Evening star., 1941-10-05


Building, where Pennsylvania avenue
meets Constitution avenue The ad-
ministrations new information chief is
a celebrated man of mystery, Col Will
liam J. Donovan, the mild-mannered
soldier and diplomat, who is known as
wild Bill" because almost every Will
liam Donovan has been wild Bill since
the days when Detroit's best pitcher was
a Donovan with poor control.
Col Donovan runs the Office of the
Co-ordinator of Information, and the
country has been wondering just what
he does in that capacity. At last the
story is out
Establishment of C. o. I. is widely
regarded as one of the wisest emergency
moves the administration has made.
But for reasons kept to itself, the White
House has been only wiselooking about
c. o. is nature and function. 1t is the
foundation stone for an American min
istry of information, the successor to
Creel's World War Committee on Public
Information.
Essential in Wartime.
If the United States ever does enter
the war, some sort of super" Office will
be needed as a clearance headquarters
for public information and to play the
role of high propagandist The French
and the British waited until the last
minute to set up their wartime informa-
tional headquarters and the British Min
ictr of Inf OF Stin ic ba6eyiled hV
problems it has never had time to solve.
Col Donovan can take note of the mis-
takes made at London and Paris in
getting his own organization in shape.
Perhaps Col. Donovan never will have
to play Creel. So long as the United
States is not actually at war it seems
certain the country would object stren-
uously TO the establishment of an in
formation regime which would censor
information at the same time it would
channelize propaganda. Wartime official
information headquarters are censors,
and censorship, except in isolated in
stances, is not with us yet in Washington.
In the meantime, however, Col Don
ovan's c. o. l.. is a going institution.
VI lllc pltScIlC IL IidS n "lOC idllGt VI
activities. so numerous that the con-
ception of c. o. is present place in the
Government is almost grandiose in scope.
Its Duties Are Widespread.
1t is the American version of the
Geopolitical Institute of Berlin
It is the seat of the American radio
propaganda drive for the airwave in
vasion of Europe.
1t arranges broadcasts to South Amer
lea for ofsetting the Axis propaganda
barrage against that part Of the New
World ,..
1t directs psychological inquiries into
the inrer meanings of German short
wave broadcasts.
1t co-ordinates information gathered
by the many Washington agencies, which
in the past have kept their little secrets
to themselves. and presents the CO.
ordinated findings to the administrations
policy makers.
1t provides the President and other
high officials with information for an
swering unfavorable or untrue charges
about American policy and practice or
the policy and practice of Americas
friends in the war.
All the functions assigned to c. o. I.
today are organized by a staff of highly
trained intellectual thinkers. military
authorities and newspapermen whose
jobs quickly could be switched in the
event of extreme emergency to the sort
of tasks performed by ministry of
information.
George Creel's Committee on Public
Information was set up April 13, 1917,
one week after the United States de-
clared war. President Roosevelt set up
the c. o. I. last July II and named Col.
Donovan its head.
Roosevelt's Explanation Recalled.
Mr.. Roosevelt gave vague description
of the news agencys duties, leaving the
public to think that Col. Donovan was
to become a sort of supersleuth by
stating:
Mr.. Donovan's task will be to CO.
ordinate and correlate defense informa-
tion, but his work is not tended to super
sede or to duplicate or to involve any
direction of or interference with the
activities of the general staff, the regular
intelligence services, the Federal Bureau
Of Investigation or of other existing de-