Evening star., 1934-07-08
DICTATORS' CENSORSHIP
OFPRESS COVERS EUROPE
Newspaper Freedom Ends in 10 Ma jor
Countries, With 73 Per Cent of Cont
nent Forced to Read 'OfficiaP News.


bugaboo in many conservative Eu-
ropean countries. Relics of the pro-
tective censorships still are to be
found
The theory back OF this infiltration
through the press is swo-fold. The
Russians used 1t as a counter attack
against capitalistic nations who sought
to stir up their publicS against the
menace of bolshevism and Marxism.
To a certain extent the Italians also
wanted to educate" foreign publics.
"Fascism,' Mussolini once said, was
an eXportable commodity" Later he
changed his views and said that it was
strictly Italian phenomenon which
could not be expected to work salts
factorily under non-Italian climatic,
racial, political and cultural condi-
tions.
Evidently Fascist views have again
changed, for Italian interests are re-
ported to have purchased the inter-
nationally known Neues Wiener-Jour-
nal of Vienna, with the idea Of max
ing it the official newspaper Of the
Austrian Fascists, who are closely
associated with Italy. Fascist funds
are also active in advancing the Swiss
Fascist movement and there is a con-
slant clash in the Federal Council at
Berne over Fascist activities which are
alleged to infringe upon Switzerland's
sovereignty and traditional neutrality.
Nazi Newspaper Control.
Nazi Germany, which copies every
thing the Italian Fascists have done
in the past, also is seeking desperately
to extend its political doctrines
through the foreign press. In the
free city of Danzig, the Saar Terri
tory. Austria, Hungary and Switzer-
land the Nazis have obtained toe
holds. In Danng the Nazi govern
ment. not content with controlling the
majority Of newspapers, actually sup
pressed two dailies-the Socialist
Volkstimme and Catholic party's Volk-
zeitung because they dared criticize
the elimination of the two political
parties which they represented.
In reply TO appeals 70 the League
Of Nations. which SuperUses the Dam
zig administration through a h1gn
commissioner, DIR. Hermann Rauscn-
ming. NaZ president OF the Danzlg
Senate, bluntly, SAID:
I'VE will not tolerate newspaper IN
1uences in DanNg which interfere
with the tNaZ1) governments admin
/ istrat1on the League mas no
right to interfere IN internal mat
ters =" every person belonging
to hostile parties Will be sternly dealt
with put IN place wnere
| they will be harmless"
Similar conditions developed IN the
Saar Territory, where a plebiScite is
to be held next January to determine
whether the population desires to
reafiliate with Germany, become
French or maintain the present inter-
national administration under the
] auspices Of the League. The German
Nazi organization, disguised as the
DeutScheS Front, completely doml-
mates the Saaro1s press With the eX-
| ceptlon Of Socialist organ which Will
pass out OF existence after the pIebl-
sc1te is concluded-unleSs the anti
Nazis win.
Also in Esthonia.
Up in Esthonia the Nazis also have
| inflltrated. The Baltic states OF Is
thonia, Latvia and L1thuania were. Tor
centuries the private property OF Bal
tic barons-Russian, German and
Swedish nobility, with the Germans
dominating Since the establishment
of democratic republics after the war,
which was followed by the conflSca-
ton of the great landed estates, the
| barons have been plotting and in
frir ffVlrY ~ Aa fvaIn nN
the small states, hoping, eventually. to
have their property returned or unde-
served compensation granted. Their
weapons are SUBSIDIZED press.
Lithuania has been under a chronic
ictatorship-whicp has changed
hands several times since the merry
little AuguStinaS Voldemaras was
ousted back in l928-ever since the
peace treaties. Esthon1a, however,
has maintained a fairly representative
government until a feW months ago,
when popular vote was sought to de-
termine whether or not the preSi.
Dental authority should be increased.
Caught in a wave Of nationansm and
patriotism the people voted the re
form" only to discover, after all was
direction had engineered everything.
Gen. Johann Laldoner, ESthonlaS S
strong man." stepped into the breach
and now Esthonia, too, has her con-
centratlon camp which, ike ItaIy-s
Lpar1, is an island IN the Gull OF FIN
land. 1t holds some 2OO political agl.
tators already.
Finland also has its taste of reac-
tion-aided and abetted by the NaziS.
The Lapua movement, on the surface
apparently anti-Communist, in reality
is an offspring of German Nazism.
The Liberal movement is in complete
control of the situation, but one does
not have to read deeply between the
! lines to realize the influence at work
behind the Finnish newspapers. The
German propaganda ministry, ably
directed by DR.. Paul Goebbels, did not
stint itself in its recent entertain
ment Of a delegation of visiting jour-
nalists from Finland. Nor did Goeb-
bels' organization overlook a bet when
it sent the super-air cruiser Hinden-
burg down to Belgrade to bring to
Germany dozen Yugoslavian news
paper men for a To-day tour Of the
new Germany.
Trail Impresses Scribes.
The trail of the Yugoclavs resembled
Bacchanalian revelry and undoubt-
edly Impressed" the visiting scribes
immensely. However, this extension
Of an entente amicale" was hardly
necessary, since the Yugoslav press is
entirely subservient to the Serb dc
tatorship. and King Alexander has re-
Gently found that he has much in
common with Nazi Germany. Botn
Alexander and Hitler hate the Rus
sian Communists and both have cast
apprehensive glances toward Italian
aspirations in Central Europe. Also,
strange as it may seem, both Belgrade
and Berlin are against the return of
the Hapsburgs, especially If Prince
Otto is to be under the tutelage Of
the Holy Roman Church and Musso-
lini
The clash between the Swiss gov
ernment and the German censor