Slemp vs. Correspondents

Washington correspondents are a specialized group whose profession is not without its public responsibilities. To them public officials say more than can be judiciously printed in order that what is printed may not lead the public astray. They must keep faith with the public and with men in official places. This is expressed in an official code of ethics formulated by the White House Correspondents' Association. Under it semiweekly press conferences with the President have been conducted, with the Association acting as judge of what persons shall be admitted to those conferences.

A fortnight ago, C. Bascom Slemp, Secretary to the President, ran afoul of these rules, according to Editor and Publisher, trade paper of journalism.

The rules of the Correspondents' Association admit to press conferences with the President representatives of: " (1) wire news services; (2) daily American newspapers; (3) foreign newspapers to which daily cable communication is made, and those who are accredited to the Congressional Press Galleries." The Association excludes: " press agents, propagandists, tipsters."

The trouble began when Mr. Slemp began to make exceptions to the newspapermen's rulings. One Elbert Deets Pickett, managing editor of The Clipsheet, Methodist Church paper (see page 18) applied for admission for himself or his representative to the President's press conferences.

The Correspondents' Association said " no." But Mr. Pickett applied to Secretary Slemp, who said "Yes," and Mr. Pickett's representative attended two conferences.

So the correspondents drew up their rules in black and white, providing that they should be sole judges of eligibility of their members. They were submitted to the President through Secretary Slemp, and were returned with the President's approval and a penciled amendment by the Secretary: " Full authority is reserved by the Secretary to the President to make and enforce exceptions to the eligible list."

Thereupon the newspapermen notified Mr. Coolidge that if such was the case the burden of policing press conferences and protecting the President's confidences could no longer rest on them but must fall on Mr. Slemp. Their object in restricting the classes of persons admitted to press conferences has been, not to exclude others than newspapermen from interviews with the President, but to insure that only bona-fide journalists could be present at conferences when the President chose to speak purely for the enlightenment of correspondents and not for those who might take advantage of his words in furthering the interests of any group. They feel that their rules were for the benefit of the President, not themselves.