The Washington herald., 1918-02-09
The Seamy Rumor-M -Mongering of War.

The steamship Nieuw Amsterdam recently ar
rived in New York harbor from Rotterdam. She
brought 1906 passengers-many of them Ameri-
cans and neutral refugees from Germany-and
the biggest cargo of rumors that has been landed
on these shores in many months.
Unfortunately there is no censorship anti
toxin against If there were, German pro-
paganda would lose its chief poison. Here is
little of the stuff which the Nieuw Amsterdam pas
sengers got through the New York customs office:
Holland is expected to enter the the
side of Germany next spring unless the United
States and the allies supply her needs.
The great Krupp gun works in Essen, Germany
are being transferred underground to protect them
from expected airplane raids by American and al
lied aviators.
Germany is planning an undersea campaign in
The Pacific.
fleet of giant submarines, each capable of car
rying a 6-inch gun, is being constructed in Ger
many.
Desertions from the German army increas-
ing, many soldiers carrying children into Holland
In famished condition.
These things mainly harmless enough, and
will not hurt the credulous. None of them seems
10 be a plant" The point is that multitude of
Sagrant rumors are reaching the American people
all the time, the great majority of which conduce
10 confusion and blurring of the clean-cut issues
OF the war. Americans unduly receptive, as
rule, to the whisperings of gossip and rumor IN
any given situation-inside stuff" it is called. Any
wild story which has the element of surprise and
mystery in it is likely to be told and retold gain
ing new curlicues in the telling, and unconsciously
affecting and perverting the thinking of many
thousands who are not sufficiently well-nformed
to resist its influence.
Rumor piled crowd facts out
OF the m.nd, weaken the power OF judgment,
weaken the capacity of the mind to straight
ahead to keep to given track. And 1t is safe
10 say that rumors being thrust upon
Americans than at any time in their history.
They are printed a matter OF business, read
with gusto, discussed pro and con by many folks
who are only too anxious to escape the beaten
track OF the war-who are glad to plume them
selves they have an inside tip that Germany sis
going to crack in a few months, that Hin
dcnburg is surely going to carry out his threat that
he will reach Paris in April.
Secret Service men searched the Nieuw Amster
dam from keel to topmast for pofsons, cultures
germs OF all sorts, before the passengers were
let of-and indeed one newspaper printed a story
that certain strange fungus which would destroy
the entire American wheat crop if permitted to
land" was found. Too bad they couldn't have
declared quarantine rules against rumors Not, in
deed that the passengers on the vessel sinned any
more in this respect than hundreds and thousands
have before them. 1t is difficult to keep people
from talking, or cables from carrying all sorts OF
dope" for that matter. From Rotterdam, Zurich
Stockholm, Berne, Madrid, and score OF other
neutral points the stories come, some wild and
some not so wild, plausible at times They
are dangerous in exact relation to their plausi-
bilty. Not that all OF them "fakes"-doubt-
less the first inklings OF impending big moves in
the war will from these dischargng
points and clearing houses of international rumor-
mongering. For that afford to
tolerate them.