The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1917-06-22

plished a radical revision or the
French and English Censorship rules,
permitting a much freer flow OF all
sorts of war facts and war develop
ments from the fighting areas than Is
possible under existing conditions, the
effect, | feel sure. would be enormous
ly beneficial to the whole Allied cause
For instance, would it not be the
height of wisdom to reverse the poll
cy which even yet conceals from the
world the full truth about the incred-
ible atrocities in Belgium, atrocities
which, il possible, have been outdone |
in Rumania, and which up to now
have not been publicly disclosed;
adopting a new policy which would re-
lease to the whole world the story OF
appalling barbarities perpetuated by
the Germans there-many OF them too
horrible to describe from public
platform, but all of them serving to
show the people here what they might
expect in the event of Hun invasion
of the United States; what sort of ene-
my, in fact, it is that we are fighting;
exposing the fiendish deviltry which
caused thousands of poisoned candies,
filed with typhus germs. to be drop
ped from German aeroplanes for Ru-
manian children to pick up and eat;
the tragic story of how the Queens
little boy, her youngest, picked up one
of these poison-laden sweets in her
garden, ate it, sickened almost at
once, hovered between life and death
for weeks and finally died in her
arms, this story being written by the
Queens own pen and sent to lady
who has recently returned to New
York, and who has the letter with her
now; the shocking story of how brutal
German soldiers forced gentle and re-
fined Rumanian women to disrobe in
public, and then drove them in groups
through the streets; the story Of Ru-
mania's pitiable plight today, with
disease raging unchecked for lack of
surgeons, physicians and medical sup
plies; the bloodcurdling details of
scores of submarine sinkings where
-combatant victims struggling for
life in the water were ruthlessly shot
or struck down at short range; or,
when they escaped that horrible fate,
where they were cast adrift in small
boats on the high seas to die one af-
! ter the other from madness and from
thirst; and in a different category,
the thrilling stories of those combats
in the air which are taking place ev-
cry day over the fighting lines in
France, stories of courage and daring
| the like of which have never been
equaled in the widest realms of fic-
ton; the countless stories of noble
heroism, of human sacrifice and suf-
fering for a great cause, which show
in their true light the details of mo-
dern warfare so persistently conceal
ed, and so urgently needed to stir the
peoples pulse and to make them feel
and realize the truth and the full truth
about this gigantic struggle between
might and right on the one side and
might alone on the other.
Reverse this policy of secrecy, let
the people at home have these and
other true pictures of the war as 1t
really is, and | firmly believe the re.
hn al t,in
pie of the United States would rouse
as one man to their task, fired with
patriotic fervor born of full and
true understanding of what this war
means to them and their future, of the
individual obligation 1t imposes upon
those at home as well as upon those
the firing line for the sake of those
at home.
And this, it seems to me, is of par
amount Importance in view of crcum
stances which exist today clearly in
dicating that, as this country organic
es for war quickly or slowly, well OF
|
the end of the war be soon or long in
coming"
Mr.. Burton said that one of the rea
sons for the strange lethargy" of the
the people of the United States was
the policy of close censorship practic
ed by the Entente allies and that this
policy already has cost countless
thousands of lives and untold treas
; ure,'
, 81 earnestly hope it will not be re
l. peated here said Mr.. Burton. "Th'
: public is entitled to all the war news
: except those matters which militar!
, and naval experts judge to be of &C
Q tual value to the enemy. Establish {
t censorship board Of five newspape
$ men, with consulting military and nav
: al advisers and proceed upon tha
!. broad and simple basis and there viii
l. be an end to all this foolish censor
n ship discussion, the public will get tn