Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-16
EUROPEAN PRESSIS
USED As WARS TOOL
John F. Bass Points Out In
jury Done Entente Cause
by censofs.
Special Correspondents Of III. star.

Special Correspondence OF The Star.
PARIS. France, November sl.-Ths
censorship and the uses made Of the
press in its full scope during this war
have been new to democratic nations
They SAVIOR more OF the autocracy OF
Russia and that systematic use made OF
the press by the German and Austrian
. governments. The press of Europe~to-
day IS used a weapon OF war. II
has entirely ceased to be a means of
distributing news. IT has becomes a
means, more or less efficient, of obtain
Ing military and political results. The
censorship to hide military facts from
the enemy has become OF secondary I'M
portance. Nowadays no movement OF
troops or materials OF war of any i'm
portance can take place without the
knowledge of the enemy. Such things
are known to him long before they
reach the ears of the friendly press.
Balloons. aeroplanes. photography. es-
pionage and many other methods make
the movement of hundreds OF thousands
of men and vast stores of guns, nuff-
1 lions and materials impossible without
the enemy receiving very accurate in
| formation. In addition the control ex-
! ercised over the movements and ac-
/ tfvities OF newspaper men make the
/ military censorship Only an aQdftiouoi
and secondary safeguard. Yet the mill
| tary authorities, educated to the belief
that the press is danger second only
! to the armies of the enemy, continue
to prune the meager productions of un-
| fortunate newspaper men with una
/ bated enthusiasm.
Germans Disclosed Facts.
| 1t was not long ago that the German
imperial chancellor gave an account Of
the proceedings in secret session OF
the French chamber of deputies only
| few weeks after the meeting. The
transactions at these secret meetings
were not only never published. but
were not known to the public. The
system of espionage is SO complete
that everything of Importance that
goes on in any country is known to
its enemies. The press. therefore. -
Ia very subordinate means of securing
war information by the enemy.
If these things are true what II the
reason for>aH the elaborate censorship
which is exercised in Europe TO-DAY
The answer is that the censorship 10
political rather than military in char
lacter. 1t is used to direct and control
public opinion at home rather than to
hide truths from the enemy. The vast
machinery which the government has
established to direct and oversee the
activities of the press is not At the
! ministry of war, but at the foreign
office, which certainly is NOT mill
I! fary center 1nQee0. censorship - al
adequate word to express the govern
ment activity in regard to the press.
which has come to be regarded AZ a
means of keeping up the morale OF
the people and inspiring them to fresh
| effort
Democracy Clings to Entente.
The entente countries are lighting
for the maintenance Of democracy. In
1.-THE intricate combinations of this world
war, where every element OF life soon
Ter or later makes itself seen. the
tendency toward democracy keeps re-
appearing on the side of the enteuts.
often against the will Of those who
are directing that cause. Russia. the
gfeat autocracy, could not stay on the
entente side and remain an autocracy.
4 In Greece the royalists sided at once
with Germany, the liberals with the
entente In Italy the reactionarfeB and
I big business were on the side OF Ger
lmany. In Spain the upper classes sided
with the central powers.
Slowly democracy is tending to re-
establish itself among the nations OF
the entente, after the impetus given to
iautocracy by the pressure OF the war.
democracy depends for its existence
upon publicity. Public men used to
the guidance of public opinion are
fmore or less at sea when there is no
public opinion based upon a knowledge
| of facts. In general. secrecy-secret
treaties and secret diplomacy-did
much to bring on the war And secret
treaties and secret diplomacy are .
form Of censorship.