Show Your Newspaper Newspaper- Guards freedoms Each time you read rod your newspaper you are ore receiving receiving ing ng a special kind of report a report y you u may not recognize size nize Your newspaper brings you something more than thana a mere recital of happenings It brings you a report on your freedoms Does the federal state or local government propose a new regulation which will restrict your freedom in some important respect Does Docs a c court urt ruling cost you a aright aright aright right you have taken Cor for granted Does Docs the ruling of 01 a government bureau express contempt for your right to know how your tax dollars arc are spent Does Docs the decision of a n school board curtail the freedom of your child to learn Do criminals threaten your freedom to live In peace In your community The news stories which appear in the uncensored press of oC America raise and answer these These news stories the produce of a vigorous and independent ent n press constitute a regular report on the tine state stale of your freedoms The report is essential to the preservation of these freedoms Armed with the information which reaches you in every issue of your newspaper you are arc able to exercise your rights as a citizen Through the exercise of these rights you can protect yourself and your family from those who would take takeaway away your free free- doms So In b a very sense your newspaper guards your free free- doms There is nothing new about this function of AmerIcan American American Amer Amer- ican newspapers Before the United States of America came Into being colonial editors fought courageously for the freedoms of their fellow citizens Many early editors were imprisoned or deprived of property or forced to flee to avoid prosecution because they battled for the freedoms of other men In his brilliant plea in the defense of John Peter a colonial printer accused of libel Andrew Andrew Andrew An An- drew Hamilton said The question before the court and you gentlemen of the jury is not a small or private concern concern concern con con- cern it is not the cause of a poor printer nor of New NewYork NewYork NewYork York alone which you are now trying No It may in its consequences affect every free man that lives under the British gov government on the main of America The nations nation's founding fathers recognized the need for the sort of vigilance which newspapers could provide pro pro- vide The first article of the Bill of Rights forbids Congress Congress Congress Con Con- gress to make any law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press press And Thomas Jefferson surely spoke for other Americans newly freed from tyranny when he said Were it left leIl for me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government I sh should uld not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter The first article of the Bill of Rights was a milestone milestone milestone mile mile- stone in the fight of the press to guard your freedom But nut it was not an end to the fight Newspapers engage in a continuing battle against attempts from many directions directions to restrict the press as a first step in limiting all your freedoms Some of these attempts to restrict the press are made by criminals who fear exposure The editor who tells the truth about a gang of gamblers who seek to move in on a community risks bodily injury or even death One of the martyrs of America journalism was Don R R. Mellett editor of the Canton Ohio News Gangsters murdered Mellett in his own dooryard because he was trying through a vigorous newspaper campaign to break their hold on Cantons Canton's city government Some attempts are made by those who deny the right of the pi press ess to support what may be an unpopular cause Another editor Elijah P. P Lovejoy died because he supported abolition of slavery in his Alton Illinois newspaper t I Some who seek to discredit andr and the press appear to believe that anything as popular pop s the American Ameri Ameri- can newspapers cannot be worthwhile p Persons in this group favor some sort of regulation which would prevent prevent prevent pre pre- vent your newspaper from offering you that which you want to read But by far the most important continuing threat to pros prec freedoms is that posed by some government officials offic offic- officials at all levels Sigma Delta Chi professional journalistic journalistic journalistic listic fraternity recently issued a report on governmental tal secrecy The report cities Department of Defense testimony to the effect that more than one million Federal Federal Fed Fed- eral cral are arc classifying security information and th t there is a higher rate of classification today than during World War II Discussing governmental secrecy at the state and local level the report asserts that in one state stale an investigation showed that town and school councils boards and committees were accustomed to conduct the proceedings of the peoples people's business in secrecy with the press and public barred Those in government who would seek to abridge your freedoms by attacking frist the right of your newspapers newspapers news news- papers to bring you information fall into three general categories First there is the occasional crook who is elected or appointed to an office of public responsibility and trust He lie seeks to avoid the light of publicity which the alert newspaper will turn on his activities He may be bean bean bean an officer of the law who has made a secret pact with racketeers He may be an official who is selling his influence in influence influence in- in fluence to the highest bidder He lie may be a custodian of public funds who is stealing your money When newspapers newspapers newspapers news news- papers succeed in exposing such a person the story sometimes attracts national publicity Such was the case of Orville Hodge state auditor of Illinois whose embezzlement embezzlement em em- went undetected until enterprising newsmen unearthed evidence which shocked the public and and brought Hodge lodge to a speedy trial and conviction But Hodge case there are arc many others which are arc brought to light by newspapers with little publicity beyond beyond beyond be be- yond the local community Second there is the official who is incompetent and who seeks to hide his incompetency behind a veil of secrecy This is a particularly vicious matter motter when an attempt is made to justify the secrecy with a claim that national security is involved It is a s said jid fact that many alleged national security secrets appear to be secrets only so far as the American public is concerned but are arc not secret from our enemies Third there is the often oIlen well-intentioned well governmental governmental governmental govern govern- mental official who is resultant to trust the American public with the facts This type of official apparently docs does not believe in a basic tenet of our democratic tem tern |