September 12, 1968
Page 26616
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL CORRECTS AN ERROR ON SENATOR EDMUND S. MUSKIE'S SPEECH
Mr. PUCINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend my remarks.
The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. PUCINSKI. Mr. Speaker, the United Press International has sent out a correction on an erroneous story that it carried about Senator EDMUND S. MUSKIE last Sunday.
I am placing the United Press International apology in the RECORD today so that my colleagues and all other interested parties will know what Senator MUSKIE did actually say in Texas regarding the recent Chicago demonstrations.
I wish to congratulate UPI for its integrity in admitting an error and issuing a forthright statement to the effect that the UPI reporter was, indeed, in error in reporting the original story.
In this modern day of fast communications, errors are bound to creep into stories no matter how well-meaning the reporter may be. It is refreshing to see a responsible news media openly admit an error and take appropriate steps to correct it.
It is my hope that the example set by UPI would be followed by others when they do irreparable harm through erroneous reporting.
The UPI article which appeared in the Chicago Tribune of September 11 follows:
BEG YOUR PARDON WASHINGTON
September 10.-- United Press International incorrectly reported from San Antonio Sunday that Sen. Edmund S. Muskie compared Chicago police to a Russian police state and the suppression of dissent there with the situation in eastern Europe.
What the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee did say during an appearance before a Polish-American group at Hemisfair was: "Threats to freedom come in many guises other than conquest. They include fear, hate, and intolerance. They exist in those who want no change and those who want nothing but change. A little more than a week ago, in Chicago, I looked out on a crowd facing a line of police and troops, separated from each other by an almost intangible wall of suspicion and distrust, fear and hatred -- and the only communication between them was force."
UPI regrets the error.