Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-11
TO WITHHOLD ADDRESSES
 OF SOLDIERS KILLED
Out of Difference to Objections of the
 French Government.

Washington, March 1o-The war department gives no indication of yielding in it's determination to with hold the home addresses of soldiers killed or wounded, or who die of other causes in France
 Easing it's position on the objections the French government made to Gen. eral Pershing against the American method of issuing casualty lists, the department intends to meet objections in congress and from the public with the answer that the. old system be- trays valuable military information to the enemy and the fact that the near est relatives of soldiers are officially notified hours before they could get the information from the newspapers.
 The committee on public information maintains it's stand that the mere names of soldiers, without home ad- dresses to identify them to neighbors and friends, or prevent confusion with other men of similar name, are so de- void of news value that it will not issue the lists. Therefore, the lists will continue to be issued once a day from the effice of Adjutant General Mccain.
 Pointing out that the French pub- | fish no casualty list at all but merely notify the relatives, war department l officials give as their explanation of I the new move that the enemy by scan
 ming the complete casualty lists as they have previously been issued is enabled to piece out fair idea of the | identity of the troops confronting him. | Although under the new plan rela- | tives will be notified, and officials ex-
 pect. publication of names of troops
 will find their way into local news papers, it is felt that the publications
 will be widely scattered and that the
 task of assembling the names from all 1 the newspapers of the country and
 consolidating them into military in- i formation would be such a tremendous l task that from the aspects of a spy
 system it is practically impossible. | In the smaller cities and towns it
 is assumed the mere mention of a sol-
 dier's name will lead to ready identi- | fication and publication without a
 great deal of effort, but in the great cities this is accounted well nigh inn possible unless relatives themselves notify the newspapers as they receive telegrams from the war department.
 In promising to quickly send off :
 cial notifications to relatives, how
 ever, the war department is careful to
 warn the public that 1t must not | identify men by their names alone,
 because there are many similarities of names in the army. Unless a mans relatives have received an official tel egram concerning him, the department says, they must assume that some
 other man of the same name is re- ferred to.
 It is estimated that in the forces now abroad there are hundreds of men with names quite common and many thousands with names differing only in spelling or perhaps initials. It has been pointed out to officials that mere publication of names, without further identification marks probably will bring apprehension and distress, and that the war department and the newspapers will be besieged with de-
 mands for more specific information
 Officials, however, rely on their off,
 cial telegrarns to relatives to carry the
 news to others who are first entitled
 to know it. and feel that they may
 pass it on to others
 Congressnen who had a fair demon .
 stration of what to expect when the fate of many men was in doIbt fol days, when the Tuscania was torpe-
 doed, are apprehensive of the demands their constituents will make upor them. Senator New of Indiana al. ready has resolution in the senate
 calling for the war departments ex. plantation, and the subject is expected . to be taken up generally in congres: this week.
 sE Until some other arrangements, i any, are made, the war departmen , plans to issue the casualty list one, : each day, and persons finding name. they recognize win have to communi , cate with relatives of the man listed to learn if it is someone else of tn, same name. 7 At present, the casualty lists runrin, light and under a hundred names
 day, are comparatively easy of dis senination to the country As fh
 American forces increase in nunbe 5 and take greater part in the fighting the problem of transmitting column , of names without any accompanyinl ! marks of Identification will grow t U enormous extent. ....5@