Evening star., 1939-10-22


The one front-page headline that the
overwhelming majority of Americans de-
voutly hope they will never be compelled
to read again is, America Declares War"
Yet we must remember that peace
loving England, despite much fine talk
OF peace in our time" IL months ago, no
less than seven short weeks ago found
herself with her ally France suddenly
caught in a blitzkrieg, which we are as
sured has not yet even started lin earn
est" on the western front
Despite the reassurances of those who
are prone to dilate upon the invulnera-
bility Of America from attack due to
the presence of two great oceanic bar
rlers on our Eastern and Western shores,
II the bulWark of British naval forces
were removed through the fortunes of
war, an attack in force upon our country
by an alien coalition is not at all in
conceivable-it might even be launched
from the East and West simultaneously.
At time when optimism is luxury
IN the international outlook we must
neither as nation be stampeded by
alarmists nor lulled in a false sense of
isolationist security but follow realistic
policy of preparedness. wherein the
present and its opportunities are under
scored, and the only adverb of time is
now"
'Totalitarian Democracy"
democracy at war can only be de-
scrlbed as "totalitarian democracy"
Anything short of that would mean fail
ure. AS the introduction to the in
dustrial mobilization plan so aptly says:
WAR is no longer simply a battle
between armed forces in the field-it is
struggle in which each side strives
to bring to bear against the enemy the
co-ordinated power of every individual
and every material resource at its COM
mand. The conflict extends from the
soldier in the most forward line to the
humblest citizen in the remotest hamlet
in the rear"
To wage war successfully high
national morale is just as important
today as victories at the front. The
mobilizing of the force of public opinion
is today on recognized plane with
securing requisite munitions and in mill
psychologist equation, factor which
must be solved, or controlled satisfac-
torily, if victory is to be achieved.
1t can scarcely be laid to chance then
that some of the best minds of the naval
and military ofticialdom have been con-
centrating of late upon the little pub
IciZed Public Relations Administration
with which the present discussion is
chiefly concerned. While the War Re-
sources Administration and similar eco
nomic set-ups under the industrial mo-
bilization plan have been capturing the
headlines with consistency during the
past two months, little or nothing of
international value on the Public Re-
lations Administration has filtered into
print.
Flexibility Is Important.
While admittedly the plans of the Pub
lie Relations Administration are blue
print subject to modification and altera-
ton, this very fexibility is an important
factor in its favor. The success of any
such organization today is contingent
in no small manner upon its degree of
adaptability to fit unpredictable condi-
tions which may arise out of the vicissi-
tudes of war, and this is where the blue
print for P R. A. (as we may term Pub
lie Relations Administration for brevity)
comes in strong
In January, 1887, a Special Joint Army
and Navy Public Relations Committee
was appointed to survey the field of
public relations of the two services and
to submit plans for superagency to
function in this sphere in wartime under
the aegis of the industrial mobilization
plan.
After some months of intensive study,
this committee reported to the master
Joint Board of the War Department and
Navy Department on April o. 1887 On
August II of the. same year the commit
tee report was approved with some
minor changes by the Joint Board, and
q week later further approved by the
chief of staff
AS recommended in this report,
Continuing Joint Army and Navy Public
Relations Committee was established on
September %, 1887, made up of four
Army and four Navy officers. This Con-
tinuing Committee, as it may be called,
was not designed to enjoy functions OF
operation or administration. but to exist
under the joint board as a planning unit
for that body in the sphere of public re-
lations, task which it has successfully
done.
The Continuing Committee is divided
into four subcommittee, each compris-
ing one Army and one Naval officer:
Cd publicity CD censorship, 90 organ
ization and a. legal. The Continuing
Committee carries out work programmed
by the joint board Doubtless Subcom-
mittee No. 2, confronted with the baf-
fling problem of finding a satisfactory
formula for wartime censorship control.
is of primary interest to American
people.
Censorship Ticklish Problem.
With reference to the ticklish problem
Of censorship, it is automatic that free
dom of press and speech is one of the
most highly priced rights of the Ameri-
can people. This principle applies also
to motion pictures and radio broadcast
ing. All efforts at censorship, even in a
mild form, will run counter to constitu-
tional guarantees and patience of the
American people.