Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1917-11-02
GROWING APPRECIATION OF THE
MUCH ABUSED COMMITTEE
ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.
LAB0Rs UNDER DIFFICULTIES
Telling People Why We Are in the
War and Spreading the Doctrine of
Americanisr Constitute Largest
Part of Its Task.
BY GEORGE w. CLINTON.


have been criticisms in multitude of
the work of the committee, and con-
fessedly the one who writes this was
one of the fault finders.
1t is only right to say that as more
proper understanding has come of the
liar difficulties under which it has Ia
bored, it seems that retraction of criti-
cism in considerable part should be
made and that the members Of the
committee should be given credit for
doing an enormous work well.
The committee on public informa-
ton as constituted by the president is
composed Of the secretary Of state, the
secretary of war, the secretary of the
navy, and civilian chairman charged
with executive direction of the work.
The civilian chairman is George Creel.
There was a feeling among newspaper
men at the outset that the committee
on public information was charged
almost solely with the duty of pro-
viding actual news for the press. In
part this was it's duty, and it still is
continuing along the lines of an In
formation bureau which has in it the
features which differentiate the faces
of real news stories from those of hui
man interest and purely informative
stories. But it also has greater
work of information to do.
A man feels once in awhile at any
rate, that he ought to make an at
tempt to be fair, and if he is peni-
tently inclined for past deeds to try
to make that which the classically in
clined call the amende honorable.
Doing a Stupendous Work.
Certain it is that the committee
on public information has had it's trou-
bles and still is having them to less
err extent. It's work is stupendous, a
fact which does not seem to be known
thoroughly to the country, nor to be
understood in full by some people who
see little or no good in anything that
the committee does or tries to do.
The newspaper correspondents in
Washington had all kinds of difficult
ties at the outset with the, committee
and the difficulties as yet are not any
thing like entirely cleared from the
track. Newspaper men here, however,
are getting a better understanding of
the real constructive work which the
committee is trying to do, and the at
titude towards it / believe is changing.
In the first place it has been dis
covered that the committee on public
information is not in the largest sense
a news disseminating body. The real
news that it turns out forms about
one-tenth of the bulk of it's product.
It was only recently that some of us
discovered the magnitude of educa-
tional work of the right kind which
these newspaper men laborers are try
ing to do.
Some Things Have Gone Wrong.
There have been some unfortunate
happenings so far as the newspaper
world is concerned, in the Creel bu-
reau. The things that have gone
wrong are the things that everybody
points to and knows about, While the
things which have gone right are
those things with which the CORE
spondent in Washington does not have
to concern himself with intimately.
In the cases of "awryness," real news
has been involved and therefore some
papers have suffered and their CORE
spondents with them.
The committee on public inforlna-
ton has been engaged from the day Of
it's organization in giving to the peo-
pie of the country who hitherto had
not received it, the reasons for Amer
cas- entry into the war, the story of
Germanys aggressions and inhumani-
ties and of the workings of govern
ment which even today thinks that 1t
can dominate the world and make au-
tocracy its ruler.
Through thousands of avenues the
gospel of Americanism has been sent
forth by the committee. The duty is
high one and the men who are tly-
ing to do it seemingly ought to have
commentator in their work.
Treasury a Busy Place.
1T seems ndruly pOSSlDI0 lildI ALI
drew Jackson when he laid the
gorner stone of the United States
reasury could have had any thought
in the back of his head Of the
day when the building which soon was
to spring before his eyes would be the
hive of industry that it is today. The
treasury is as whirring inside as the
state, war and navy building. and
when this is said it means business"
The treas Try is more than treas
ury. 1t is not only the place where
Uncle Sam keeps large part of his
boards Of gold, silver, and banknotes.
but 1t Is the place where means of
"raising the wind to meet every semer-
gency of war and peace must be given
thought. 1t is the very center of
finance.
Even in times of peace the treasury
always is heavily guarded, but then,
nevertheless. it is possible in business
hours to get into it through fifteen or