Evening star., 1936-09-04

services OF the New Deal were set up
long before the campaign approached.
No doubt, at this time, they have the
election in mind. But at the time they
were set up, the purpose was to cause
the country to be sympathetic to what
Mr.. Roosevelt has called new eco
nomic order" "a readjustment Of
many Of our ways of thinking and
therefore of many Of our social and
economic arrangements"
Propaganda a Powerful Weapon.
In the European countries in which
two new orders of society, communism
and fascism, have been brought about,
the fundamental mechanism Is propa-
ganda. The heads of both types Of
government conceive themselves as
sitting at a central mechanism from
which flows every channel for infiu.
encing the mind Of the public. A per-
son or group possessing this leverage
can set up and maintain a DICTATOR
ship. With assistants expert in tech
nique and psychology, they can cause
the public to pass into any mood
which the dictatorship wishes 1t to
have-including when the time comes,
the mood of war.
These European set-ups, however,
include one factor which does not
exist in America. 1t Is not enough for
the heads of government to possess
mechanisms for influencing the pub
lie, however formidable the mechan-
isms may be. 1t is indispensable that
all other agencies Of publicity be sup
pressed or brought under rigid obe-
dience to the government. 1t is nee
essary that the head of government
have an exclusive monopoly OF the
agencies for disseminating informa-
ton and inciting mass views.
So long as there is free press and
free opinion. there can not be either
communism or fascism. The condi-
tions are mutually exclusive So long
as any government permits free dis
semination Of information and opin-
ion, it is not fascism and it Is not
communism. 1t seems safe to go
further and say that in any country
so long as freedom of opinion con-
tinues, communism or fascism can
not take hold.
Facts or Propaganda.
In America the question Is the
fortunately simpler one Of whether 1t
is desirable, as a practice of govern
ment, that an administration should
employ an army of publicity agents.
True, however large the present New
Deal army, the number OF private
persons engaged in the dissemination
of facts and views, in print and over
the radio, is still larger. 1t is desirable
for these private reporters and COM
mentators to be clear about how they
are to regard information put out by
the Government. Are they to regard
the Government agencies as Govern
ment agencies in America used to be,
merely givers-out of austere and un-
colored information? Or are they to
be regarded as official propagandists,
who by their selection and arrange
ment Of facts aim to cause the public
to have view determined in advance
by the Government agencies?
The other day, writing on this same
subject, I said that some newspapers
had charged that certain photographs
of drought scenes in the West, given
out by New Deal agencies, had been
made with the use Of a property
skull Of dead steer" added that
I assumed that IF the charge is not
well-founded the appropriate officials
will make reply or explanation" Ex-
PLANTATION has been made to the effect
that while the same skull of steer
was used in different photographs, all
were taken within 10 feet of each
other. that the skull was only moved
that distance and that the purpose
was merely to get better backgrounds.
To this, it Is said in rebuttal that
photograph Of skull Of dead steer
can be found at any time in almost
any place in the West, in good years
or bad. and that it does not neces-
sarily reflect drought conditions.
(Copyright. 1850