Missouri Medals

To New Haven last week went Publisher Ogden Mills Reid of the New York Herald Tribune, to address the staff of the Yale Daily News, of which his son Whitelaw is a member. Publisher Reid told the college journalists the threadbare story of the publishers' fight against NRA for a "Free Press." Next day it took the Herald Tribune three full columns to report its owner's direful words.

Three days later the Herald Tribune was obliged to print an Associated Press dispatch to the effect that President Roosevelt thought Publisher Reid was making a silly spectacle of himself. The President's words: "Neither the millions and millions of people constituting the reading public nor the hundreds of individuals representing the overwhelming majority of newspaper publishers can, in any way, be concerned with or wrought up over the silly and wholly unjustified conversation on the part of a small minority who suggest that the freedom of the Press has been either destroyed or assailed." The President's rebuke to the Free Press defenders was part of his message to the 25th annual banquet of the University of Missouri School of Journalism at Columbia. Mo. where the National Editorial Association of small-town papers was also convened. For the first time he categorically promised publishers that he would not try censorship: "Judging by the [news columns and editorials] in papers in every part of the country, this freedom is freer than it ever has been in our history. There has been no attempt in Washington to 'gag' news papermen or stifle editorial comment. There will be no such attempt." But Publisher Reid was concerned not only with censorship. Press freedom was also threatened, he told the Yalemen, by "demands to make expenditures which are not economically desired or possible." By that definition, the Missouri convention of the NEA last week found a new challenge to freedom in the proposed NRA communications code. Section 4 of the code forbids rate discrimination in favor of any class of user. Did that threaten the traditional telegraph press rate (one-third of the full day rate, one-sixth of the full night rate) by which U. S. newspapers save $10,000,000 a year? The NEA feared it did, lodged a protest with General Johnson, asked that Section 4 be amended to make press rates sacred. Missing from the NEA banquet was the man whom the delegates had come to honor: Walter Williams, aging president of Missouri University, founder of the journalism school, president of NEA 40 years ago. White-haired "Dean" Williams, 69, famed as "the university president who never went to college," was bed ridden at home. He made his speech of welcome over a special radio hookup. The customary five medals of honor for distinguished journalistic service were presented by the school to: The Melbourne (Australia) Argus, for being ". . . fair and tolerant, liberal . . . accurate . . . generous and kindly . . . progressive without losing touch with the past . . . eminent in Australia and throughout the English-speaking world." The Des Moines Register and Tribune for ". . . artistic and readable typography . . . sound and socially constructive service . . . journalistic enterprise and vigor." The Churchman ". . . for 130 years of highly intelligent and uncompromising editorial freedom and independence for a dynamic and powerful contribution to a modern liberal outlook for religion. ..." Col. Robert Morgan White, publisher of the Mexico (Mo.) Ledger, for "distinguished accomplishment in country journalism. . . ."

Herbert Walker, general manager of National Enterprise Association, alumnus of the Missouri school, for "years of brilliant, newspaper writing. . . ."

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