THE PRESIDENCY: Embarrassing Half Hour

Harry Truman last week decided to turn his regular Thursday press conference into one of his attacks on "newspapers and slick magazines." The half an hour session was very embarrassing—but not for newspapers and slick magazines. And not for Harry Truman, who is often blissfully unaware of whether his foot is in his shoe or his mouth. The victims were Truman's staff, whose unenviable lot it is to stand holding their breaths in dread of what the 32nd President of the U.S. may say next.

He began by reading a prepared statement in defense of his order (TIME, Oct. 8) to Government officials for greater secrecy in matters of military security. He had scarcely begun reading when he broke in to say that a survey by Yale University found "95% of all our [Government] information was public property." He then laid down the two conflicting principles that are present in every debate over the release of military information: 1) nobody can seriously argue that military secrets should be made public; 2) on the other hand, he did not want military secrecy to be made a cloak for withholding information about the Government which the people had a right to know. Truman's prepared statement made sense—on its face. Government officials must take the responsibility of saying in each case whether military security outweighs the public right to information. This responsibility carries with it a grave and difficult duty for the Government to play fair with press and public.

Peculiar Restatement. As soon as he had finished reading. Truman began contradicting the main point of his statement and showing how far he was from playing fair. He made a peculiar and sensational restatement of his remark about 95% of Government information being public property. On the second round, he said that 95% of the Government's information classified as secret has been revealed by newspapers and slick magazines, and that is what he was trying to stop.

Asked for examples, Truman gave some. The outstanding case, he said, was the publication (in January 1949) by FORTUNE of a map showing atomic installations in the U.S.

FORTUNE promptly issued a statement that all the information on the map came from Truman's Atomic Energy Commission, that the AEC had cleared the map in final form and had been so pleased with it that AEC ordered 500 extra copies for distribution. It was also a fact that Harry Truman, in person, later cleared essentially the same map as part of a MARCH OF TIME film.

Truman's next example was the publication by many newspapers of American city maps with arrows pointing to key points which were prime bombing targets.

Several newsmen present knew that these maps had been distributed to the press by Truman's Civil Defense Administration.

Whispered Counsel. When it was suggested to Truman that the information in question had been given out by Government agencies, he said that he didn't care who gave it out, that the publishers had no business to use it if they had the welfare of the U.S. at heart.

Shortly after this statement, which dumfounded reporters, Truman's press secretary, long-suffering Joseph Short, broke in to whisper to the President.