The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-09-22
THAT WORD PROPAGANDA"

THAT WORD PROPAGANDA"
 It has become customary of late, whenever a public official gets into 2 tight place, to reply to just criticism by calling it propaganda" If the word ever did mean anything, it means nothing now. But the use of it has d significance. When an official cries propaganda," the public may at once know that he has no argument and no defense. If he had defense, he would certainly not seek to conceal it under a meaningless generalization.
 When Governor Brandon defines as propaganda the criticism and the pub lication of facts pertaining to the con vict lease system in Alabama, and the unsavory development in connection herewith, the governor at once in- forms the entire commonwealth that he has no sound and substantial basis on which to construct reply. There is nothing that has been published in con- nection with the Banner mine episode that has not been fact, and there has been no criticism that has not been based on the facts. To call that propa- ganda is to elevate the word to a use to which it is not entitled. Fortu- nately, its use no longer deceives any one. The public is entitled to judge whether criticism has been forced upon the governor, or whether his record has invited it.
 If the governor really is sincere in denouncing propaganda, he would not condone any policy of withholding from publication items of public rec ord. The Age-Herald has been refused access to the records established by law regarding the conduct of the con- vict department. That is to say, that portion of the public which reads The Age-Herald is denied the facts which the legislature has by statute com manded shall be placed on record for public information. If the governor really believes that there has been propaganda, would he not insist that the facts of record be published in order that the people may be set right? Yet it is fact that this news paper has been refused such record, and there is as yet no protest or order from the governor against such re- fusal.
 The Age-Herald believes that refusal of the public records to any citizen is illegal, and contrary to the purposa and intent of the laws. The record ir question is one provided for by law as follows:
 Criminal Code of 1907, Sec.
 6543, second paragraph: The
 person authorized by the presi-
 dent of the board of inspectors
 to inflict punishment shall keep
 a well-bound book, to be known
 as the Record of Punishments, in
 which he shall record all punish
 ments of whatever character in-
 flicted on convicts, giving the
 name of the convict punished, of
 fense, date, character and exact
 extent or quantity of punishment,
 and it shall be the duty of the
 president of the board to care-
 fully examine this record at least
 once in each month. Any false
 entry in such record or any fail
 ure to make entry therein, as re-
 quired by this section, is mis-
 demeanor.
 Suspicious are aroused, not when records are openly and frankly dis played, but when there is effort to conceal them. People are going to have opinions, and if they may not base them on facts, they will baso them upon what they suspect to b. facts. Since facts would be withheld only for some purpose, the people are not suh- ject to charges of propaganda if they interpret that purpose in accordance with their general experience.