Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1915-08-31
FRENCH NEWSPAPERS
CONDEMN THE CENSOR
WITH MUCH VIGOR
Something Of Interest in Regard
to a Very important Section
of the French Governments
Activities During the War.


French censor, or Bureau de la
Presse,55 as it prefers to be known,
is Familiarity called "Anastasie," after
dressmaker who was the heroine Of
q popular song and who, like the cen
scr, was busy with a sharp pair of
shears during the second empire; she
has become his patron saint
The propriety of the name is ques-
toned by every editor whose copy
has been slashed The work Of Ana
stasie was methodical, following a ra-
tional plan, and executed with UNI
doubted taste and discrimination, |
while the censor Of today is compared
by Partisan paragraphers to an aditor
with a bilious view of life, a supreme |
contempt for the feeling Of his fellow
man and a sense OF news approaching
hysteria or nightmare. This view
grows out Of the apparent caprice in
consistency or Inconsistency Of the cen
sor. He cut mercilessly yesterday
what he let go through the day be-
fore. and what he killed yesterday he
approves today He slashes the copy
9i one editor and allows the other to
PUBLISH the same thing. Parts ot ;he
.censor's same dispatch are eliminated
from the proofs Of one paper, and
overlooked in another, and so on.
The fact is. undoubtedly, that the
censor is doing the best he can. If
his work seems to be ragged to the
journalist it is because he is bound
by instructions from many different
sources that change and accumulate
every day If it is not uniform it is
because a large staff is required to do
the work and the general result is
bound TO reflect different personal
Viewpoints
The general plan of the censorship
was defined by the law of August g.
1914, forbidding publication of news
of movements of troops, composition
of units or detachments of the army,
details of defensive works, number Of
wounded, killed or prisoners, facts
concerning ornaments, material or
supplies. sanitary situation, promo
lions OF changes among general OH
Gers and in general any information
likely to be of use TO the enemy or
act harmfully upon the spirit of the
army or the population. Following
these general rules special recommen-
iations are transmitted daily from the
General headquarters.
The consequence of uncensored re-
lcrences to bombarded towns was
iown in the case of a city, certain
quarters Of which, that had been
spared, were indicated in a news
paper article. The next day the Ger
Gans directed their FIRE upon the
! blocks OF houses indicated in the art
Gle. Another article cited industrial
| Establishments exploited by the
French army, not far from the lines.
Immediately the Germans bombarded
/ hem and the French were obliged to
4bandon them.
/ A weekly periodical published a
! photograph of a priest saying mass
! Tor a congregation of soldiers at a
/ Village near the front. The Germans
earned from it that French troops
we're quartered in the village and
howered shells upon it,
The censor's apprehensions are fire.
luently declared to be exaggerated,
| most of the news that he considers
dangerous the editor considers alb
solute inoffensive It is not the con
-or that always decides The real
mead of the censorship is the com
nander in chief of the French armies.
Ills orders are transmitted every day
and the bureau of the press must
| rigidly follow them. News, the pub
LEGATION of which is considered dan.
gerous today, may be no longer dan.
-erous tomorrow, and it is often in
this release of news, the publication
of which is no longer harmful, that
brings upon the censor the charge OF
caprice.
Instructions regarding naval mat
tiers come from the minister of mar
inc, while the ministry of foreign af
fairs decides what diplomatic new.
may be published, News of a genera
political bearing Is referred to tho
premier himself, Monsieur Viviani
who is the count of last resort anC
. whose sleep is troubled at all hours
Of the night by telephone calls from
the Bureau de Ia Presse."
% Newspapers complained that wheI
Z the German atrocities were fresh the!
could not publish them, while later on
| after the battle Of the Marne whei
l. they had ceased to be news, the!
!. we're allowed to print them freely TIL
duplication of these details was pro
hibited because that was supposed 4
d be what the Germans wanted and be
d cause the wider circulation given d
them, the more would be the chance
of intimidation. After the battle O
e the Marine these reasons disappeared
IADD-FRENCH NEWSPAPERS .
The newspapers were also astonist
ed that the censor would order theT
9 TO cease publishing the state OF tn
ID Barometer 1t hadn't occurred TO theI
that knowledge Of the weather ind