Evening star., 1934-07-08
BY ALBIN z. JOHNSON,

~ ENEVA, Switzerland.-There
was time, not so long ago,
T when the people Of Europe
~ readers as well as news
paper correspondents, edi-
tors and publishers-got all excited
and worried about a little thing
called censorship. Those were the
good old days! Dictatorships had
not passed from the stage of Thou
shalt notI" Newspapers il Italy,
Spain and the Balkan countries ap-
peared with blank holes in their
columns where a few sticks of copy
had been jerked out at the last min
ute by order of cepsor."
Foreign correspondents still could
smuggle dispatches across a friendly
border or argue with the official
blue-penciler over whether a story
was calculated to injure the reputa-
ton of Benito Mussolini, Primo de
Rivera, Gen. Pilsudski or whatever
political clique happened to be
classed as the 'ins" down in the
Balkans or up in the Baltic.
Today things are different. Die
tatorships and dictators have de-
veloped the technique Of Thou
shalt"
Told What to Believe.
In 10 European countries dnclud-
ing RUSSIA more than 100000
people-306, ,460, $50, according to the
1920 census to be exact-today are
not told what they cannot read or
print, but what they must read and
publish-and believe.
The nations where the black,
brown or red blight has eaten away
the very soul of freedom of the press
and conscience. in order of the Sc
Germany, Russia, Portugal, Austria,
Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. Hungary,
Albania and Lithuania. Not content
with withholding information from
the public, the existing governments
In these countries actually concern
themselves with warping the minds
of their citizenry. The sins of COM
mission are even greater than the
sins of omission. Misinformation
has Deen 1OuI1o 10 De aS pOCenJ III
national affairs as poisonous war
time propaganda was in interna-
tional affairs. Where skilled pub
lcists, during the World War, sought
to send behind the enemy lines, and
into neutral countries, information
calculated to break down the morale
of the populations, Europe's dictator.
today, when they find the goint
hard. give their public a "shot in tht
arm" to keep it on fighting edge
What the German. Italian and Rus.
sian people today think about theil
neighbors Is exactly what the Nazi
Fascist and bolshevik leaders want
them to think--if they think at all.
Insidious Line.
Added to the aforementioned II
countries are more European state.
where censorship exists, but ont
which has not developed the insidiou,
poisons that dominate in the brown
black or red shirt nations. Poland
Rumania, Greece, Spain, Esthonis
and Latvia are gradually slipping
across the danger lne-a line thai
is not at all plainly marked and fol
that reason is all the more insidious
Add the 10000, 900 people of these
half-censored countries to the 306.-
000, 900 of the 10 super-censored ma
tens and around IA per cent of the
people of Europe and Russia are today
absolutely at the mercy of the in.
fnitesimal minority which rule. Les:
than rs per cent Of Europe's popula.
ton enjoys anything that even re.
motely resembles personal liberty anc
freedom of expression and conscience
The nations which still cling II
Eumanity's most sacred birthright arr
Great Britain, France, Switzerland
Czechoslovakia. Belgium, the Irish
Free State, the Netherlands, Finland
Sweden. Norway and Denmark. Theil
population totals 1876. Is ,854, Of which
nearly two-thirds live in England and
France.
The situation of the press in Fascist
Italy is an OLD story. During the
past decade it has become 100 pei
cent FaScistiZed. A new generation
is growing into youth and manhood
beyond the Alps almost entirely ig.
norant of what has and is happening
politically beyond their frontiers
From one end of the country to the
other-Venlce to Naples and Genoa
to Brindisi-the newspapers carry
Identical pronunciamentos when Rome
so orders. Now and then they art
permitted to put into their own Ian.
guage and words the trend that the
Palazzo Chigi indicates. Usually, how.
ever, their columns-so far as internal
and external political news is con-
cerned-might as well be stereotyped
Orders on News.
Almost daily. from the Ofricia1 Press
Bureau at Rome, emanate strict or
ders as to what should be toned down
in the days news. Copies of these
instructions" make their way into
Switzerland through Italian newspa-
per correspondents, who, while they
are subservient TO Fascism inside oi
Italy. see clearly its drawbacks wher
they come in contact with foreign
colleagues at Geneva and elsewhere
Some of the instruction" are
classic. Fascist newspapers, for ex-
ample, were adjured not to give
prominence to the fact that Musso-
l:ni had become a grandfather-ir
fact, the advice was not to print
the story of the blessed event" in
the home of II Duce's daughter at all
Such activities on the part of the
Fascist Press Bureau bring a smile
They do not materially alter the course
Of domestic or international events as
does the suppression, or misinterpre-
tation, of political, financial or eco
nomic affairs. But they do serve tc
burn out even the tiniest spark Of
individuality, initiative or independ-
ence that may still remain in Italian
journalism.
And, despite the forward strides
that Italy undoubtedly is making in
some directions under the dictator
ship, the italian press, except as O
house organ of the regime in power
Is q farce.
Propaganda Used.
A tendency, not noticeable in Eu-
rope a few years ago. and which is
pregnant with dangerous potentiali-
ties, Is the attempt to influence