Der Deutsche correspondent. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1841-1918, 1917-04-28
(From the New York American Of
April 27.)

The American does not care a snap
Of the fingers for anything the Es-
pionage bill might do to it, if passed
The American is concerned only by
the injury which might be and would
be done TO THE COUNTRY by this
bill-a compound of stupidity, malice
and ignorance of the guarantees Of
the Constitution of which its authors
and sponsors ought to be ashamed.
The American, speaking for itself,
cares not q rap for this bill, because
The American does not mean to print
any news or comment which should
not be printed, espionage law or no
espionage law, and because The
American does mean to print all
proper news and comment, espionage
law OF no espionage law. Our sense
of duty to the country is sufficient
censorship to make us refrain from
printing anything that should not
be printed, and we have no fear at
all that the Supreme Court of the
United States will fail to protect us
in our constitutional liberty to print
all proper news and comment. But
when we see the mischief and dam
age and dangers which our people
have suffered through the conceal
ment, Justification, distortion and
garbling of the news and the truth,
during more than two years, by the
British censorship which has had
control Of our cables, our mails, our
news agencies and every avenue OF
information, then we are stirred to
strong opposition to this proposed
grant of the same powers, to be used
in the same harmful way by de-
partment of our own Government.
The British people, at this very mo-
mcnt, have no conception at all of
the true political and military con-
ditions in Europe, owing to the
operation of their censorship and
neither havo most Americans, for
that matter. So far as we know, the
only publications in this country
which have steadily told the truth
about the real conditions are the
Hearst publications, and that these
publications have had to do under
great difficulties, because the British
Government has been permitted to
deny any American publication the
use of the cables, to rifle the mail Of
any American publication and to de-
priye any American publication of it's
rights under international law, and
did do those very things to any
American newspaper or other publ
cation which tried to obtain true and
reliable news from Europe. The ex-
tent to which this policy of suppress
sion, concealment. Justification, dis
tortion and garbling has been able
to impose on the American people is
one of the chief wonders of the war.
II probably imposed on the Presi-
dent, upon the Cabinet and upon
members of the Congress, as well as
upon the man in the street, and it is
quite possible that even some of the
newspapers were imposed upon by
the very stuff they were more or less
obliged to print We call your at
tention to this extract from the daily
report of the Worlds Washington
correspondent, Mr.. Louis Seibold,
very capable journalist and high in
the good graces of Mr.. Wilson, the
report appearing under date of
April "a
''The President and his Cab
met this afternoon obtained a
clear view of the task confront
ing the United States in its war
against Germany. What is re-
CURED to strengthen the weak
links of the narrowing allied
ring about the TeutOnic forces
was brought out in detail for the
information of the President
and his Cabinet in the memo
randa presented by Mr.. BalfOur
and his associates. These ncccs-
stiles were grouped under three
general heads. The first, OF
course, was money; the second,
ships to carry to the allies what
money will buy, and finally and
more remOteIy--mcn if occasion
requires. The exact situation in
Russia and Italy was revealed
by no other information prev
iOusly received. suggestions for
relieving these conditions, which
admittedly have been the cause
of much concern to the allied
governments, were presented
with such unmistakable clarity
as to confirm the belief that the
first country TO receive attention
should be Russia and the second
Italy"
Now, we propose to make an ex-
pertinent. Two Cabinet officers who.
naturally and properly, heard all that
Mr.. Balfour and his military and
naval colleagues had to tell are
Secretary Daniels and Secretary
Baker Without knowing all they
we're told, we propose to set down
what we know they MUST have been
told. and leave it to Secretaries
Daniels and Baker to say, between
lthemselvesLor to the public, for that
matter, il they want to-whether or
not we have correctly stated what
they learned. We assume that they
were told
l. That Russia is in state of
political anarchy, with no responsible
government in control; that the ar
mics no longer obey the comman-
ders; that there Is nothing but con-
fusion everywhere, with industries
raralyzed, workmen and peasants
clarmoring for general division OF
lands and property and a hopeless
state of affairs that entirely removes
Russia from present consideration as
a helm to the Allies or a menace to