The Washington times., 1934-08-25
CHARGES NEWS
CURBS IN ALL
BUREAUS
AsSaiIS "0fficiaI Secrets"
Bill and Other Alleged Et-
forts at Suppression

service, such as exists in for
eign countries, Senator Thomas
D. Schall (R.) of Minnesota re-
piled today with broadside at
tack on censorship" which he
said permeated all Government
departments and bureaus.
Specifically, Senator Schal de-
clared that within Is days after
President Roosevelt was inaugu-
rated the Administration intro
duced in Congress a direct cen
sorship bill, under which it would
have been possible to sentence a
publisher to Jail for 10 years. He
said in letter to the President:
"Under your leadership, it
passed the House and if the
Senate had not taken out the
poison a publisher who had not
gained your approval or the
approval of some of your ap-
pOinteeS could have been SEN
fenced to 10 years imprisOn-
ment."
RAPS SECRETS" BILL"
This was construed as a refer
ence to the official secrets" bill
hurriedly introduced early in the
Seventy-third Congress-, after a
book had been published by an ex-
State Department official, which
revealed how the State Depart
ment had decoded japanese and
other foreign messages during the
war. The bill was subsequently
greatly modified.
Senator Schall's letter said:
"Every Government depart
ment under you is now clOaked
in censorship, almost every bill
that has been forced through
Congress by you has been in it.
self a little censorship, little
dictatorship, either giving
blanket powers to you or to
some of your right and left
hand bowers"
GARY ENTERS BATTLE
Hampson Gary, present chief of
the Federal Communications Com
mission, also Joined in the con-
troverSy today.
The Chief Executive, in tele-
gram to Senator Schall, requested
the Senator to promptly let me
have the facts on which you based
the charges made" The message
said:
"Once these facts are in my
hands, they will receive imme.
diate attention in order to make
impossible the things you say
will be done, because 1 am just
as much opposed to them as you
are"
Mr.. Gary, acting chairman of
the Federal Communications Com
mission, flatly denied any inten-
tion on the part of the Govern
ment of going into the news
paper business" and said Senator
Schall's charge was without the
slightest foundation in fact" He
added:
mo, the Government is not
going into the newspaper bust
ness. It is satisfied with the
methods, processes and results
of the activities of the great
agencies which gather and dis
Seminate the news.
POWER LACKING
Incidentally, it would make
no difference if the Government
were not satisfied, for nowhere
in the Government does there
reside the power to set up such
an agency as the Minnesota
Senator suggests"
Senator Schall's letter to the
President continued:
II refer to the statement of
your chairman of the Judiciary
Committee, Summers D.) of
Texas, in connection with the
passage of the press censorship
bill by the House in the special
session of Congress called by
you.
"Mr. Summers in his state
ment says the bill was intro
duced at the request of the 'Ex-
ecutive' and is necessary to the
success of the recovery IegiSla-
tion.
Every Government depart
ment under you is now ClOaked
in censorship. e.
MORGENTHAU ACCUSED
''Your Secretary of the Treas
ury has two billions of the peO-
pies money which is expend-
ing under the protection of
press censorship which you
have demanded and approved.
"YOu demanded and sane
toned passage of a bill per
mitting you to secretly fix
tariff rates and clothe your
acts with a press censorship
second to nothing ever before
even suggested in the legisla-
tive annals of the United
States, and this, too, contrary
to your Democratic party plat
form
"The communications bill
originally introduced by you
contained a press censorship
clause which was stricken out
before the bill was passed, but
it still gives you the power to
inaugurate a Government tele-
graphic news service, under
which, as one example, you
Immediately nut out nf bn, i~"SS
the three radio stations of Mr..
Ford"