Weekly journal-miner., 1918-08-14
P|cTOR|AL|z|NG THE WAR FOR
 A PURPOSE
FUNDS USED TO MAKE FILM WHICH IS DIS TRIBUTED IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO COMBAT GERMAN LIES.
By Associated Press.


 activities in pictoralizing the war, not only for record and information but for moral at home and for "combatt- ing the German lie in other countries of the world" is told in a report which Secretary Baker has laid before Congress.
 It is in reply to a resolution of in- quiry regarding motion and still pic lures of the American Expeditionary Force and of the military preparations at home, and 1t shows a comprehen- sive system of picture activity safe guarded by a permit system devised by the committee of public informa- ton and approved by the war de- partment.
 The pictures are taken by signal corps units and are shown in thous- ands of motion picture houses under contracts on commercial basis to help pay the committees expenses in motion picture propaganda.
 "The funds received from these sources. which are put in the treasury to the committees credit" says the report, do not represent profit in any sense. Every cent goes to manufac- ture and distribution of the enormous amount of film the committee is com- pelled to distribute without return in foreign countries as part of the United States educational campaign. All feat ures and war reviews will be supplied free of charge to cantonments in the United States and to the picture shows on the firing line in France. The returns are to defray the heavy expense of the free distribution de- manded by the necessities of our nor ale at home and even larger necessi- ties of combating the German lie in other countries of the world"
 Secretary Baker says each corps headquarters and division headquar- ters of the American Expeditionary Force is provided with a signal corps photographic unit, consisting of one officer and three enlisted men. These units, together with personnel neces- sary for development laboratories. supply service and to do special photographic work ordered by Gen eral Pershing aggregated seventeen officers and lO2 enlisted men in May. ! All motion picture negatives received from overseas and prints Of still pic lures are delivered to the war plans division of the general staff for his torical record and government propa- ganda. Duplicate negatives, of no value to the enemy, are turned over i to the committee.
 i General Pershing was allowed last i December to grant permission to out siders to take photographs subject to censorship of the expeditionary force but the war department has no intor- nation as to whom this permission has been given. Here in the United States. the committee, in cooperation with the army by order of the Secre- tary of War. worked out a permit sys- tenn to enable civilian photographers to take pictures of the war prepara- tions in this country. "This system says Secretary Baker" safeguards military interests and deals adequate ly and even generously with all pri- vate interests desiring to present the nations war progress to the people m picture form. Except in certain camps. where secret tests are being made. cantonments have been free to photographers from the beginning of the war. With respect to ordnance and airplane production the military authorities have not deemed 1t wise to expose secrets to other than those in uniform and while permits have been given in some cases the general pol icy has been to exclude private photo graphcrs from factories where ord nances and airplanes are being made. The permit procedure makes investi- gation of the applicant possible and furnishes control over the pictures taken"
 Permits are limited to fifteen days from issue. Photographs cannot bel taken of experiments in materials, eI.- trenchments, or formations, machine gun targets, or camouflage. All have to be censored promptly and before publication by the committee.
 In the case of famous seven-recl war crusading picture, the material was collected by signal corps opera tors in France and in this country "to set before the people a comprehensive record of war progress in this country and France" It was shown through the committees organization in the principal theatres of the larger cities, !. with patriotic organizations and citi- zcns cooperating. In these showings, !. the report explains, there is no thought of profit, the principal idea being to gain the widest possible pub licity" Then, with their commercial , value demonstrated. the feature is of fered' by the committee to the highest bidder in point of money and distribu- tion. In the crusading picture case,