The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-06-23
How the Censorship Hid or FaIsi-
fled Facts Is Told in
Pamphlet.
TRUTH KEPT FROM PAPERS
Never Any Official Admission of
Marine Defeat-Strikes and Food
y Ills Kept secret--Amerlca' POSI-
tIon as Neutral Distorted.

the hope or an impossible victory, ma
from them the news Of defeats, and at
last contributed TO the downfall of the
structure of pretense 1t had raised are
brought out in remarkable pamphlet
said to have been inspired by DIR. VIII
helm Muehlon. formerly director of
the Krupp works, whose expose of
Germany In 1918 as the real instIga-
tor Of the war sent him into voluntary
exile In Switzerland.
The pamphlet. entitled. How We
Were Lied To-" is published ostensi-
bly, under the name Of Kurt Muehsam,
former Austro-German war CORE
spondent. 1t is filled with instances
of military duplicity, showing the eff
forts that were made to conceal from
the German people everything of dis
couraging nature that had TO do with
the war.
Newspaper editors, according TO the
document. were forbidden, under dire
penalties, TO discuss any subject re-
lating TO the war without the approval
of hundreds of government censors,
operating through q newspaper bu-
reaus and various branches Of the gov
eminent. The Lusitania sinking and
the submarine controversy with the
United States were so Unanswered in
the press that for months the people
were led to believe that the negotia-
tions We're taking "a course very fa-
vorable to u.s."
News Very Carefully Filtered.
Only such news was published as
the militarists thought would favor
ably affect public opinion, and to carry
out this purpose. the pamphlet points
out. all kinds of falsities were en-
ployed.
Il Secretary Lansing. for instance, was
reported as III and on the verge of
leaving Office. A hopeless breach was
also said to have. arisen between the
secretary Of state Shd President VII.
son. 49,
Doctor Muehlsn. who, In earlier rev.
elations accused the then Emperor
William Of having issued the order
take no prisoners" points out the
fact that not once In all of the Ger
man war reports can be found any adj
mission that the first battle Of the
Marine was German defeat The
only thing that the German high com
mand was able TO report about that
reverse was disguised In these words
L "In the western theater of war the
! operations. details of which cannot
| yet be published. have led to new
battle which Is developing fayorably
Reports spread by the enemy unfavor'
able to us are false"
The former head of the munltion
plant at Essen, who possessed com
plete information as to the operations
OF the military authorities, said that
there was hardly day during all
the long war when the editorial office:
Of the German daily press were moi
'honored by the receipt of conhden
tlal communications. orders and pro
lhibitions from the censorship authori
ties, calculated to limit free expires
sion Of opinion on the most vital ques
tons and ultimately to throttle It,
Mustn't Say "Ruthless U-Boat War;
The Germans, for instance, were
never TO be charged with conducting
a ruthless" U-boat war. but rather
an UNLIMITED" or "boundless" war
Descriptions of devastation In France
and Belgium were forbidden and al
references 10 barbarism and wantoI
destruction were taboo, with the sig
,nificant expression. "The army knows
when TO use force and when to b.
mild" Details of the closing OF fac
tories, coal and food shortages. poo
crops and the employment Of prisoners
of war In mines and munltion plants
were suppressed, as were also reports
OF street disorders, unrest and strikes
1t must be understood, writes Doc
tor Muehlon's collaboration, that all III,
censorship regulations under whicl
the newspapers were operating wer'
unknown to the people. The dlstor
ton OF facts was thus made easy 70
every editor. He was encouraged Il
say that, Notwithstanding that the al
lies were sinking German submarine
as fast as they could be built, 9TH
number Of new German U-boats is fou
times greater than the losses. Gu
sumbersible fleet has grown extraordl
narily during the war. The press
TO picture the submarine warfare as
! means Of shortening the struggle an
not as q measure Of retaliation or
weapon TO starve our foes"
Il, Falslfied All Facts About Us.
| After months Of deception In tryin
20 convince the people that Amerlc
} would never enter the war, assert
, the Krupp director, when Preslden
Wilson sent HIS ultlmatum the Gel
man press readily executed an "abou
face" and endeavored to minimize tn
| United States as possible advel
snry.
Even after the United States hn
landed more than 100000 men I
France Doctor Muehlon shows IN
German papers continued their can
paign OF falslty.
After the United States had entere
the war the censors permitted sue