The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1933-12-28
ANOTHER GOVERNMENT
LARK?

It has been announced officially at
Washington that plan is now being
considered for government control of
the great system of communication,
the radio, the telephone, the telegraph
and our international communications.
The purpose is to put these into four
monopolistic systems, all of which, of
course, are to be rigidly supervised at
Washington. Bills are now being
drafted, it is said, by committee
working in cooperation with Secretary
of Commerce Roper.
Three general proposals have been
submitted by Mr.. Roper: the first per-
hitting the continuance of the systems
as private enterprises as at present;
the second, proposing government con-
trolled monopolies, and the third pro-
viding for out and out government
ownership. The administration, ac-
cording to reports, favors the second
of these three plans and bills will be
pfeSellCeu III dCCOIuoIlSS Will IhiS
preference.
It is added that the experience
which the government gained in super
vising and regulating the railroads
during the World War will be used as
the foundation for this latest govern
ment control. 1t had not been gener-
ally believed that this railroad eXper-
fence during the Warld Was was an
especially happy Ole. Certainly it
was not happy from the standpoint OF
the man who used the railroads, or for
the railroads themselves. At the end
of the Wilson administration govern
ment control of railroads was about
as popular as the humps. 1t remains
70 be seen whether, in case Mr.. Rop-
er's ideas are enacted into law, the
government control of these enter
prises will prove any happier than the
previous experience.
Probably one of the first questions
which will occur to the average mind
is just what it is all about and the
reason for this regrouping and control.
Some time ago the newspapers of the
country were much perturbed by the
thought that some sort of censorship
of the press might grow out Of the
code provided to control this great
system for disseminating news and in
formation. This leads the Chicago
Tribune to say editorially of this new
proposal for regulating the great sys-
TENS of communication: "That control
of the means of communication means
control of the thing communicated
cannot be dismissed as an improba-
bility, Notwithstanding the many gov
ernmental disavowals of any intent to
censor information and opinion. These
disavowals have never been supported
by guarantees which would satisfy
the demands of Americans seeking to
preserve unimpaired the groundwork
of freedom in the United States. The
governments position in this regard
has not been reassuring but, on the
contrary, all relevant evidence which
is procured indicates real desire on
the part of federal administrators to
support their projects by control OF
information and manipulation of opin-
ion. .
"Although at times the administra-
tors demonstrate that it is absured to
attribute such purpose to them and
question the sincerity of their critics,
each definite step they take is per-
ceived as being in the direction of
supervised channels and mediums of
information with an unavoidable in
fiuence upon the character of the, in
formation and opinion communicated.
Radio has felt this influence and the
newspapers have been brought face
to face, in spite of government denials,
with the prospect of administration
supervision of their production and
their contents" -.
~AT~ MWI0 ~r ~YN