Arizona republican., 1918-03-11
Bv Hevwood Broun

 army must pass French censorship as well as American before this story reaches the people back home. The censors are not trying to suppress any one particular thing. The trouble isl that they are following rules, and these rules are such that a proper and intelligent public opinion in America should not tolerate them.
 When censor wants to kill a story he usually says: Don't you know that your story may possibly give informa- tion to the Germans?" The corre- spondent then withdrew the story in confusion. Of course, what he should answer is. "Very well, that story may give information to the Germans, but it will also give information to Amer jeans, and just now that is much more important.
 The Censor and the Rainbow Division Take the case of the Rainbow divi- 1 sion. This division was organized with quotas of the guard from many states in order to bring the war directly home to great many people in Amer lca. It was for propaganda as well as for military purposes, but as soon as it crossed the ocean it passed into a great silence under the rule NO men, | t1on shall be made of troop move ments." After the division had been in France for a long period the censor allowed the announcement to go home that "certain units of the guard of almost all the states are now in | France"
 Of course, the German Intelligence department knew that the Rainbow division was in France, but if it was still ignorant of the fact then the mes- sage suggested by the censor gave il away. That is, it gave it away to the German intelligence officer who made a study of our military system an( knew that certain units of the guard of almost all the states" must be the
 Rainbow division. At the same time
 the average newspaper reader il
 America would be deceived by tn,
 camouflage.
 The German newspapers get new
 of the American army long before it il freed for publication back home. Ant
 much of it remains exclusive. For in
 stance, German newspapers printe,
 again and again the fact that Ameri
 can troops were training in the Vosges
 and French papers carried the name i. of some of the towns, but nothing wa said to America, and nothing can b
 said yet
 Germans Hail Them from the Air
 German papers printed the fact tha
 American artillery was training nea
 Bescancon, and one day a Germa
 aeroplane flew over the camp an
 dropped message, saying: Hello Americans! We know you're ther, |, but We aren't going to bother you ye O ,f @o l. it worth our while" A week later tn
 American censor cut out of an Ameri P can correspondents story a referenc . to the fact that the artillery wa r training in hilly country. Even tn e news of our first encounter with tn ] Germans came first from Germany.
 Originally correspondents were al n lowed to mention all major general i by name, and then it came down to : rule that nobody could be mentione s but General Pershing. This rule, har e pily, was waived now and again ES h captions were made usually for casua
 ties. It will be difficult to keep up tl q m orale back home if every man WI r comes across the sea enters a gres . silence which is broken only when h 0 name appears in a casualty list N
 news is good news, has been the polio ? Of the American censorship. When il = correspondents learned that a certai g regiment of engineers was operating s railroad near the French front and ha 5, been under shell fire once or twi, = they were anxious to send home a stoi r that at last American troops were LII 8 der fire. They thought American trooJ
 would find inspiration in that fact IT
 censor would not pass the story. C
 might worry the people back home
 was his explanation.
 Has PotentiaIities for Great Evil
 The potentialities of the presel F censorship system are much wor
 than any harm which it has alreat | done. Our censorship is politics ! moral and literary. One correspon,
 ent wrote story of how the mayor
 a little French town turned out at
 o'clock in the afternoon in a high h and evening clothes. supplemented l red scarf, to welcome newly arriv " American troops. The most liter ' ridicules the French. Everybo, l. can't pass that story" he said. " ;e when this story was presented. IS knows that you shouldn't wear evenil r. clothes at in the afternoon $. But to get back to a more gener to indictment. In every other count
 political censorship is distinct fire IL military censorship, but any news wi ed an American angle which goes fro D. France now must pass an Americ
 military censor, be it ever so remote a. connected with the army. The chi
 censor in turn is responsible to t ps commander in chief which gives Ge n- eral Pershing dictatorship over O rd huge source of American public opi tn lon. This Is wrong in theory and ne mas not worked out well in practice, f )u whatever the merits of Pershing a es he is deficient in a realization of t as power the press may play in helpi )y to win the war
 The censor should be a civilian a. dependent of military control, exec )n Tn news directly concerning the arm se No one questions that there must he censorship over certain military ms IF ters, but the correspondent shot al nave the benefit of the doubt. Sol UT o11icers have gone to absurd lengths Id defining things as being militia il, secrets. Thus, on one occasion a br l. general paragraph about the use
 camouflage by American artillery "
 cut oue oy an officer who imagin 'h1s SoAAouiid6e was SOmeth1ng . undreamed of by the Germans. | Seems to Doubt Nations Courage 7 A great deal is heard about expet ency in the censor's office. Thoue ! IS taken as to just what effect ca H dispatch will have back home. D consideration is given to the possit
 reaction on democrats, pacifists a
 prohibitionists. The censors seem
 doubt the courage of the Americ people, and have acted as if pub ,A opinion would be shocked if the ent into the war were not a toe-by-i . process.
 as Nor must the French censor be ft