The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-10-03
CENSOR BOYS LETTERS

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may not get past the censor is brought
up to date for all concerned, which
means everybody, in a new General
Order, No. 146, hot from the G.. II. @.
presses. Some of the more interest
ing restricting and releases are here
re-hashed.
Inasmuch as every d%oughboy fresh
from the Observation-Disclosures
battlefield is laden with enough Ger
man hardware to open a store, the
question of souvenirs has become a
burning one
All enemy property acquired under
any circumstances whatever should
be turned over at once to an Intelli-
gence officer.
Have a heart" says the outraged
doughbOy, who has just chased a fat
German colonel for two kilometers
for no other reason than because the
girl across the street back home had
casually expressed her desire for a
Hussar's helmet. But, the order goes
on to mollify him, if the trophy is not
Of value to the Intelligence Section,
it will be returned to the sender.
Such trophies may be Of vast import
ance to the General Staff as giving
identification not otherwise verified
n information about new enemy
equipment of value to our own supply
and technical services.
" Co.. co,I;-~ tha,o
home. 1t is absolutely verboten 10
mail your father a German machine
gun, even if you captured it yourself
at the point of a bayonet. Indeed,
cept enemy helmets, caps, badges,
numerals and buttons, and those only
on approval by a field officer, such
written approval to be contained in
the package.
There are other limitations on what
you may send home in parcels. You
may not send any necessities of life.
You may not send any clothing, except
gloves, handkerchiefs, laces and such
trifes designated as gifts for the
folks. And these can be sent only to
the United States and Canada. You
may not send government property
and you may not send explosives.
Whatever desire you may have to send
Aunt Lucy a hand grenade you must
sternly suppress.
Then there's the question of photo
graphs. All members of the A. f. F..
are forbidden to take photographs I'M
less photography is a part of their of
fetal duties. If you have a camera,
you may keep it, but you must keep it
unloaded in the bottom of your bar
rack bag. A perfectly beautiful pic
ture Of yourself may be mailed home
every little while, provided the back
ground is entirely non-committal.
The familiar foxy trick of trying to
smuggle letters home by returning Of
ries or returning wounded is violent
ly defendu. The senders and the
bearers of such Illicit missives are Ii
able to dire punishment.
Va "
Besides t~ell-tale photographs, photo
graphic negatives, immoral postcards,
naughty, naughty pictures, dirty
poems, official papers, captured pa
pers, maps and the like are also
barred.
You may not write to a newspaper
on any subject connected with mill
tary matters unless you have written
permission from the Chief, Cpd, G..
H. O., A. E. F. If an Objectionable
letter of yours is published back home
without your knowledge, you are the
goat nevertheless.
The order gives a few illustrations
Of what 1t considers dangerous infor-
nation, to be vigorously excluded from
all letters, diaries and other writings.
You must not mention a place in the
z. Of A. from which you are writing.
You must make no reference to flu
ture operations, whether you know or
are just guessing. You must not tit
tle-tattle about troop movements. ar
maments. defensive works, morale,
supplies. railroad positions, road con-
ditions, reserves, ammunition. supplies
or effects Of hostile fire. You must
not give any information at all about
aircraft. tanks, chemical warfare and
other technical services.
If you do not like our gallant Allies
either individually or in lump, do not
say so and don't pa~rticularize. If
you think the general made a botch
of his last operation, keep it dark.
If you disapprove of the grub, stow
it. If you think the top sergeant is
a curious mixture of half-wit and
thug. let no n guess it from your
letters home.
Then there Is the matter of ad-
dresses. If you are in a base or in
termediate section of the S. O. S.,
you can give the town as your post
Office. But that is all. 1t doesn't take