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Show r. The Press end Its Place j V rTUlE press of the United States was not always J 1 free. Before and after the War of the Revo- :1 lution it felt the heavy hand of government Overseas or government in the newly freed colonies colo-nies destined to become sovereign states. During the struggle against George III only a scattered few publishers and editors dared to be courageous courage-ous enough to print what was news and to voice their convictions. Oddly enough, when the constitution con-stitution was framed, it seems to have been taken for granted that the press would be free in a Tree buhtryrourtr?rtnaTTttp-ncetf -of even mention of the fact in the original document was given no thought. Because there was an almost unanimous de-lire de-lire to secure numerous safeguards from oppression oppres-sion at the hand of the federal government, which had acquired tremendous increase of powers When th constitution superseded the Articles Of Confederation, 10 amendments were immediately imme-diately proposed. Their adoption added the Bill of Rights, becoming early in the republic's history his-tory an integral part of the basic law in the minds of the people the simple addition of specific spe-cific provisions needed to complete it and give full expression to the fundamental principles constituting the American system and philosophy Of government. In the first of the first 10 amendments to the constitution, then, the guarantee of a free press was written into the document. Then, as now, a free press was recognized as a first essential essen-tial in the maintenance of a democracy. From the beginning the decent and respectable newspapers Of the United States have accepted the privilege nd right of free utterance with the conviction that a high responsibility attaches thereto. These Observations have been stirred by the acceptance by President Roosevelt of a membership card in a press organization because in its constitution It declares journalism to be "a public trust." It Is a public trust, and the worthy press of the nation so regards it. This duty and obligation is Inseparable from the guarantee of freedom incorporated in-corporated in the constitution, not solely as a privilege, but far more to serve the general welfare. |