Joiners

In August 1936, six New York Times editorial men, headed by grave 42-year-old Oliver Franklin Holden, assistant make-up editor, decided that "in this era of turmoil" newspapermen needed organization but along totally different lines from the bread-&-butter aggressiveness of the American Newspaper Guild. The six drew in their friends, organized the American Press Society, "free to foster the economic welfare of its members by methods which would not tend to reduce newspaper salaries to minimum standards or lead to strikes or other coercive and violent measures tending to impair the reputation and dignity of journalism as a profession." The Society would ''not commit itself ... to any other cause or movement."

The Society got little publicity, after 15 months has but four "local sections" (New York, Washington, Pittsburgh, Chicago). What the membership lacked in numbers, however, last week it made up in distinction when a New York Times story revealed that President Franklin Roosevelt had accepted the first A. P. S. honorary membership,* along with Chief Justice Hughes and ex-President Hoover.

Timesman Holden explained that the Society had decided to name five nonjournalistic honorary members each year, naturally selected the nation's chief executive and chief judiciary officer for first honors. Promptly the American Newspaper Guild protested to the President, asked him to reconsider his affiliation with the Society, "that the dignity of his office may not be abused to lend prestige to any movement hostile to the interests of legitimate trade unionism." A similar resolution was dispatched to the Chief Justice, the leftist Guild being entirely willing to let the Society keep Herbert Hoover.

Under Guild pressure, Chief Justice Hughes politely withdrew from the Society, but the President definitely down-thumbed the Guild's protests by describing at his press conference how Steve Early and he had looked over the Society's constitution, decided it was a "pretty good thing." To the correspondents he read it:

"This Society is dedicated to the belief that the practice of journalism is an honored profession bearing the nature of public trust, the integrity and detachment of which are essential to free government and to preservation of liberties of the masses and minorities.''

Added the President: "Amen."

*Columnist Anna Eleanor Roosevelt has been a member of the American Newspaper Guild since Jan. 1, 1937.

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