The Washington times., 1920-07-24
4STUFF" ST|LLFED
TOGERMAN PUBLIC
Propaganda Of Wartime CaIlber
Sent Out to properly Mold
Popular Opinion"

BERLIN, July 24-Germanys eni-
cient although unscrupulous wartime
propaganda machine, whlch py raise
stimuli bore up the German peoples
morale until the November break
down, is still grinding out what Will
helmstrasse considers TO be FAVOR
able opinion"
The methods Of the foreign ofnce
press department came into the lime
light with the designations or the
chiefs of the Reischwehr press sec
tion. The Wilhelmstrasse press de-
partment. which can change In Few
hours from the deepest pessinism 10
CHEEKY optimism at the hint OF It's
directors, came into conflict with the
military press chiefs lmmedlateIy ait-
er the Kapp revolution.
The military press section was ac-
cused by the civil department OF not
appreciating the situations "politi-
cal requirements" and accordingly
not giving out and Withholding the
necessary information to properly
mold public opinion.
READ ORIGINAL REPORTS.
The military not only answered all
OF the questions Of the foSeign cor
respondents, but even permitted them
to read the original reports from the
field. also original intelligence re-
ports. Armed with this Information,
the foreign correspondents caused
considerable embarrassment in Will
helmstrasse when they caught the
civilian press chiefs evading or de-
liberately camouflaging. Immediately
after these incidents the military in
formation department was curtailed.
The climax came with the Adlers-
hof incident. Against their own In
terests the military announced that
Reichsweir detachment had summar-
lily lined up against the wall and shot
twenty-four radicals in Adledshof
The foreign office in a conference
with foreign correspondents announc-
ed at first that the story was an un-
founded rumor. When they saw that
the correspondents had some facts
of their own the foreign office per-
sisted that the story was grossly ex-
aggerated. After five days pressure
the foreign office read the original
reports in press. Conference.-The
same reports which the newspaper
men had received five days before
from the military.
Soon after this incident the foreign
office secured the resignation or
Captain Human and his assistants
and for time with the Reischwehr
chiefs out of the way Wilhelmstrasse
could mold public opinion as they
considered polite.
DAILY CONFERENCES.
Kapp inaugurated daily confer
ences for foreign correspondents
which were continued after Ebert's
return until the American correspond
ents' sharp criticism and. open chal-
longing of the facts" the press de-
partments was handing out caused
al stra 90 ha nd roQ o. =
ings. Because the American news
papermen weren't satisfied with a
story simply because it was labeled
"official' and chose to investigate it
before they cabled it to the United
States, the German officials an
nounced that the meetings would be
discontinued because the correspond
ents evidently didn't appreciate them.
The latest alleged taking OF the
foreign office entrapped the Berliner
Tageblatt. The Tageblatt Immediate
Berlin was surrounded by Bavarian
troops and that a militarist revolu-
tion was impending.
"It was proved at yesterdays press
conference that the representatives
of the -Serliner Tageblatt received
this humbug story from the repre-
sentative of the press chief, Herr
Breuer," says the Ireussisch kreuz
Zeitung. This government repre-
sentative was convinced of the false
ness of the news, nevertheless he
gave it to the Berliner Tageblatt. The
facts are that a government office
makes it it's business to plant fcti-
tion tales in the press, dangerous for
public safetyfi in order to prevent the
threatened breakdown of the Major
ity Socialist and Democratic parties"