The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1918-01-25
THE SINS or THE CENSOR
AN OPEN LETTER
T NEW TIMES

censorship ends. At present the sins
OF the censorship cannot be placed at
( their Individual door They have not
one iota or power. Their entire organ
ization is upside down Already there
! have been many bad results. I am
| certain that the final one. if the pres
ent form is maintained. will be the pro-
llonsation Of the war
These results TO Date are obvious 20
/ anyone who realizes that this war Is
I just as vital to America as TO any OF
i her allies that she IS fighting because
+ or facts. not because OF theories the
chief OF these facts being that her very
existence as great nation aud world
power Is at stake.
/ ! would classify these results or the
censor's sins as follows. First. a stag
( nation or Il least slowing up OF inter
est in America because the present
censorship is a noncondgctor and there
( IS lack q news concerning our ac-
I tivities. second. careless easy-g going
attitude among our officers and men
now here; lastly. a feeling among our
} correspondents OF What's the use
anyway II We have . story about the
( American expeditionary force that is
any good, fl IS a safe bet that IL will
not be allowed to pass. 80 why write
I IT."
/ In belief that criticism should be.
constructive rather than destructive.
now offer nay opinion concerning what
our censorship organization should be-
come
/ wANTTDs a PUBLICITY BUREAU.
Primarily. II should cease to be
| known as Censorship" The American
press, as represented over here IS
thoroughly patriotic and should be talk
en- into partnership with the army and
navy as the lighting arm Of the Amer
lean government The censorship or
ganization should he renamed The
War Publicity Bureau or tile United
States Expeditionary Force" At pres
ent the censorship belongs 20 the In
teligencs Department OF the army,
which fact alone makes Il a negative
force IT never passes It's findings to
the public. but to the powers that be
1t is the department that handles es-
pionage which alone is enough to
divorce It from the censor n turned
/ into var-publicity bureau. the CEN
sorship ceases to be negative force
and becomes a positive iustitution-and
an Institution for good
I Tou NAV assume from this point
that l am against censorship IN all It's
+ forms. ] have already said that be-
/ lieve IN the restraint OF Aews that VIII
giye the enemy comfort. But this war
/ is so different from every other war
! that there IS indeed very little news
/ that cannot be safely published. II
/ the army has an important movement
| OF troops or the navy Of ships. those
! departments keep their own coun 81
anyway. The air service has so des-
trowed land strategy that IT is I'm
!, possible TO keep any army movement
/ Very much OF a secret. II an offensive
or any large scale Re planned, the artlI-
lerr concentration Immediately advises
/ the enemy what is up. even n Ibis air.
planes do not So about the only im-
portant secret that can be kept nova
days IL Tho exact hour when the in
fsntrv goes over the TOP.
Thus, the real use or the military
censor IS he existed IN previous wars
is practically done away with Nat
Urallv there ara some matters that
ought 10 be kept secret as. long as
possible To give examples 7 believe
it was right not to mention the ports
a. which our troops first landed or the
| first encampmeuts II France But now
| the Germans know them all. and for
months Il would have been just as safe
to saw that the troops we're installed in
the Jeanne dare country as to say
that the English were the main offens-
/ lev troops in the Battle Of Flanders
/ Everybody in Europe knows exactly
where they arc. The Germans have
flown over the camps many times and
distributed pamphlets addressed to the
| Americans. Yet it has been tho great
secret IN America. And I am sure
that the story OF our troops in the
land and the town OF Jeanne dare
would have been a fine thing to tell
our people
LET THE PUBLIC KNOW TIRE FACTS.
| This is a citizens war and II the cit
! liens are not kept posted on what the
army IS doing stagnation VIII get worse
and worse until the war is indefinitely
prolonged. r not lost. II the CORE
spondents had been able to cut loose
we could BIZ this time have had all
America on tiptoe to see that We were
doing our share in beating the Cen
| trail empires. The present negative cen
Isorship has become an ideal screen for
errors because through il all criticism
| is barred. The general staff can make
as many "gansr as it likes. and nothing
lis known Do Won think that, had
there been a proper publicity bureau
instead Of an improper censorship in
England at the time Of the Dardenelles
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