The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1918-08-10
OVERNMENT ACTIVITY
IN PICTURING WAR
Secretary Baker Explains to Congress
About Picture Taking Of Military
Preparations and Tactics.

washington, August 0.-lne Story
of the governments policy and ac-
tivities in pictorializing the war, not
only for record and information but
for morals at home and for combat
ting the German lie in other countries
OF the world" is told in report
which Secretary Baker has laid before
Congress.
1t 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 on Public Informa.
tion and approved by the War Depart.
men.
The pictures are taken by Signal
Corps units and are shown in thous-
ands OF motion picture houses un.
der 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 Treas.
ury to the Committees credit, says
the report" do not represent profit in
any sense. Every cent goes to manu-
facture and distribution of the enor.
nous amount of film the Committee Is
compelled to distribute without return
in foreign countries as part of the
United States educational campaign.
All features and war reviews. will be
supplied free of charge to canton,
ments 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 dstri-
button demanded by the necessities OF
our morals at home and even larger
necessities of combating the German
lie in other countries of the world"
Secretary Baker says each corps
headquarters and division headquart-
ers of the American Expeditionary
Force is provided with 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 pho
tographic work ordered by General
Pershing aggregated seventeen Off
GERS and 102 enlisted men in May. All
motion picture negatives received
from overseas and prints of still pic
lures are delivered to the War Plans
divisions of the General Staff for his
torical record and government pro-
paganda. Duplicate negatives. of no
value to the enemy, are turned over
10 the Committee. a.ata.-..-~-. ..-..-
General Pershing was allowed
last December to grant permission to
outsiders to take photographs subject
TO censorship Of the Expeditionary
Force but the War Department has no
information as to whom his permis-
sion, has been given. Here in the
United States. the Committee, in CO.
operation with the army by order of
he Secretary OF War, worked out a
permit system to enable civilian pho
'ographers to take pictures of the war
preparations in this country. This
system says Secretary Baker" safe.
guards military interests and deals
adequately and even generously with
all private interests desiring to pre-.
sent the nations war progress to the
people in picture form Except in
certain camps, where secret tests are
being made, cantonments have been
free to photographers from the be.
ginning of the war With respect TO
oidance and airplane production the
military authorities have not deemed
Il wise to expose secrets to other than
those in uniform and while permits
have been given in some cases the
general policy has been to exclude pri
Yate photographers from factories
where ordinances and airplanes are
being made. The permit procedure
makes investigation OF the applicant
possible and furnishes control over
the pictures taken"
Permits are limited to fifteen days
from issue. Photographs cannot be
aken OF experiments in materials. eN
trenchments, or formations, machine
gun targets, or camouhage. All have
o be censored promptly and before
publication by the committee.
In the case of famous seven.ree
war crusading picture, the materia
was collected by Signal Corps opera
tors IN France and in this country III
set before the people a comprehensive
record OF war progress in this conn
'ry and in France" 1t was showI
through the committees organization
IN the principal theatres of the lare
er cities. with patriotic organization
ma citizens cooperating. In thes,
'howings, the report explains" ther,
Is no thought of profit. the principa
idea being to gain the widest possible
publicity Then. with their commerce
b nj value demonstrated, the feature 4
offered by the committee to the high
est bidder in point OF money and dis
ribution. In the cdusading pictur
case. the committee awarded the cor
tract TO the First National Exhibitor
I" Association, the committee gettin
seventy ner cent OF the toal gross r,
: ceipts Of the association from the MI,
D lures under a guaranty OF exhibtio
j. IN minimum Of $500 motion plctur
houses. The same procedure, accor,
ing to Chairman Creel, will be follow
ed as to all future feature films pr,
pared by the Committed
How representatives of the Comml
zee and OF the Allied government
differed as TO war review pictures
e disclosed In the report When III
d war co lego material is combed Il