Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-06-20
ROTAR|ANS PLAN
GREAT CAMPAIGN
OF INFORMATION

\ VIDE campaign OF information de
| liberately designed to bring to people
! of the United States quickly to thor
ough understanding of all phases Of
the war, of why we are in it, of the
kind of enemy we are fighting, and Of
the urgent necessity for the whole
people of the United States to join with
their very hearts and souls in the stu.
lpendous task" was advocated by Pom
eroy Burton, in an address which he
delivered today before the Information.
al Rotary Convention here. Mr.. Bur
ton, the well-known American journ
alist in London who has been lectur-
ing in the United States upon the re-
lation of the United States to the war
spoke as follows:
For nearly three years the grim
and bony index finger. of war has
pointed straight this way.
For nearly three years, and each
succeeding day with accommodating
force, urgent reasons have existed for
putting in order the defensive machin-
cry of this country.
After nearly three years of war on
a scale such as the world never dream
ed of before, involving country after
country, and sweeping steadily on, like
an overwhelming tidal wave with
warning after warning of the most
definite characterize Lusitania, the
Sussex, the Arabic-with lightning
flashes and defening peals of thunder
from the darkening skies to tell al
who were not blind and deaf of the
approaching storm; despite all Of
these, today finds great masses of the
population throughout the United
States dangerously apathetic and OBJ
livious to the acute peril which threat
ems them. 1t also finds this country
astoundingly unprepared.
81 am not one of those who believe
the Allies can be defeated-they must
surely conquer in the end; but so SER
ious are some features of the war sit
uation today that unless the people of
the United States awaken quickly to a
full sense of their individual RESPONSE
bilities and join heartily in the work
of organizing the country for war on
an enormous scale, there is almost
certain to ensue long period OF
CHASTITY fighting and worldwide suf-
fering-with ruin and starvation on
every side-and by long period
mean from five to twenty years, or
more.
"The war program cannot be made
effective without the full cooperation
of the people. That cooperation can
not be expected until the people have
been aroused to full and complete
understanding of the war, of what it
means to them and their future, and OF
the obligations and responsibilities
which devolve upon them if it is to BE-
won. within the next two years.
81 would like to repeat with the ut
most emphasis what | had the privil-
ege Of stating recently to the Merch-
ants Association of New York, that it
is absolutely essential for those who
are shaping the general war program
without further delay, to organize and
project, under government direction,
great and far-reaching campaign OF
information designed to make the peo'
pie understand this war. 1t should be
made to reach the eyes and the hearts
and the full understanding of the peo-
pie by freely using the advertising and
the news columns of every useful pub
LEGATION in the United States, and by
using the movies, the billboard, the
post offices, the public buildings, the
railway stations, and the public con-
veyances, as was done in the great
publicity campaigns which were SO
successfully used to arouse the peopl9
of England to a full sense of their
danger and their responsibilities at
critical period of the war. In addition
10 this, schoolrooms, the lecture halls,
the churches, the libraries, the city
halls, the public squares-all the
meeting places of the people in every
state of the Union should .resound witt.
the voices of Americas greatest and
most forceful speakers, telling the
people the full truth, the basic facts.
about this war.
IF, coupled with this urgently need
ed campaign, there could be accom-
plished a radical revision of the
French and English Censorship rules.
permitting much freer flow of al.
sorts of. war facts and war develop
ments from the fighting areas than is
possible under existing conditions, the