage to house or furniture
is covered.
It you'll aaonaas your own insur
ance quaatlona to Una office, wa'll
try to five- you tlio correct amwrn
and there will be ne rharfe or ebll
taUea af any Sine.
KEN BAILEY
INSURANCE AGENCY
315 Pacific Bldg. Phone 398
Safe Deposit Boxes
There is no substitute for Safe Deposit Box pro
tection. Wt invite you to call at our bank for
details. .
DOUGLAS COUNTY STATE BANK
Member Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation
"Everything will be In readi
ness for the doors to open to
morrow morning at 10 a.m."
This announcement was made
today by Mrs. J. M. Boyles, pre
sident of the Roseburg Woman's
club. This organization is spon
soring the local hobby and art
show to be presented in the
Methodist church basement
Tuesday from 10 a.m. to S p.m.
and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m.
"The diversified use of leisure
time Is one of the benefits of
modern living," statef Mrs. Le
land Van Allen, one of the chair
men. "This show should give the
Roseburg and vicinity public a
comprehensive picture of what
can oe aone 10 improve our 'lei
sure time." -
Art work from 60 different
grades in the Roseburg schools
will be shown in the school-art
room alone.
There will also be a worthwhile
exhibit from the occupational
therapy department of the Vet
erans hospital.
The Roseburg Arts and Crafts
club Is planning an interesting
exhibit of art work made by
members of the club..
PHONE 100
between 6.15 and 7
p. m., if you have not
'received your News
Review. '
Ask for Harold Mob'ey.
)UIiXa
President
Likes Bus
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more people sn
are trave--.-,
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"Meet the people" and see the country by Greyhound!
You ride in carefree, relaxed comfort at low fares that
mean extra cash for extra fun. Go Greyhound and get
t lot more travel for a lot less money!
Everybody Likes the
Economy and Convenience
There Art No lower Fares!
SAN FRANCISCO
LOS ANGELES
SEATTLE
SPOKANE
SALT LAKE CITY .
CHICAGO
NEW YORK
ST. LOUIS
On
Way
-S 7.60
- 11.75
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. 10.75.
. 19.80
- 41.25-
Daily
53.60-40.55.
.14
.14
8
8
Buy Bound Trip Ticket$...Sav 20 on Return Trip!
A. J. Murray
346 S. Stephens
Phone 586