When you have only a few hours to check up on news before you publish it, almost anything can happen. For example:

KEY PEARL HARBOR WITNESS VANISHES! says the New York Journal-American. Just isn't so, says the New York Post, same day (the J-A probably drew a wrong conclusion).

EINSTEIN URGES WORLD GOVERNMENT FOR ATOMIC CONTROL TO AVOID WAR, says the New York Times., EINSTEIN CALLS ON U.S. TO HOLD ATOMIC SECRETS, says the New York Daily News, same day (depends on how you interpret a speech).

GOeRING REAFFIRMS BELIEF IN NAZIISM, says the New York Times. GOeRING SAYS HE WAS FOE OF NAZI IDEOLOGY, says the New York Journal-American, same day (depends on how you interpret testimony).

It is conflicting headlines like these from the news of recent months that reflect the problems of the U.S. press in presenting the news clearly and accurately. Daily journalism often has to sacrifice clarity and accuracy for swift reporting (newspapers have to go to press before some of the stories they carry have finished happening). TIME gets a better break: we have up to seven days in which to verify the news before we print it. As the news goes these days, that is none too much.

For instance, the Pearl Harbor investigation was the biggest running Congressional story in years. It was confused, difficult to understand and report. Most newspaper reporters tried to tell the story coherently, and did a good job with contradictory testimony that virtually defied untangling in the time they had to do it. But for the man who knew only what he read daily in the papers, it was tough going.

A good many of you have said that TIME told the Pearl Harbor story about as plainly and accurately as it could told. How many telephone calls, cables, how much research and plain reporting that took is not precisely calculable, but our National Affairs editor says that it was plenty. And that kind of verification goes on here week in and week out. For instance, I have been going over the scores of telegrams and cables asking our bureaus and correspondents here and abroad for verification of facts for a recent issue. Here are some of them:

LOS ANGELES. WOULD LIKE TO KNOW SOONEST NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS TO BE HIRED BY EIGHT MOVIE PRODUCERS UNDER NEW CONTRACT SIGNED BY PETRILLO AND MOVIE PRODUCERS. UNCHECKABLE HERE.

WASHINGTON. WHAT IS OFFICIAL SPELLING OF NAME OF PRESIDENT'S YACHT?

LONDON. SHERROD SAYS EARL OF HOUSTON NOW RETURNING TO ENGLAND FROM SERVICE AS WAVELL'S AIDE IS RUMORED BY FRIENDS TO BE ELIZABETH'S PROSPECTIVE HUSBAND STOP IF THERE'S ANY BASIS WANT TO DO STORY ON HIM STOP PLEASE ADVISE.

RIO DE JANEIRO. RELIGION RESCHEDULING STORY BELO HORIZONTE CHURCH THIS WEEK PROVIDED CHURCH STILL UNCONSECRATED STOP PLEASE CHECK ON DEVELOPMENTS. HAS ANYTHING BEEN HEARD OF BISHOP QUARK . . .

ATLANTA. NEED A CHECK ON STORY THAT A BURGLAR RANSACKED GEORGE WORD'S HOME, TOOK ONLY A COPY OF FOREVER AMBER, LEFT IT UNDER THE PILLOW OF NEXT-DOOR-NEIGHBOR SALLY CARTER.

And so it goes--for thousands of words each week. Ours is not an infallible system--sometimes people who know the facts are not willing to tell them to us straight; sometimes people differ as to what they actually did see or hear; sometimes we make mistakes. But it is the best system we have been able to devise for seeing that we have really got the facts straight before any TIME story goes to press.

Cordially,

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