Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-05-01
BY FREDERICK ROY MARTIN
Assistant General Manager Of tht
Associated Press

Associated Press
Frederick Roy Martin spent the
/ first - months IF the great wGr in
| European capitals, IN contact with
I British. French and German censor
ship. No American newspaperman is
better qualified tC speak from person.
tal knowledge Uf the plumbers and
costly mistakes Of policy committed
by the Allied nations in their efforts
to suppress news which might have
| had military value t. enemies That
a sensible censorship may be made
OF incalCulable value to the nation al
war without suppressing the publica
ton of legitimate news. is clearly
shown in Mr.. Martins article, here
reprinted from the Editor and Pub
fiShe..t
With all wireless stations, cables
and mails under governmental control.
a press censorship in the United
States need not be particularly strin
gent To prevent military information
reaching our enemy, more than 5000
miles away.
Fortunately, also, we have the trou.
blous experiences IF European nations
with their censorships to guide us, and
we should be aJ:e to avoid most of the
, serious biunders they committed in
their efforts to regulate the press. In
I time, England evolved from its pie
thora Of mistakes d reasonably eff,
Gent press bureau, which is not only
a deterrent of publication of military
information, but also has become In
many ways helpful to the newspaper
profes sion, and is not, as rule, often
, sively drastic At times it irritates, o.
course, as in the recent action respect
ing the Nation, but in such instances
! the interference Of politicians speedily
reacts
The gradual construction of this rea.
sonabsy efficient censorship in Eng
land, resulting from all the errors,
gropfng, backing, and filling since
August. 1914, seems to- emphasize
these basic principles:
Basis of Useful Censorship
Cd An efficient censorship has as
Its. chief aim the prevention of publ
cation Of military or naval Information
/ which may be of value to the enemy
12l 1t must not be so .suppressiSe
kas To 4laipiplize public Interest. in mill
taTy eFelbRn1Bilts. 40 e 4 x : y 5
CD t can BID lest. administered by
trained newspaper men and not by re-
tired army and navy officers, WHO may
suffer from physical or mental govt
and antagonize the press at every
turn T.. >. :.
f4 1t must penalize those publish.
ers who insist upon using good stor,
les against the public interest, pos;
sibly with the fear that some othe-
paper will score beat -. j.
l5} 1t can do more than suppress
information; 1t should, cooperate with
the press and provide sdequate facili.
ties for procuring such information as
it is wise to publish regarding military
developments, ereby serving the en-
tire nation through the press. + il
II need not be demonstrated that
newspaper med as class need no en-
couragsnIrnt to render the country
any possible patriotic service. That
their Judgment to what should be pub
lished may at times demand correc:
ton by the officials of the army and
the navy, and less frequently, by the
state department, is equally incontro-
Eertible. Those who have been con
Quoting recent conferences with cab
met officers in Washington testify
that the latter recognize the advan
tage OF giving the largest possible SUI
peryisfon of the censorship to meE
who understand the newspaper bust.
ness. Upon THAT prinG iple the whole
structure Of an efficient. satisfactory
and even beneficient censorship will
| depend. =
Free Speech Cannot BE Suppressed
That any wise government Will try
to prevent press discussion Of itsspoh'
cies. even of its military activities,
seems unlikely. The Russian autoera.
cy has failed in this, leaving the field
| to the German bureaucrats.
The Tendon newspapers have been
so uniformly ahead of the cabinet In
| foreseeing the dangers confronting
Great Britain-the shortage of NUM-
lions and the necessity for .conscrip'
ton, for example-that in England no
censorship would be tolerated that at
tempted to control the most candid
disclosures. of the mistakes Of office
holders.
Some newspaper men in this coun
/ try have anticipated an attempt to
! check such criticism as grewFout oil
| the embalnled beef and typhoid fever
| conditions in or way With Spain. M
| own. experience as al active news
gatherer In that war. gained at our
southern military camps. aboard troop
ships, in Crba, and in Porto Rico, was
| that nobody was more anxious than
army and navy officers to have the
breakdown of our SUPPLY system per
| fectly understood by the American
people. 1t was the political circle that
resented criticism. IF you criticize
the cabinet you aid the Germans, was
! the feeble cry Of many politicians In
| England early in the war, but, the
cry fooled nobody =.
"The duty of the journalist is the
! same as that Of tire historian TO seek
| out truth above all things, and to pre-
sent to his readers, not such things as
statecraft would wish them to know
i but the truth as near as he can attain
: r. - L. n ~