Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-11-11
MILLIONS ARE
USED To MAKE
SWISS CHANGE
GERMANY Is CONDUCTING ELAB-
CRATE AND INSIDIOUS CAM
PAIGN TO GET SWITZERLAND ON
ITS SIDE.

IFS SIDE.
BERNIE, Nov. 10.-tGerrespondence
of the Associated Press) s)-Probably
at no time since the war began has
German pr ,opaganda been more ag-
gressively active in Switzerland than
at present.
Those who are following the Ger
man campaign declare that uncount>
ed millions are being spent, and that
the expenditures have increased since
the day, not so very many months
ago, when counter efforts were bee
gun-counter efforts that with a com,
paratively insignificant amount OF
money havve accomplished wonders
by their tact and cleyerness.
The German propaganda is operat-
ing in a score of ways, but the chief
method is the presentation of the Ger
man viewpoint and German news in
the papers, but because it is clumsy
it is vastly less effective than the out
lay should warrant. In brief, Ger
many acquired a number of newspa-
pers in Switzerland-seve in the
German language and one published
in French, the latter now under sus-
pension Similarly, the Swiss" pa
pers in the German language are
quite as obviously German as the
Berlin Lokalanzeiger or the Cologne
Gazette except that they are immeas-
urably less able.
Then the Germans acquired o.
started whole series of news agen-
cies through which to distribute their
news. Soon, however, these agencies
added another and vastly more i'm
portant junction, that of collecting
and transmitting news from countries
at war with Germany-news, how
ever, carefully colored if not actually
distorted. II was in this direction
that the German propaganda began to
be dangerously effective.
While German newspapers them
sJves could only roost along the
Italian border at Luganp, and the
French at Geneva, and transmit col
ored news from Italian adm French
newspapers to Germany, the neutral
Swiss correspondents of the so-called
Swiss" agencies had free access 10
Italy and France. They carefully
chose all the misleading, even though
technically accurate, news they co1ld
squeeze by the censors. If a sensa-
tional and uninfiuential deputy in the
French or Italian chamber makes an
attack on the government it is faith
fully tlaske6 to Switzerland; if q
score of women in Rome threw stones
during protest meeting Switzerland
heard of the "rioting" that is gravely
the established order in
Italy
With Americas entry into the war
the agencies went a step further and
another important service to
Germany, for some of them began to
send, both to Switzerland and to
Germany, distorted news from the
United States Again and again the
Syllable, the genuinely Swiss jour
nails, issued denials or published the
correct news. The first effect was
not to eb corrected by later stories.
The general trend of this American
news concerns the embargo and
Americas intentions toward Switzer-
land. Every story in list that would
fill scrap book eghded to show
that the United States had the inten-
ton of starving its little sister re-
public. Not even an announcement
by Switzerland;s president that from
amhetic reports he knew food was
or soon to start could on
set the effect of the first stories. And
hey had in the meantime gone to Ger[
many and were followed by sympaa-
thetic editorials in German papers
popular here commiseerating with
Switzerland in its struggle against
Yankee oppression.
A third propaganda method whtcn
be gan early to operate and still -four
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