The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-06-01

loi coihO pohtiSdl puipoS0 VI ShCSC-
The press police hastily go over
the copies of papers received. Even
the classified advertisement columns
are quickly scanned. If anything is
found which 1t is believed should not
reach the reading public, it is blue
penciled and laid before the represent
atfve of the press court on duty. II
he orders a paper conflscated, the act
ual "confiscation apparatus" is set
lhto motion.
The apparatus moves rather
slowly, 1t must be admitted, consider
ing the fact that the bundles of pa
pers will soon be given to carriers and
placed on the mail trains. The fact
that route delivery Of papers cannot
begin before o'clock because all
entrances are locked until then. oper-
ates in favor of the press police,
The transportation of the "apparat-
u.s. is as far behind the times as the
whole institution is behind enlighten-
ed press freedom. The inspector takes
the court orders. gets into single
buggy and slowly joys along to the
newspaper office. The expenses OF
press court and police have to be met
from the fines. There never has been
sufficient of surplus In Vienna to
buy an automobile for the press police,
The editors pay no attention to tele-
phone confiscation notice or orders.
General police headquarters and
the postofflce are notified by telephone
Of the confiscation orders. II the
paper is already in the he-ids Of car
riers, policemen are hastily sent out
to intercept the carriers and take their
bundles away. Others are sent into
the cafes and bars which may be open
at that hour, to confiscate any copies
of the paper found there.
In the meantime the inspector has
rounded up as many one-horse cabs as
he can find at that hour and soon a
procession numbering anywhere from
ten to twenty-five cabs loaded down
with the confscated edition, is slow
ly winding it's way to the quarters
OF the press court and police.
To what absurd length the conf1s-
cation practice extends, was shown
some time ago when a paper was con
! fiscated because 1t reproduced ar
autograph letter of Emperor Franz
/ Joseph to King Nikita of Montenegro
i The press court considered this in the
light of t1ese majestic" and justified
its action upon the ground that the
publication tended to lessen the ven.
Grafton for the emperor by thus max
| ing his handwriting public.
/ Censorship, especially during the
recent war scare and political uncer.
tainty, extends sharply over tele-
graph and telephone communication.
/ 1t is not an unusual experience for a
correspondent while telephoning news
to Berlin, or elsewhere, to have the
censor break in with the information
that if you insist upon giving out such
news, your connections will be taken
from you.
There is such a long catalogue OF
grounds upon which confiscation may
1 DS T6SOTlEQ 10, tHdL IL rs d WOllu6l
that it is not more often invoked. All
confscations and reasons therefor
ARE published in the Vienna Gazette
a few months ago there were thirty
eight in one day, which broke all rec
ords. The violations were various in
Guiding "lese majestic offending and
libelling a member of the royal fam
lily. making public military secrets
agitation. indecent pictures, and mat
ter considered detrimental to public
morality.
/ Since the beginning of the Scutar
incident and the Albanian affair, the
Vinnese papers are cursing roundly
the "confscation apparatus" which
prevents them from giving their read
ers the news of the day. A revision
of the press laws is demanded.